By DAVID TELLER
Staff Reporter
Physical education classes at Cheney Middle School have a new look, including music and costumes after the school received a $500 grant from the Kids in Need Foundation.
CMS physical education teacher Selinda Riggs used the funding to improve morale and participation in Content-Based Performance Assessments (CBPA), which are a self-assessment system she has the students doing.
“Self assessment is something they'll be doing the rest of their lives,” Riggs said referring to the students' future personal and professional performance evaluations.
According to their web page, the Kids in Need Foundation is a charitable organization that has donated over $1 million in grants and $330 million in supplies to low-income schools.
Riggs, who applied for the grant, said music and costumes provide an element of fun to the dreary task of fitness testing. She said the costumes connect an activity with a character.
For some students, especially those that are not athletic, the assessments are intimidating.
Some of the costume characters are Indiana Jones, The Joker, Harry Potter and Capt. Jack Sparrow. Riggs said she got the costumes at Display House and they are part of the P.E. department.
CBPA testing is not the typical fitness testing like push-ups, sit-ups or a distance run. While the push-ups are part of the CBPA testing, the test categories measure flexibility as the student stretches, endurance as the student steps onto and off of an elevated block, balance by standing on a half-inflated ball and reaction where students try to catch an irregular-shaped ball.
Results are recorded and the student can see how they compare nationally on a fitness growth sheet, but Riggs does not record individual results. She said part of self-assessment is a reflection of self. She said there is no benefit to the students misrepresenting their progress.
“They're only cheating themselves,” Riggs said.
In other news, the Cheney School board voted on April 8 to begin the process of replacing Sue Lienhard, whose final meeting was April 8 after serving 14 years. May 1 is the last day applications will be accepted and the board voted to swear in the new member by May 27.
Lienhard was due to run for election in November. Filing dates to run for the position at that time are June 1 to June 5.
Lienhard said the timing of her departure is based on the need to get the new board member in and familiarized with procedures in time for budget meeting and the new school year.
CSD board members all praised Lienhard for her knowledge, dedication and judgment. Board member Rick Mount added she was also a fierce recruiter for the board.
“If she hadn't called, I wouldn't be sitting here,” he said.
Lienhard expressed gratitude to Cheney for electing her to the board three times.
David Teller can be reached at dteller@cheneyfreepress.com
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