PE Back to Normal

As we all know, Covid has changed our everyday lives in many ways these past two years. One big change in kids’ lives has been school rules. Here at Okawville Jr. Sr. High School we have been lucky enough to stay in person learning last year and this year as well. In order to accomplish this goal, our school had to make some changes. One thing that changed last year was P.E. rules. Kids were to stay in the clothes that they had worn to school and could not change into their P.E. uniforms. They did this to limit interactions in the locker room. They were also limited on equipment that they were allowed to use to lessen contact between the kids. Along with less equipment, they could not play any team sports. Another difference was kids weren’t allowed to use the weight room. In previous years Coach Bowers would take kids in the weight room three days a week to work out. This made it hard on p.e. teachers, Coach Bowers and Mr. Tebbe, to come up with activities to keep kids active and entertained. When I asked Coach Bowers how she adapted to the situation she said “We tried to figure out games that the kids could do without equipment to keep them moving, but unfortunately we had to stick to walking laps in the gym at the beginning of the year.” Bowers also said towards the end of last year, P.E. was able to open up a little bit more so they had more options. Luckily, this year the rules have changed back to normal. Kids are now able to change into P.E. uniforms in the locker rooms and use P.E. equipment as needed. Kids are also excited to get back into the weight room 3 days a week to train for their sports.