Recently, students at Broadalbin-Perth Intermediate School traded their traditional physical education equipment for bows and arrows.
PE teacher Vincent Calderone introduced the unit this year after receiving a grant from the B-P Education Foundation to purchase the equipment. He said the sport is important to the region in terms of recreation – lots of kids said they have bows at home. Throughout the unit, students learned discipline, structure and safety, and improved their ability to focus.
The introduction of archery continues a trend in physical education at B-P toward lifelong recreation activities, in addition to the traditional team sports students learn in school. A few years ago, the district also introduced a unit on golf at the intermediate school, and middle school students have long had the opportunity to learn about year-round outdoor recreation options through Project Adventure.
“There are some students who might not excel at team sports, but through programs like archery, they have a chance to stand out as an individual,” Calderone said.
Calderone says he plans to offer archery through an intramural program for intermediate school students next year. In the future, he says he would like to expand the program into the middle and high schools, and possibly organize a regional tournament involving other schools.