Physical Education
The WHO outlines that all children and young people require 60 MINUTES of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day.¹
83% of primary school pupils DO NOT meet the physical activity guidelines.²
83% of primary school pupils DO NOT meet the physical activity guidelines.²
- WHO Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health, 2011. 2. CSPPA Report, 2018
Rosenallis NS is committed to developing physically literate children. We, as staff, have collaborated to develop a two year PE plan which will ensure that each of the following strands are given six weeks of teaching yearly.
• Athletics • Dance • Gymnastics • Games • Outdoor and adventure activities 2 • Aquatics.
While covering the above strands, teachers over a two year period will also integrate one of the following fundamental movement skills every 6 weeks. These experiences should lead to a physically literate pupil, who has the movement competence, confidence, and understanding to continue participation in physical activity throughout their lives. (Whitehead, 2016)
• Athletics • Dance • Gymnastics • Games • Outdoor and adventure activities 2 • Aquatics.
While covering the above strands, teachers over a two year period will also integrate one of the following fundamental movement skills every 6 weeks. These experiences should lead to a physically literate pupil, who has the movement competence, confidence, and understanding to continue participation in physical activity throughout their lives. (Whitehead, 2016)
Fundamental Movement Skills
Parent’s please find many engaging videos at the link below which will allow you to consolidate their learning at home:
Beyond the Classroom: - Scoilnet
See also our plan for this year which outlines what strand we will focus on and when:
Beyond the Classroom: - Scoilnet
See also our plan for this year which outlines what strand we will focus on and when:
Active School Activities 23/24
Active HalloweenAll the classess took part in 'Active Halloween'. They had a wonderful time playing Duck, Duck Boo, Spooky Sack races, moving to Halloween inspired dances and much more!! Check out some of the fun we had!
|
|
.
|
Olympic Movement Break
The children took part in the 'Active Break Every Day Challenge' from November the 13th- December the 8th. This year Active Schools teamed up with Olympic Athletes to promote the athletes competing in the Paris Olympics 2024 while encouraging children to move more. Teachers, SNA's and pupils all enjoyed this challenge! Have a look at some of our videos and pictures!
|
|
|
Active School Slogan
Run Fast, Run Slow,
It doesn't matter, just go!
The children from each classroom came up with some wonderful ideas for an active school slogan. After much deliberation one created by Hannah Ormonde now in First Class, got chosen. It's so catchy and effective !
Our School Walkway
Our School Walkway is approximately 600 metres long. It starts at the school gate and heads around the new modular building (Autism class)follwoing numbers 1-14 until you reach the shed at the back of the school.The children from each classroom completed a Seachtain na Gaeilge challenge where they paired up and answered each of the questions at each signpost. Bhí an-spraoi ag gach duine!
Rosenallis Running Challenge!
We took part in the Laois Sport Partnership couch to 2k initiative. We began our running challenge on the 18th March and finished on the 3rd of May. Every class ran outside in the middle yard every day to build up to the final event which took place in Rosenallis GAA pitch. A representative from Laois Sports Partnership was present for the fun occasion. Well done to all the children and staff for bringing such enthusiasm to this event.
Active Schools Week 20th-24th May 2024
We had so much fun for Active Schools Week. There were different activities every day to look forward to.
On Monday we had a corrective gymnastics coach 'Mirak' from Laois Sports Partnership in to do a 45 minutes session with every class. The children loved it so much we organised two more sessions for the following week!
We also had our regular GAA session with coach Aoife.
Tuesday we did dancing with the whole school in Miss Scott's room (as it was raining). The Student Council learned the dances with Ms Purcell first and then demonstrated them to the rest of the school. We danced 'An Dreoilín, Rock the Boat, Popsico and the Macarena'.
Wednesday we did a 'Wednesday Workout' in the middle yard with the whole school. The Student Council picked four exercise and we did these for 20 seconds on 20 seconds off for two rounds. It was great fun!
Thursday Miss Wheeler organised an olympic style fun day for each classroom. Each session took an hour and the activities included basketball, soccer, races and many more team events. Many children reported it was their favourite activity of the week!
Friday we had two Laois players, Paddy Purcell and Ellen Conroy, in to do a coaching session with each class. Paddy and Ellen gave some great tips and played some really fun games. We wore Laois colours to show our pride in our lovely county.
Each classroom also completed a 'Learning on the Move' lesson outside using our School Walkway. It was a very busy and fun week of activities.
Have a look below at some of the activities.
Sports Day Tuesday 18th
We had so much fun on Sports Day this year. The students were divided into colour teams. We had dearg, glas, oráiste, buí, gorm, bogha báistí, dubh agus corcra. Our events were egg and spoon race, sack race, three legged race, relays, long distance, relays, over/under and tug of war. Points were awarded for each event for first, second and third place. Glas had the most points by the end of the race so they were the very worthy winners. An-mhaith glas agus gach duine!
Team Glas!!!!
Active School Activities 24/25
Active School Committee
Our newly elected Student Council are an essential component of our Active School mission. Ciarán, Milo, Ella, Katie, James, Joe, Brody and Tommy were elected. They will be busy in the coming months developing ideas for a more active school and communicating activities and initiatives to the classes.
Our School Walkway
What an impressive map of our school walkway by Rory Conroy. We asked and he really delivered. This map will definitely be made great use of in future, especially for our Outdoor and Adventure Strand. Well done Rory!
Gymnastics - Nov '24 - Jan '25
Mirak coached our children in gymnastics for 6 weeks. The children loved their weekly sessions. Each week the children explored various movements and ways of travelling such as climbing, crawling, rolling, balancing etc. They explored many of these movements on equipment such as benches, foam & inflatable mats, wobble cushions, peanut balls, hoppers, various soft play shapes. It was a really enjoyable few weeks for the children.
Athletics - March - Feb '25
Athletics coaches from Laois Sport’s Partnership have been working with our junior classes for the past 6 weeks. Our children have thoroughly enjoyed their athletics sessions. They particularly loved the games played and relay style team races where they maneuvered through various obstacles by side-stepping, jumping, hopping and throwing at targets.
What Club Are You In?
We completed a 'What Club Are You In?' survey with the children. It is great to see that our children are involved in many different activities outside of school. The survey encouraged great conversation amongst the children about various activities that are happening locally.
Skip Around Europe Challenge - March - May '25
As part of Active Schools the children have been engaging in a skipping challenge. It began on March 31st and the children have thoroughly enjoyed their daily breaks. Each class has been given a chart with 27 European capital cities and an estimated distance in km between Dublin and the various destinations. The aim of the challenge is to ‘‘skip’’ to as many different cities as possible. Each skip carried out by a child equates to 1km. Our class leaders record our progress weekly on a ‘Class Progress Chart’ and completed flag templates to show the destinations reached. The school also received 30 new skipping ropes and a rack to support the challenge which we are thrilled with. The children have shown great enthusiasm and we have seen a huge improvement in their skipping abilities. Well done to all!
Active School Week 2025
We had lots of fun during Active School Week 2025. Thank you to our wonderful Active School Committee who communicated the lovely activities planned to the rest of our school and displayed a lovely plan on our active school board. The children experienced a variety of activities throughout the week and continued their daily skipping breaks. Thankfully, the weather was on our side too!
Tuesday: We played rounders, volleyball and dodge ball. The children really enjoyed the rounders in particular! Our 5th and 6th active school committee members set up for all sessions on the day and helped our junior children along.
It was a really enjoyable day and thankfully the sun was shining!
Wednesday: Áine ‘The Yoga Fairy’ came to the school. Our Active School Committee helped bring equipment from class to class. It was a lovely experience for the children.
Thursday: Athletics coaches came to the school and coached juniors to 2nd class. The children always enjoy their athletics sessions. Dave from Portlaoise Rugby Club coached our children from 3rd class to 6th class. The feedback from these sessions with Dave has been excellent.
Friday: Bryan visited our school to coach our children in tennis. The children really enjoyed their sessions with Bryan.
In the afternoon our children from 1st class to 6th class took part in a soccer tournament set up by Mr Reynolds and Mr Mackessy. The children had a great afternoon. To finish our week on a high the children were given a juice box and jellies going home.
Our 3rd and 4th class swapped a section of their homework for a more active task this week. A really lovely idea!
Finally, thank you to our wonderful Parent’s Association who are always so supportive of the various initiatives we take part in. Without their support we would not be able to have such a lovely variety of activities.
Tuesday: We played rounders, volleyball and dodge ball. The children really enjoyed the rounders in particular! Our 5th and 6th active school committee members set up for all sessions on the day and helped our junior children along.
It was a really enjoyable day and thankfully the sun was shining!
Wednesday: Áine ‘The Yoga Fairy’ came to the school. Our Active School Committee helped bring equipment from class to class. It was a lovely experience for the children.
Thursday: Athletics coaches came to the school and coached juniors to 2nd class. The children always enjoy their athletics sessions. Dave from Portlaoise Rugby Club coached our children from 3rd class to 6th class. The feedback from these sessions with Dave has been excellent.
Friday: Bryan visited our school to coach our children in tennis. The children really enjoyed their sessions with Bryan.
In the afternoon our children from 1st class to 6th class took part in a soccer tournament set up by Mr Reynolds and Mr Mackessy. The children had a great afternoon. To finish our week on a high the children were given a juice box and jellies going home.
Our 3rd and 4th class swapped a section of their homework for a more active task this week. A really lovely idea!
Finally, thank you to our wonderful Parent’s Association who are always so supportive of the various initiatives we take part in. Without their support we would not be able to have such a lovely variety of activities.
Sports Day 2024/2025
Lá Spóirt 2025 was a huge success! Thankfully the weather was on our side. Our Active School Committee got stuck in to prepare the equipment for the day and ensured teams were where they needed to be. The children were put into teams and wore their team's colour on the day. The first half of the day the children took part in class races. We had an egg and spoon race, a three legged race, a sack, long distance and relay race. We then had team events such as over/under, tug of war and an obstacle relay race. To finish our activities the senior children played a soccer match against the teachers and afterwards an unexpected water fight took place. To complete an already fantastic day the children were surprised with an ice-cream van. Again, a huge thank you to our Parent's Association for organising this. We truly appreciate the support.
Couch to 2k - Laois Sports Partnership
What a fantastic day to show off the children's consistent movement and training this year. Laois Sport's Partnership provided the school with an inflatable arch. A huge thank you to our Active School Committee who helped with turning our pitch in to a 250m running track and for helping with putting up the arch. The children put a huge effort in to today with many surpassing the 2k mark. Every child tried their absolute best and we were very proud of them all. A really enjoyable day.
2025/2026
A great start to the year having elected our new Active School Committee. Well done to all who applied - we have some really enthusiastic students in our school who have some lovely ideas to make our school a more active one. Congratulations to Katie, Mia, Dave, Evie, Róisín, Eve, Billy, Kailum, Evie and Liam who are our newly elected committee members. A fantastic achievement.
Active Maths 11/9/25 - 19/9/2025
This week, we made use of our Active School Walkway for Maths Week by carrying out a Maths Trail. The children really enjoyed getting out and about around the school to identify maths in their environment.
Active School Slogan 29/9/25
Our Active School Committee have updated our Active School Slogan this year. A huge well done to Ella on coming up with a wonderful slogan for us and a huge thank you to everyone who entered a slogan. It was hard to pick !
Skip Around the World 2025
Another successful skipping challenge at Rosenallis NS. For every skip the children carried out it equated to 1km towards a well-known destination around the world. Thanks to our Active School Committee for setting up the resources so wonderfully for all the children. It made it very easy for us teachers to carry out the daily skipping break. Look at the amazing number of skips we completed: Week 1: 17,652, Week 2: 30,395, Week 3: 20,102. Week 3: 20,102. That brought us to a total of 68,149 skips which is the equivalent of 68, 149km. As a school we visited: Newgrange in Ireland, Mont Blanc in France and Italy, the Sahara in North Africa, the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt, The North Pole, Niagara Falls, Mount Everest, The Great Wall of China, Victoria Falls and the Christ the Redeemer in Brazil! Amazing stuff!
Gymnastics
Mountmellick Gymnastic Club are with us for the next 6 weeks to teach the children various elements of gymnastics. The children are really enjoying it so far. Our school is focusing on the fundamental movement skill of balance over these 6 weeks also so these classes are lending themselves nicely to this. The children are working on various stability skills, rolls and even handstands !
Water Safety Ireland
A huge thank you to Jamie from Water Safety Ireland who came to teach our children about water safety. It was a fantastic session for our children. They learned about water safety at various environments, they had an opportunity to throw a life buoy, they saw a demonstration of how a life jacket works, they learned about various hand signals and also S.A.F.E - Stay Away From Edges. It was very informative. Thank you to Water Safety Ireland.
17/9/25 Dare to Believe - Team Ireland - Olympic Movement Breaks
The children have began the Dare to Believe Movement Break Challenge this week and are really enjoying it so far. The children are taking short daily movement breaks for the next two weeks and moving to various engaging videos created by Team Ireland Athletes.
