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Free Play for our elementary school students:
No longer an afterthought!
A meeting was held at the Myron J. Francis Elementary School in East Providence last night to dispel rumors that recess had been eliminated. The Myron J. Francis Elementary School's Parent Teacher Organization invited the East Providence School Department to a meeting on Monday August 23, 2010 to discuss recess. The PTO had received multiple phone calls and emails from parents stating that they had "heard rumors" that the East Providence School Department was eliminating recess for our elementary school students!
Our school administration was happy to have the opportunity to dispel these rumors. This inaccurate information was released to the public and media by unknown sources without the knowledge or consent of the East Providence School Department.
The bottom line:
- Our elementary school students will have their unstructured free time to play.
- Our elementary school students will receive a total of 15 minutes of recess time during the school day.
- Recess will no longer be an after-thought of 10 minutes squeezed in after a rushed lunch period.
- Our students will also receive more time for physical education - a total of 100 minutes per week as required by the Rhode Island Department of Education.
- Our students will receive more time to eat their lunch.
What we know:
- We know that children play to learn,
- We know that children play to burn-off energy built-up during classroom time
- We certainly know that research points to the importance of at least 15 minutes of play to enhance learning in the classroom.
- We also know that children will benefit from the opportunity to be physically active when they need it most - and their needs are not limited to 10 minutes, if that, squeezed in after a rushed lunch period.
Our teachers will be empowered to determine when their students need a break. It may be after lunch, it may be some time just before a test, and it may be in-between lessons. Teachers will have the professional discretion to utilize 15 minutes of daily unstructured recess to best serve their students! Teachers may use the entire 15 minutes in one block of time or they may decide that breaking up play time for their students will be helpful. Elementary students have different needs on different days. Teachers will be free to make those decisions.
East Providence elementary school students will receive personalized experiences with their classroom teachers and our teachers will now have opportunities to professionally assist in the development of their students' social and teamwork skills during unstructured play.
More community partnerships:
- The East Providence School Department is partnering with the YMCA to build upon the professional capacity of our certified nurse-teachers and our physical education instructors to establish the RI Department of Health’s “Eat Smart, Move More" Program.
The East Providence School Department is intent on developing our health curriculum to enhance student services.
A win/win:
The children in the East Providence elementary schools will have more free time to play, they will have more time to eat their lunch and they will be provided services targeted to reinforce a healthy and fit lifestyle.