Tahoe elementary to be mountain academy
By Kathryn Reed
Sierra House Elementary School is taking the federal Let’s Move initiative a step further.
Principal Ryan Galles this week told the Lake Tahoe Unified School District about his goal of transforming the K-5 school into the Sierra House Mountain Academy.
“I envision a physical transformation,” Galles said.
The goal is fitness, health and mountain sports will be emphasized.
Sierra House is being transformed into a mountain academy. Photo/LTN
The initial Health and Fitness Night will be May 1.
The first phase is in place, so the transition to the themed school will not be difficult. It helped that the field was replaced last summer. A grant from Vail Echo had all second-graders at SHES on the slopes this winter. Third- and fourth-graders ride at Sierra-at-Tahoe. The ice rink allowed students to skate in a morning fitness program.
But it’s not just about doing things off campus.
Galles told Lake Tahoe News it’s about creating a more rigorous fitness based physical education program. This will in large part fall on the shoulders of Seth Martin.
“When you are exercising, even as short as 20 minutes, you have a better connection in the brain,” Martin told the school board. He is a physical education specialist for the district, with this being his first year exclusively at SHES.
In 2010, the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports named Martin physical education teacher of the year. When Martin was at Tahoe Valley Elementary School in 2011 he had the students try to set a world record for jumping jacks. In 2012, he was instrumental in Lake Tahoe Community College and Barton’s Tahoe Center for Orthopedics team sports performance summer camps.
The March 25 staff report says, “Research on fitness and the brain indicates that, increased levels of activity stimulates brain activity and increases student achievement. Fitness activities also provide improved attention span, memory and learning, thus reducing stress and the effects of ADHD.”
The goals of the academy are:
• Re-orient to a fitness-based physical education program
• Bring in schoolwide fitness and health events
• Provide access to mountain sports
• Increase parent involvement/communication
• Promote healthy lifestyles, cooperative skills, critical thinking and problems solving.
The next phase is to get the growing dome installed. That could be a reality this spring. Approvals from the state are still needed as well as some coverage issues need to be ironed out.
Last March when Galles was before the board he said the dome would have multiple educational purposes. For one, it would be a hands-on science lab where students would be growing vegetables year-round. It would complement the composting program. It would show kids that food comes from someplace else before it reaches a grocery story. And it will give them something healthy to eat. The state has curriculum in its Garden in Every School program that could be used.
Staff members are going to Truckee in May to visit the dome there and find out about how best to use it as a teaching tool.
A walking path around the school will be the third phase. This will allow for more activities when students are at recess.
Fitness stations and a traverse wall will be in the final phase.
In other action:
• The board delayed action on the proposed preschool center at the former Al Tahoe Elementary School. This would be for transitional kindergarten. It would help with the overcrowding issue at Bijou and Sierra House elementary schools. But parents of little ones are not thrilled with the idea and want more info. The board said more outreach is needed. The topic should be on the April 22 agenda.
I would be interested in what the teachers think about this.
Is going to detract from reading, writing and arithmetic due to time constraints?
Teachers are being heold responsible for poor test scores on the standardized tests used to see how well the education process is working.
Will Sierra be turning buffed out 5th grade sskiers/boarders who know how to grow carrots but can’t read and write, or do long division?
Finally, I am absolutely stunned not to see comments on this this morning.
It looks like it is powered by grants….but the school district budget is still going to have to maintain the facilities, correct?
The focus should be on cultivating the mind. I see so many students coming through LTCC that have to take remedial classes because they do not have the basic skills needed to be a real college student. Exercise is a necessity but does not require million dollar facilities, run around the building. I wonder if this is spurred by the Olympic athletes that are in the news currently. These women are special and there is no guarantee we will ever see a Gold Medal from Tahoe again.
This plan sounds incredible. A comprehensive and integrated education such as the proposed course of action will always yield positive, long-term results. Society and the educational system has shifted away from a renaissance approach to human development toward specialization and isolation. We’re multifaceted beings with endless potential and to think that exercising will somehow detract from reading, writing, or mathematics is naive. As an artist and writer, I find no other single source of inspiration greater than exercise in nature. Whether walking or running, the combination of body movement and being outside does so much to spark creativity and ideas.
I find it ironic that anyone would question children learning to grow food through a direct hands-on experience when one of the chief complaints of today’s youth is that they can’t seem to get their heads out of their electronic devices.
From a business perspective, this is exactly what all schools should be doing in the area–embracing the geographic benefits of the region, whether that’s through sports or science. Tahoe is a global tourist destination. Why would we not our children to be a part of what this place offers? So what if 99.99% of them will not be Olympic champions? That should not be a reason to discourage them from trying and experiencing the activities inherent at Tahoe.
Obviously, this will all cost money, but I can think of no better investment than teaching kids how to become well-rounded people.
good to hear in a country where more and more physical activity is being taken out of schools. what good is your education if you’re too Obese to use it or if you die from heart failure at an early age?
As a parent of a kindergartner, I could not be more pleased with the direction that Principal Galles and the Sierra House Elementary Staff are taking. I want my kids (really ALL of our kids!) to be well-rounded. I want them to read, run, ski, swim, hike, bike, explore art, be crazy for science, know their native species and geography, and be comfortable in their healthy bodies. I want them to play and stay in the mountains for the long-term. I appreciate that all of our schools are finding their niches. Very cool! I love that Seth and Ryan are lifting up the research that shows kids excel academically when their bodies and brains move and get outside and to soak up fresh air and sunshine.
All research shows that active and healthy students do better academically. The idea that the mind is cultivated without the body is incorrect. I highly recommend you read Spark by John Ratey a Neuroscientist about the subject or Brain Rules by John Medina another Neuroscientist. Both lay out a multitude of evidence of how you must cultivate the body to cultivate the mind.
A teacher spends so much time with behavior management in order for a class to focus on the reading, writing, arithmetic, etc. Why not take a physical activity break to re-oxygenate the brain to make it work more productively? The real key will be the parental involvement piece. Parents actively involved in their child’s education make better educated children. It makes the teacher’s job more effective if there is follow through in the home.
Our principal will do and say anything to boost his ego. That is why so many great teachers have transferred or retired since he came to Sierra House,
He talks but it is all for himself. He does not support his teachers…. believe me….and the many other district personnel who agree with me without being quoted.
When he came to LTUSD he deserted his first principal assignment at a Sacramento school with only 3 weeks until school started, leaving them in a very poor situation.
That selfish action alerted us (teachers)as to what to expect…..oh yeah…..and remember when he was disciplined for video recording teachers in their classrooms. Galles is not a leader of children…and you should know it.
He is not a respected person.
This is not the forum to personally attack our school administrators. There are avenues that are more appropriate. Everybody has different opinions about education and their supervisors, but personally attacking here isn’t the right place in my opinion. Probably more effective to communicate with the district HR department and leave this section for commenting about the program above, which seems like a great concept for our district. I look forward to its success!
I agree, this is not the place to vent personal issues. As a parent of Sierra House I am fully supportive of the steps that are being taken to enrich our children’s lives. For many years, we all know education has suffered because of cutbacks and the lack of inspiring educational experiences and opportunities for our kids. Our family loves everything about Sierra House: the diverse community, the wonderful teachers, staff and principal, and the awesome opportunities the school has to offer. This is our 3rd year at SH and our daughter has thrived! She continues to excel in academics because she has parents and teachers who have supported and inspired her. She has enjoyed Enrichment Program offerings such as art, Mighty Milers, rollerskating, and ice skating. She and her lesson group LOVED every day of their 2nd Grade Heavenly Ski/Snowboard program where they improved their skills, gained independence, and enjoyed a great camaraderie. She is excited that her school may soon have a garden dome and hopes the school will offer bucket drumming when she’s older. The list goes on.
First and foremost how can a “SH Teacher” be so negative about a school that either 1. You still work at or 2. Was a previous employee.
Growing up in this wonderful playground we call Tahoe, we as locals and parents should be lucky to have the opportunity to be able to let our kids our future enjoy what our mountain has to offer. Principal Galles is an awesome energetic personal principle and I as a parent of 3 kids and a former SHES student am excited to take our school to a level where kids in other places would never have the opportunity to do the activities that he has put into place. This idea has so much benefits for our kids to accomplish!!
Kiddos to Mr. Galles for having a vision for his school and fighting for it.
I stand behind him 100%
The New Science Standards will be out next year and the dome will provide new opportunities to make science/ math real for our students. As a teacher and a parent at SHES, I can already think of dozens of ways I would teach the Common Core standards using the Dome. We could also have an outside classroom adjacent the dome for outside journaling, reading and science exploration. I believe really active kids who eat well do better than the average child in the classroom. Healthy bodies support healthy minds. I don’t see this new school focus as a way to “buff out our kids” or “make them Olympians” but rather, a way for children to become adults who understand that exercise and wholesome nutrition can support them in all areas of life.