Dearborn Education Foundation held its annual fundraising Golf Outing today at the TPC of Michigan.

It was awesome to play in this event per usual and support the cause with friends and colleagues. It was also a nice surprise to be interviewed at the turn about the work the Foundation does for a grant they are applying for. Best of luck!

Congratulations to Dr. Linda Lazar for winning the women’s Long Drive and to the Fordson Girls Golf Team for winning the student competition!!

The Healthy Dearborn Coalition Inclusive Heath Committee will be hosting a virtual Zoom interview with Mike Esseily – Executive Director of Special Populations.

Hello students and parents,

I hope all of you are ready for an exciting school year. I know this year will present some continuing challenges but I know that working together we will make the best of it and have fun learning together!

I will still maintain my Blog per usual but starting tomorrow (8/31/20) all instruction and communication pertaining to instruction will take place on Schoology. You and your children will have access to Schoology starting tomorrow morning. More information will follow from the school your child attends.

Looking forward to a great 2020-2021 school year!!

I was talking with George Darany, our City Clerk, the other day when I renewed my oath of office for City Commissioner and he shared with me that the City is in need of poll workers. He said that teachers and students always do a good job. So if you or anyone you know is interested, please pass this info along.

Update 6/11/20

Good morning,

Today is the last day of school!!

Congratulations we’re here and we made it!

I want to thank not only all of the students but the parents as well. All of you did a great job transitioning to our new remote virtual learning environment. Well done.

I want to wish each and every one of you an awesome summer! Have fun and be safe!

I look forward to seeing all of you in the fall!

All the best!

Take care,

Update 6/10/20

Two days left ….

Please let me know if you need anything during office hours today.

Have a nice day!

Update 6/9/20

Three days left (counting today) …..

Looks like wonderful weather – let’s exercise outside today!

Enjoy the day!

Update 6/8/20

Good morning and welcome to the last official week of school!

Looking forward to hearing from everyone this week to say our summer good byes in either the BBB sessions or otherwise.

Have a great day!

Update 6/5/20

Good morning and happy Friday!

Believe it or not this is our final Friday of the school year! Next week is only a 4 day week with Thursday (6/11) is the final day of the year!

Look for today’s email which will contain next week’s Personal Fitness Portfolio Logs.

I will still be holding the BBB sessions next week – so hope to see you there. If not please check-in using one of the other methods.

I’d like to hear from everyone next week to say our final goodbyes for the summer. Please feel free to share any and everything like any pictures if you’d like me to post them on the blog.

Thank you and have a good weekend!

Update 6/4/20

Hello!

I hope all is well.

It looks like a nice day today – so try to aim to do some outside exercise!

I’m available for office hours if you need me.

Have a great day!

Update 6/3/20

Hello! I hope everyone is continuing to stay safe and healthy and doing their daily exercises!

I’m available for office hours if you need me.

Take care and have a great day!

Update 6/2/20

Hello everybody!

I hope all is well.

It was nice seeing and hearing from those of you who joined the BBB chat yesterday – looking forward to seeing and hearing from more of you during your time today.

Enjoy the nice weather and have a great day!

Update 6/1/20

Good morning,

I hope everyone had a nice weekend! The weather was great!

Today is the first day of June and the school year is almost over!

I’m looking forward to hearing from everyone and seeing you in the BBB chats!

Have a good day!

Update 5/29/20

Good morning everyone,

Happy Friday!

We are quickly closing in on the end of the school year!

Please see today’s email to access your Personal Fitness Portfolio Logs.

Also, since we have completed all of our Sports Skills Units for the year I’m going to give you a fun alternative Creative Writing Assignment to work on for next week:

You can either choose to write this or verbally explain it to a member of your family:

Your assignment is to create a story involving your favorite sport that we learned this year. When you’re making-up your story imagine that you have a magic pair of athletic/tennis shoes 👟– please explain what powers and/or abilities they would give you to play that sport.

Be creative, have fun, and if you’d like to share – I can post your story here on the blog!

Thank you and have a great weekend!

Update 5/28/20

Good morning,

Today looks like a rainy day so please do your exercising inside and stay dry!

Remember, I’m available for office hours if you need anything.

Tomorrow is already the end of the week so look for our usual Friday email and sports skill blog update.

Take care and enjoy the day!

Update 5/27/20

Hello everyone,

Today looks like another nice day weather wise – get out side and enjoy with your exercises!

Remember I’m available for office hours if you need anything- feel free to email, text, or call.

Have a great day!

Update 5/26/20

Good morning,

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!

Even though today may feel like a Monday, it’s really a Tuesday 😊. That means that some of us missed our weekly BBB Video Chat yesterday because it was a vacation day. If that was the case, please check-in with one of the other acceptable methods (email, text, phone). this week, as discussed in last Thursday’s directions.

The next few days look really nice – so try to get outside and enjoy the weather while doing your exercises.

Have a great day!

Update 5/21/20

Good morning everyone,

Happy Thursday – this is our last day of the week – NO SCHOOL TOMORROW or MONDAY to celebrate the Memorial Day Weekend!

Since today is the last day of the school week I will be sending out my normal Friday email today – so please look for that. It will contain your Personal Fitness Portfolio Logs to use for next week.

Also, if we normally meet via Big Blue Button for our Video Chat on Mondays, we will not be doing that on 5/25 due to the Memorial Day – No School Day. Please check-in next week in one of the other methods – email, text, or phone.

Additionally, since it is a holiday weekend – I won’t give you a new sports skill to work on next week. Please continue practicing all of your softball skills and completing your regular exercise routine. I will resume the following Friday with a new sports skill for the upcoming week.

Happy Eid to all who are celebrating!

Enjoy the 4 day weekend!

Update 5/20/20

Hello everyone, I hope all is well.

Today looks like a great day – so get outside and enjoy the weather while doing your exercises.

I’m available for office hours if you need anything.

Take care and have a great day!

Update 5/19/20

Good morning everyone,

It was wonderful to see all of you in the Big Blue Button Video Chats yesterday.

I’m looking forward to seeing my other classes today.

Remember, if you can’t make the Video Chats – you’re more than welcome to check-in via email, text or phone.

Today looks like another wet day outside – so do your exerting inside and catch-up on any other school work you may have.

Take care

Update 5/18/20

Good morning,

I hope that everyone had a nice weekend!

It looks like today is going to be an all day rain – so make sure to do your exercises inside.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in our Big Blue Button Virtual Chats this week.

Take care and stay dry!

Update 5/15/20

Good morning,

Happy Friday!

As another week of distance learning draws to a close, I want to wish you a nice weekend.

Please reference today’s email for access to next weeks Personal Fitness Portfolio Log.

In addition please see below for information on next weeks Sports Skill to practice:

I look forward to seeing and or hearing from you next week during our Virtual Chat on Big Blue Button or any other method of checking-in.

As you know we are in our Softball 🥎 Unit and to this point we have learned two types of throws – underhand and overhand throw and also catching. Next weeks skill, depicted below will be “Batting”

Teaching cues for Batting:

– Stand (bat high with hands up by head)

– Twist (at waist)

– “Squish the bug” twist rear foot into ground

– Hit (contact ball)

– Follow Through

(Remember it’s ok to practice the movement for muscle memory even if you don’t have a bat)

Have a good weekend!

Update 5/14/20

Today is another office hours day if you need to reach out for anything.

Some students and families have shared some pictures of them exercising that I will post with permission. If this is something you’d like to do please send them over and I will post them on our blog.

Thank you and take care

Update 5/13/20

Good morning,

Today is supposed to be a nice day so hopefully you can get outside and enjoy the weather while exercising but remember it’s an office hour day so I’m available if you need me.

Take care

Update 5/12/20

Hello everyone.

It was nice seeing all of you yesterday in the video chats – looking forward to seeing my other classes today.

Enjoy the day!

Update 5/11/20

Good morning

I hope everyone had a nice weekend and enjoyed a Happy Mother’s Day!

Let’s get the week of to a great start and continue doing all of your exercises.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in the Big Blue Button Virtual Chats today!

Have a good day!

Update 5/8/20

Good morning,

Happy Friday!

As another week of distance learning draws to a close, I want to wish you a nice weekend.

Please reference today’s email for access to next weeks Personal Fitness Portfolio Log.

In addition please see below for information on next weeks Sports Skill to practice:

I look forward to seeing and or hearing from you next week during our Virtual Chat or any other method of checking-in.

As you know we are in our Softball 🥎 Unit and to this point we have learned two types of throws – underhand and overhand. As depicted below we will focus on “Catching” of next week’s skill.

Teaching cues for catching:

• Follow the ball with your eyes

• “Soft like a pillow” to absorb the ball into your body not “hard hands like a brick 🧱 wall”

Update 5/7/20

Good morning,

Today looks like a very nice day weather wise / try your best to get outside and enjoy it before the weather turns cold again this weekend.

Remember, I’m available today in office hours. I will post out next weeks persona fitness portfolios and sports skill tomorrow.

Enjoy the day!

Update 5/6/20

Good morning everyone,

I hope all is well.

I again enjoyed visiting with those of you who joined the Virtual Chats this week. Please continue to check-in via email, text, or phone this week if you did not participate in the Virtual Chat.

Also please remember that today and tomorrow are office hours if you should need anything.

Have a good day!

Update 5/5/20

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Keep moving everyone!

I had some great conversations yesterday with those of you who joined my Big Blue Button Video Chat!

Looking forward to seeing some more of you today if you’re on the Tuesday schedule.

Take care and have a great day!

Update 5/4/20

Good morning

I hope everyone had a nice weekend and enjoyed the beautiful weather!

Let’s get the week of to a great start and continue doing all of your exercises.

I’m looking forward to seeing everyone in the Big Blue Button Virtual Chats today!

Have a good day!

Update 5/1/20

Happy Friday

Thank you to all who have been checking -in weekly and updating me regarding your child’s exercise progress.

Please see today’s email for additional directions on how to access and utilize the Big Blue Button (BBB) Class Video Chat.

Also please see below for directions on the sports skill to practice for next week:

Remember we are in our Softball 🥎 Unit. This week we worked on the Underhand Throw and next week we will focus on the Overhand Throw:

Teaching Cues:

1. Stand

2. Turn

3. T – Position

4. Twist

5. Release

6. Follow Through

See images below:

Update 4/30/20

Good morning everyone,

Today looks like another rainy day.  Again, stay inside and work on your exercises!

Also, if you need me for anything, today is an offcie hours day (see our class schedule).

I will update everyone tomorow via email as well to set up our meetings for next week.

Take care,

Update 4/29/20

Good morning,

It looks like it will be a rainy day for most of today. Stay dry and do your exercises and workouts inside.

As you know I’m always available to you but remember today is office hours if you need anything.

Take care

Update 4/28/20

Good morning,

It was nice to see several of you on Big Blue Button yesterday. I know that there were a few technical difficulties but the district computer services department assures me they are working to fix this.

Additionally, I enjoyed hearing from students in parents who checked-in using alternative methods like email, text, or phone. Remember these are always an option.

Keep up the good work!

Take care

Update 4/27/20

Hello everyone.

Great news! We will be able to Video Chat starting as soon as this week afterall! Directions will follow below but please see the email you already received from me on 4/26 for more detailed information.

Update 4/24/20

Hello everyone,

Please see the email I sent out this morning regarding our schedule for next week. Unfortunately, we will not be able to have a google hangout due to some students in the district inappropriate conduct in these sessions. Nevertheless please check-in with me during the week to inform me of your students process via email, text or phone. Again, today’s email will explain everything in more detail.

We will be beginning a new sports skill unit next week:

Softball 🥎 (baseball):

The sports skill I would like you to practice next week along with your cardio and exercises is the:

Underhand Throw

This is the way you would pitch the ball in softball to someone who is batting.

Teaching Cues: 1. Stand 2. Step 3. Swing 4. Follow Through (see pictures below)

Remember to swing your arm straight back and straight forward like the pendulum (arm) on a grandfather clock.

Update 4/23/20

Hello everyone,

I feel we’ve had a really good week.

I had a fun time seeing the students and parents who attended the google hangouts.

Additionally, I had a number of very nice phone conversations with students and parents yesterday when I called to check-in with families.

The overall take away is that is sounds like everyone is doing very well despite the circumstances we are all facing.

My goal for everyone is to keep up the good work staying healthy and exercising!

I look forward to seeing everyone in the hangouts next week and or hearing from you in some of the alternative methods we discussed if that is not possible. As stated in our discussions – just a simple once a week check-in to make sure each of my students are healthy and exercising.

Thank you very much for your dedication and I wish everyone all the best during the current situation.

Take care,

Dr. Lazar

Update 4/22/20

Good morning,

Remember today is office hours, please see schedule below or in the email I sent regarding this. If you need me for any reason, don’t hesitate to reach out.

I’m also going to work on contacting some students and/or parents that I missed at our google hangouts on Monday and Tuesday.

Thank you and take care.

Update 4/21/20

Good morning,

Today is the second day of our updated Remote Learning plan. As mentioned yesterday, for our purposes this means the addition of weekly Google Hangouts and Office Hours as previously outlined. Please see below or reference the emails you received for additional information and schedule.

We had some really nice sessions yesterday with students and parents. I want to very much thank all of you that tuned in and I’m looking forward to seeing you again next week. If you did not attend the hangout for some reason please feel free to email me at any time and let me know if there’s a better way to communicate with you and your child.

Additionally, I look forward to meeting with all of you from my other classes today during the Google Hangouts (parents are always welcome as well)!

Thank you and Take care.

Dr. Lazar

Update 4/20/20

Good morning,

I hope that you had a nice weekend!

Today begins the first day of our updated Remote Learning plan. For our purposes this means the addition of weekly Google Hangouts and Office Hours as previously outlined. Please see below or reference the emails you received for additional information and schedule.

I look forward to meeting with all of you during the Google Hangouts (parents are always welcome as well)!

Thank you and Take care.

Dr. Lazar

Update 4/17/20

Good morning everyone,

I hope that all is well.

Does eveyone see the snow outside? Crazy, amount of snow that’s sticking in the middle of April! This is one to remember.

Since it’s Friday, please make sure to be finishing your Personal Fitness Portfolio Logs for the week recording all of the physical education activities you did this week.

I will be emailing you and your parents later this morning with next week’s Personal Fitness Portfolio template (pictured below) and also the schedule containing the additional Remote Learning opportunities that I will be providing staring next week (that appeared in yesterday’s blog update).  You and your parents will also be receving an invite to next week’s Google Hangout Class! I hope very much to see you then!

Thank you and take care — Have a great weekend!

Update 4/16/20

Hello everyone,

Starting next week (week of 4/20/20)  I will be adding additional Remote Learning Resources to what has been taking place over the last month.  I will still be updating my Blog (so please, as you know, check back under your schools post regularly) and emailing students and parents weekly.

Additionally, the following is NEW and will run from next week to the end of the school year.

Google Hangout:

Mondays 1:40PM — 2:20PM (I will email a weekly invite — During this time I will virtually teach and visit face-to-face with students and parents who log in and attend the meeting via the invite I send).

Office Hours:

Wednesdays 1:40PM — 2:20PM (During this time — I will be immediately available for questions, comments, and concerns through email.  Also, if desired, I will be able to contact you by phone, if you leave me a call back number, and/or arrange an additional Google Hangout session during this time.)

Fridays:

I will now send home, via email, the weekly Personal Fitness Portfolio Logs that I have up until this point been sending on Mondays.  In these logs students can continue to record the cardio, exercises, and sports skills that they completed that week.  Fridays are also the day that I will also update my blog with the new Sports Skill(s) to practice for the following week.

Update 4/15/20

Here is this week’s sports skill. We are still working on our Tennis Unit. Please practice your Overhands (smash). This is the one when you put the racquet high in the air above your head and swing it like a “fly swatter”! Swing down from high to low with the racquet in your favorite (dominant) hand. Remember even if you don’t have a racquet you can still practice the movement with you hand/arm – it’s still very beneficial for muscle memory.

Update 4/14/20

Hello,

Here is the link to also visit our district-wide Middle School Physical Education blog. Please feel free to explore this site as well:

https://iblog.dearbornschools.org/middleschoolphysicaleducation/

Thank you and have a great day!

Update 4/13/20

Good morning everyone,

Welcome back from Spring Break!

I hope that you had a nice relaxing time and some fun at home with your families. We had a couple nice weather days – hopefully you were able to get outside and enjoy.

Since Spring break is officially over we are going to resume with our Remote PE learning.

Please continue to perform and track your daily cardio performance as well as the exercises you are doing. Your Personal Fitness Portfolio Log is posted below and I will be emailing the weekly hard copy to you and your parents per usual.

Good luck and have fun!

Update 4/3/20

Good morning everyone!

It’s Friday, so I want to remind you to finish completing your personal fitness portfolio logs for the week detailing all of the cardio, sports skills, and fitness exercises you worked on.

Next week is our official Spring Break – so you will not here from me everyday here on the blog with updates or my Monday email.

I want to wish you a fun and safe vacation!

I will check back in on Monday, April 13 after the break!

Take care!

Update 4/2/20

Good morning everyone!

Here is a fitness skill that doubles as a game and will directly help with our sports skills Tennis Unit.

Plank Pass

To play: get in the full plank position or modified plank position (on your knees as pictured). You can play with a family member or against a wall. Roll or pass the ball to your partner or wall and then get back onto the plank position until it comes back to you when you’ll grab it with one of your hands.

Good luck and have fun!

Update 4/1/20

Good morning,

Welcome to the first day of April!

Today’s sports skill for Tennis will be the Lob.

With the Lob you want to hit the ball high in the air – in a match this would be over your opponents head.

To do this you hold the racquet like it’s a frying pan 🍳 (strings facing up to the sky) and pretend you’re “flipping pancakes 🥞! ”

Don’t forget – even if you don’t have access to a racquet- the motion itself is still great for muscle memory.

Good luck everyone and have fun!

Update 3/31/20

Good morning,

For today’s suggestion of an activity – if the weather and the wind are right and you parents allow it – Fly A Kite 🪁!

I’ll check back in tomorrow with a post regarding our Racquet sports skill to practice for the week.

Have fun and take care!

Update 3/30/20

Good morning everyone and welcome to week 3 of Remote Learning Hopefully you had a nice weekend!

Here is this week’s personal fitness portfolio log. I also emailed it to you and your parents. Please fill it out accordingly. Keep up the good work with your cardio and exercises! Remember to check the blog daily!

Update 3/27/20

Good morning,

I hope everyone is doing well.

Today completes our second week of remote learning.

I want to remind everyone to keep up the good work with your cardio walking (whether indoor or outdoor or some combination). Also, hopefully you’re doing your daily exercises and having fun practicing your sports skills.

A second reminder: since it is Friday please remember to complete your Personal Fitness Portfolio Logs for the week.

You can get some rest on Saturday and Sunday (unless you choose otherwise) and get ready to start a fresh week on Monday. I will be sending out (via email) new fitness logs on Monday and of course continuing to post here on the blog.

Take care and have a wonderful weekend!

Update 3/26/20

Good morning ☀️

I hope everyone had a chance to enjoy the sunshine yesterday!

Today I’d like to add the backhand to our sports skill practice. This can be used in tennis 🎾 badminton 🏸 or any other racquet sport.

Remember: With the backhand you still “swing like a Smile” – from high to low to high (see forehead directions from a few days ago or any of the Tennis or Badminton posts). The difference is you start by hugging 🤗 your body – in other words you extend your favorite hand/arm across your chest to the opposite side of your body and complete your smile from there.

Don’t forget – the proper grip is still “shaking hands with the racquet”

Remember: even if you don’t have a racquet or ball, the proper swinging motion is enough to build the muscular strength and memory needed.

Good luck everyone!

Update 3/25/20

Good morning ☀️

I hope everyone is well.

Today, tomorrow, and Friday look like they are good weather days. Make sure to ask you parents first, but these look like nice days to attempt your cardio, exercises and or sports skills outside.

Have a great time!

Update 3/24/20

Good morning everyone,

Here is a fun PE activity you can do with an empty household garbage bag. I tried it in the yard yesterday with my daughter. Simply open the bag and scoop some air into it quickly to inflate it – then tie it shut quickly to contain the air.

This will relate back to and review our volleyball unit and skills. Try to bump and set it in the air to yourself (pictured) as many times as you can without it hitting the ground. Please refer back to my volleyball blog posts from earlier this year, if necessary, for reminders on teaching cues.

Update 3/23/20

Good morning everyone and welcome to week 2. Hopefully you had a nice weekend!

Here is this week’s personal fitness portfolio log. I will also be emailing it to you and your parents. Please fill it out accordingly. Keep up the good work with your cardio and exercises!

Update 3/20/20

We made it through one week! I’m really proud of your progress.

Hopefully you’re having fun filling out your personal fitness portfolios/logs.

Remember, everyday you should be doing your exercises, your cardio walking, and practicing a sports skill – all of which you can find on this blog.

You can take Saturday and Sunday off if you like but you don’t have to.

Either way please prepare a new personal fitness portfolio sheet for next week so we can start the week fresh on Monday.

Take care and have a great weekend!

Update 3/19/20

Today’s sports skill practice is in our Tennis Unit.

Please practice your Forehands

Cues:

Grip – Remember to shake hands with the racquet

“Swing like a Smile” – high (backswing) to low (contact) to high (follow through)

You can do this at home with any racquet or the movement with your arm is enough if you don’t have access to a racquet

Update 3/18/20

Hello,

As I update the page the newer info will always be on top and everything else will move down the page.

Here is a Personal Fitness Log you can use every week to record your training progress. Feel free to recreate it on paper if you like to draw or if you just choose to print it – I have sent it to all of you and your parents via email:

Hello everyone,

The most important thing you can do when you away from school is keep up the great gains you’ve made with your Cardio Fitness. To do that please make sure you are:

– Walking for at least 30 minutes at least 4 days a week.

Please have your parents help you lay out a “track” you can follow either in the house or outside. Don’t worry it it’s not that big of a space – just keep moving!

You can listen to classical music like we do in class or whatever you prefer!

Also, don’t forget about our Fitness Exercises either (more will follow with this but in the mean time) – keep up your work with:

– Push-ups:

2 sets of 10 daily

and

– Sit-ups/crunches:

2 sets of 20 daily

Please feel free to explore the blog posts from the other schools as well. If you like what you see – add those to your home fitness regimen too!