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Stay Happy Healthy Strong!

iKiFit is empowering and equipping many regional NSW schools.  Below we let the principals of these schools do the talking for us.  It's a privilege to work alongside talented and respected educators, and to know that together we are making a difference.

Anthony O’Leary, Principal St John’s Primary School, Dubbo

I have had the privilege of being involved with the iKiFit program over a number of years. I have found the program to be of the highest quality. The program is unique in that it provides for high quality teacher professional development, amazing dance routines, fitness development and strategies to develop positive behaviour.  The students have been totally engaged with the high-energy music and iKiFit skills.

iKiFit has added to the quality of our school sport programme. iKiFit has provided instructors that are experienced and knowledgeable in their field. Their ability to communicate appropriately and manage our primary aged children has been excellent.

I would recommend the iKiFit program as the premier product that is holistic in its approach to overall fitness and wellness.

Darryl Thompson, Principal Wellington Public School, Wellington

The introduction of iKi at our school has been a significant contributor to improved learning outcomes for all of our students.  As a program it has allow three very important aspects of our school to flourish:

1. Our iKi Crew have been provided with quality leadership training. All have grown personally and their support of younger students in mentor roles has reduced the incidence of poor behaviour by more than 50%.

2. The tenants of the iKiFit program are now integrated into the school's behaviour policy. Each day our students pledge to Be Learners (If you look and listen you will learn), Be Respectful (I'm OK you're OK) and the Be Safe (No Play, No Play).

3. As a program the fitness and coordination aspects cannot be understated.

The program for our school addresses many of the physical activity components of the PDHPE syllabus and keeps children active through structured routines and exercises.

The professional approach adopted by the iKiFit team have allowed us to build an engaged, collaborative and focused culture in both the playground and classrooms across the whole school.

Dan Williams, Deputy Principal St Joseph’s Primary School, Walgett

The iKiFit program has been running in our school for almost 4 years.  Our school has adopted a whole-school approach to delivering the iKiFit program.  As the Year 6 teacher, I have also personally found great value in the iKiFit program on so many levels: 

• Physical Health benefits. Obviously, the core fitness (dance) component of iKiFit delivers a high-energy, convenient and engaging way to involve students in cardiovascular movement.

• Motivation & enthusiasm in class. My students consistently look forward to our iKiFit sessions, and are very disappointed on occasions that we miss or cancel our daily workout.

• Leadership. The iKiCrew initiative has identified and encourage a wide variety of students to take on leadership roles – particularly indigenous students, and students who do not usually ‘fit the mould’ of traditional school leaders (for example, that of a School Captain or SRC Captain).

• Self-esteem and confidence. I have found that iKiFit empowers students, and helps them to feel better about themselves and their abilities. Many students, who do not usually excel or apply themselves in class, often excel and apply themselves fully during iKiFit.

• Goal setting. I have had numerous students – predominately indigenous – who have aspirations to become iKiFit instructors when they are older. They have really taken to the program and what it stands for.

 

Battling along as parents is enduring and often unrewarding. When we think we have our kids worked out, they throw another log in the middle of the road for us to trip up on.  Parenting can be exhausting and lonely at times, as in protection of our family we often feel that we can't express our concerns to others.

I've been thinking a lot about how to be a good parent recently.  It's heart wrenching when your five year old son's teacher calls you in to chat about his "wayward behaviour", and real cause to address what is going on with this child.  It seems his mother - yes me - needed to have a look at how she was parenting, and discovered a few hard truths.  

Remember the old saying, "do as I say, not as I do"?  I've determined that just doesn't work.  Well I guess if you take into the account their new found love of swearing, then it actually does work.  It's hard to scold your child for their slip of the tongue when five minutes earlier the same word fell out of your mouth.  I tentatively put my hand up in admittance to this crime.  Explaining that adults sometimes use "naughty words" doesn't quite cut it with a five year old.   So what I learnt in a not so pleasant way, is if we as parents don't live what we preach, our words will fall on deaf ears and possibly create rebellious hearts.  It is vital we impress our principles and values on our kids, and talk genuinely about them.  Our kids won't catch the truth by osmosis.  We have to talk, and not in monotones that they'll tune out, but in natural language, at natural times and in natural ways.  Like when you're kicking the ball around the back yard, reading a book or eating dinner.  Even while indulging in some iKiFit!

Unless there was an instruction manual that I missed out on at child birth, it's pretty certain we will make mistakes along our parenthood road.  Kids are kids.  We create boundaries, they test them.. and test them and test them.  But kids are resilient, and we just have to be consistent and fair in our discipline, teach our principles and overall let them know we love them.  

Equipping our kids is tough work, especially when we're not perfect ourselves.  But I think as long as we're genuine about what we believe in, our morals, and in teaching right from wrong, our kids will be empowered to be the best they can be.  

 - Thoughts by Honorable Hayley (iKi Team Member)