A central Iowa phys-ed teacher is in Washington D.C. this week to receive honors as “Teacher of the Year” from the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. Lois Boeyink works with kids in grades K-through-6 at Thomas Jefferson Elementary in Newton and is the 7th grade girls’ track coach. Boeyink explains a little about why she was set aside for the honor.She says she works hard to get all children to succeed at their own level, while giving kids a sense of choice, belonging and enjoyment in the program. Boeyink says all teachers are trying to instill in kids the importance of reading so she strives to incorporate certain P-E-related vocabulary words into the workouts. She teaches words like “aerobic endurance” and “muscle strength” and has them do various activities to learn the definitions. Boeyink says gym classes have changed a great deal over the years and she’s pushing kids to push themselves. She says they look for maximum participation, and she says with that, dodge ball has gone by the wayside. She says they use heart rate monitors, pedometers and rock-climbing walls.Boeyink says she works hard to get kids to have physical activity every day, as they learn both good and bad habits in childhood they’ll keep with them for life.
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