A Great Experience at the VAHPERD Conference!

by Amanda Roberts, Guest Blogger
 
Hi, everyone!  My name is Amanda and I am in my second year here at Ferrum College. I am a Health and Human Performance major for Physical Education, and I have a minor in Coaching.  I am the Physical Activities Club Secretary and am also a member of Ferrum's softball team.

On Nov. 7th, twelve of my classmates and I traveled to Virginia Beach for a Virginia Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (VAHPERD) Conference for the weekend.  This conference is for Physical Education teachers to explore and learn about different teaching strategies to use in their own classrooms. I attended multiple sessions throughout the weekend, but one of my favorites was watching a new sport called Spikeball.

Our class presented "Ballroom Dancing in Physical Education."  Ballroom dancing is an excellent method to train the body and improve coordination.  This presentation focused on introducing basic ballroom dance steps into PE classes.  From recent studies, we have learned that many school systems are removing dancing from their Physical Education departments, especially partner dancing.  We demonstrated different dances, including the Cha-Cha, Slow Waltz, and Tango, to name a few.  The feedback we received from the members attending the session was amazing!  Many attendees wanted the link to our video to teach their own classrooms.

My partner, Jesse Wall, and I before our performance

We also had two other students, Michael Rucinski and Melva Herron, who performed in the Kaleidoscope Dance Performance on Saturday night.  They choreographed their own routine while putting a twist on ballroom dancing with modern music. The video can be viewed below or by following this link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrHu-PsTuC8&feature=youtu.be

 

Overall, I loved attending the conference. We had the privilege to interact with teachers all over the state of Virginia.  By having the opportunity to do this, I know that choosing to be a Physical Education teacher is the right path for me. I can't wait to attend another conference in the future!