Throughout the months coming back from fall break, the recent construction in the BVH gym has begun to affect the flow of the physical education (P.E.) classes. The situation however is overlapping the school’s assemblies in the stadium and reducing the amount of space available for the P.E. classes to be held. BVH P.E. coach Tony Valdez expresses his gratitude regarding his students being entertained with their current sports, rather than being deterred by the sudden changes in schedules.
“I feel lucky. I can only speak for myself, but all my periods seem pretty into the activities and the sports that we are doing. [They] are a good group of kids, so I am thankful for that. However, when they do get bored, I just have to switch activities and teach them another sport that avoids construction,” Valdez said.
On the other hand, BVH Strength and conditioning P.E. student and junior Johnathan Javier, has not been affected significantly by the construction due to his different P.E. class structure. However, he expresses that he has observed the P.E. classes are not gathered at their usual spots, compared to his experience during his freshman year. Javier describes the different systems his P.E. teacher Daniel Schroeder implemented last year.
“[We have been doing] intervals, [which means] we are taking turns in certain places. [For example,] I did not see all the classes at the track anymore. Instead, I would see around one or two classes at the track, while the other classes were doing their activities in the weight room, gym or at the tennis courts,” Javier said.
BVH Department chair P.E. coach Heidi Arciaga has mentioned that this is not the first time that the staff has had to adapt to construction affecting their daily routine. When the track was first being built, the P.E. staff had to make some major changes in their classes, such as their timed miles, changing some activities and restructuring their grading policies. Though it does not compare to their recent construction, which is smaller and easier for them to adjust for compared to the stadium’s construction.
“Four weeks; from the end of Oct. to the middle of Nov., four weeks of less activity than has happened in the past. But ultimately like everyone, we have to be flexible. There are always things we are shifting around for [the] P.E. classes,” Arciaga said.
Valdez adds on how there was not a need for much change or adaptation when it came to the restriction of the gym and weight room this time around. The P.E. department has a variety of other sports and activities for students to learn and participate in, especially with the removal of a location. Therefore, the staff have been more at ease; switching towards other sports, where Valdez shares the different sports options the P.E. classes have access to back up.
“For each location, we have around five to six different options: we could do tennis, we could do volley tennis, speed mitton and speedball grass field. We were prepared in that we have options to go to. It is just the locations that are minimized now, which we are used to having more options to go to,” Valdez said.
Javier would go on to give his own personal gratitude towards his P.E. coach Daniel Schroeder, as well as his own opinions on the new form P.E. has been taken temporarily. With the recent construction, coach Schroeder has made an extra effort to ensure the safety of his students as well as keeping them entertained and helping them throughout the course as much as possible.
“I feel a lot more interested and I owe a lot of that to my coach. Schroeder has been helping with how to perform certain exercises, so [that] we know that we are doing them correctly and safely. It is nice to know that we have a coach that is doing something that he is asking us to do as well, so he feels involved,” Javier said.
Javier is not the only one enjoying the new changes, as Arciaga has also noticed her students loving the new system they have in place along with the dress code. Students have found the system to be easier in terms of clothing, with Arciaga personally believing that it is okay to have change once in a while.
“Students have enjoyed not being in their P.E. clothes and rotating through the walking, the free play and the study hall [located inside the cafeteria]. Students have enjoyed being in their regular clothes and doing those activities. They have liked it, but they have also told me that it is easier so they like it for that reason too,” Arciaga said.
Valdez wishes that construction could have been done during a long break, summer or winter, Arciaga wishes that any future planning of construction could and will affect the P.E. department and their classes, he mentioned ahead of time to allow for more prep work.
“We were kind of scrambling on our last PLC day on Friday to make a plan. It would have been nice to have a few weeks or a month’s notice, but besides that, [Christina] Ada is great at communicating with us and finding out which facilities are available and adjusting things,” Arciaga said.
From hectic scheduling, last minute planning for activities and problem solving, to students loving their temporary changes, Valdez is grateful for his fellow P.E. colleagues who have also put in a lot of effort in making everything turn out smoothly.
“I am thankful for the P.E. team and the teachers. We all work together well. It was a bump in the road and we were just going for it. It makes it much easier to organize things when everybody is on the same page,” Valdez said.
