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Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Project Adventure Summer Sale - Props, Books, Gear and Equipment from our website or products catalog!

Hurry - Sale Ends July 31, 2008

Place your order and receive these discounts:
Order - $250 or more $25 off
Order - $500 or more $75 off
Order - $1,000 or more $150 off and $100 off any training *
Order - $2,100 or more $250 off and a free workshop tuition**
Hurry! Orders must be received by 7/31/08.


How to receive your discount!
Phone orders: 1-800-468-8898 x 4556 : Mention Promo code: "Summer"
On-line orders: Type "Summer" after your name in the "Bill to" field.
Discounts will be applied once your order is processed. Web confirmations will not reflect the discount. A receipt will be mailed to you after your order ships.

Fax orders: 978-524-4505 Type "Summer" on the purchase order to receive discount.
Mail orders: Project Adventure, Inc. 701 Cabot Street, Beverly MA 01915
Type: "Summer" on purchase order to receive discount.
The details
13% shipping is calculated on discounted total.
Training vouchers will be sent via email and are valid through 3/30/09.
Discounts cannot be combined with other offers.

*$100 voucher can be used for either open enrollment training or towards a professional development session held at your site. Voucher can be used by any member of your organization. Voucher must be submitted with registration.
**Open enrollment workshop voucher is valid for open-enrollment workshops only. Meals and lodging are not included in discount.

Questions: catalog@pa.org or 1-800-468-8898 x 4556

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Carol White PEP Grant Announcements Coming Soon

Did your school, district or organization write a Carol White PEP Grant? Rumor has it the announcements will be coming out soon. Be sure to check your email often. And, let us know that you submitted so we can notify you as soon as the list of winners is posted! Email us at info@pa.org and put PEP Grant Submission in the subject line and include your name, school or agency, address and phone in the body.

Here's what one winner says about PA!
Project Adventure has been one of the best experiences for both my personal growth as a physical educator and the growth in my kids as future leaders. The program gave me infinite ways to encourage peaceful play with purposeful conflict. I also learned how to get kids to discover solutions through their own thoughts and experiences instead of telling them to repeat my own thoughts or conclusions based on my perceptions. Out of all the great things we were able to gain through the PEP Grant process, I would say Project Adventure would rate as one of the best purchases by far!”. Julia Vanelli, Brevard Public Schools, 2005 PEP Grant Recipient.

Twirlies




Just like flying a PA Twirlie, implementing a successful adventure program takes:

Clear guidance, some instructions and advice.
A solid plan.
Competence – both in your staff and your vendor.
Taking off with confidence and zeal!

Any of you who have tried to fly a PA Twirlie know that you can just jump in and give it a try...using a trial and error approach. Or you can follow the instructional arrows and/or seek advice from those who've been successful before ...and take your Twirlie flying to next level in no time at all.





The same is true for implementing adventure into your program. Through the guidance and direction of Jane Panicucci, PA has moved from an organization that installs great challenge courses and trains people how to use them...to an organization that is dedicated to building quality, research based Adventure Programs. Programs that include:

  • Curriculum aligned with state and national standards.


  • Learning outcomes and objectives.


  • Assessment tools.


  • Coordinated approach toward PE, Fitness and Health education.

We encourage you to go beyond a challenge course or adventure prop (ie Twirlie) as a single isolated activity - to a meaningful and relevant program that is aligned with standards, achieves desired outcomes and can be evaluated and measured.





Twirlie Bull's-Eye (Estimated time: 30 minutes) Problem-solving and Goal-setting





Setup: Explain this task before handing out the twirlies, or you have lost the class for quite some time while they frivolously twirl away! Warn students about potential eye injuries and ask them to not twirl into the face of classmates. For the Bull's-eye activity you will need one or two targets (depending on class size) and a large boundary circle around the targets (boundary ropes work well). Experiment with the size of the outside boundary.





Framing: Explain that the class will be given a series of special practice activities, which will lead up to a final all-class goal.





Procedure:





1. Say to students, "The next few activities are warmups for a final goal-setting activity that you will be given. First, try and play 'twirlie catch' with a partner. See how many double catches the two of you can make - where you each catch your partner's twirly at the same time!" (This is a great opportunity for students to coach each other. Suggest this if it is not naturally occurring.)





2. Now say, "In foursomes, play a creative round of "twirlie golf." Pick targets that you all agree on, and count the number of strokes it takes you to reach the target."





3. When these warmups have been completed successfully, lead students into the final goal-setting activity. Ask them to stand around the boundary line. The class must agree upon the number of twirlies that they will successfully land in the bull's-eye. Emphasize that they have data to draw from - they know how they did during the practice rounds! The class should set their first goal prior to starting the activity.





4. Subsequent rounds should be held in order for the class to have opportunities to adjust their goal and to continue to improve their results.





Discussion:





Ask students:







  • Did the class reach its goal?


  • Was the goal realistic? Too hard? Too easy?


  • How did you set the goal? What information did you use?


  • What behaviors do you want the class to keep for the next goal-setting activity? What behaviors do you want to avoid?




This activity can be found on page 86 of the Adventure Curriculum for Physical Education - Middle School. Twirlies are available through Project Adventure and also come in the Middle School PE Pack Kit.