Mr. Fraser is one of our Physical Education [P.E] teachers at Chickering School. We thought it would be a great experience to interview him. He has been teaching for 3 years, so this would be his 4th year.

We were curious to know why Mr. Fraser wanted to teach Phys. Ed. He relayed that he asked himself what he enjoyed. He said he likes to be active and always loved P.E. He tries to make fun activities like the March Madness tournament (as in basketball) so that we can have fun and love Physical Education as much as he does.

We inquired of Mr. Fraser, “Do you think Physical Education is an important part of the school curriculum, if so why?” He replied, he thought it was. He said “more and more kids are staying inside and not moving as much.” It’s also a way to get more active and get exposed to new activities such as sports that some people may not understand. This way, if we want to play a certain sport on our own time, we know all the rules of how to play.

Most kids have a favorite activity to play in the gym. We quizzed Mr. Fraser on his favorite activities to do with students. He stated that he enjoyed Cone Knockdown for all ages. Cone Knockdown is a game in which you have a cone and you try to defend it and knock down other peoples’ cones at the same time. If your cone is knocked over you are out and have to wait in line until someone else’s cone gets knocked over. Another game he liked to play with older kids is Wonderball. It is a special game that he made up with one class that he was teaching. He and another teacher didn’t have much equipment for that class. He only had 3 balls and 2 basketball hoops. Wonderball is played with three balls that you throw or kick. When the game starts, you kick the ball so someone catches it in their hands or they can drop it and dribble it. There are goals, basketball hoops or a taped space on a wall where you try to shoot the ball. Usually there’s a goalie and people try to block the other team’s shot. If the ball makes it past the goalie or the defenders then they get a point. Mr. Fraser has many great activities for us to play.

We were interested to know what Mr. Fraser wanted to change or add to his classes.  He replied that he would like to have more time with his older classes because every other week we have two gym classes and every other week we have one class. Also, with regard to time, he wishes he could have a full hour with his classes instead of just 40 minutes.  Mr. Fraser also believes that the P.E. teachers need more time between classes to set up. We agree with Mr. Fraser and we should have hour-long Phys. Ed. classes.

We investigated why we don’t have more gym classes outdoors. Our P.E. teacher said, we don’t do as many  P.E. classes outside because of Mr. Fraser’s allergies. Also, because we can’t use the playgrounds that are just outside the school, due to recess. If we wanted to go outside, we have to use the lower Chickering Fields and if someone got hurt we would have to carry the injured person all the way to the nurse’s office, which would be a challenge.

We asked our teacher if he liked working in two schools. He replied only saying that he liked seeing “his students continue to grow”, and looking forward to seeing the new sixth graders next year and his first class become 8th graders. Also that he gets to see them almost every day, which is great.

We invited Mr. Fraser to share with us why he thinks a Sqord is beneficial for students. Sqords are a fitness watch for kids that we use in our school to get active. He replied, it helps kids track their movement and you can see what kind of sports get your fitness level up the most. You get lots of points for moving and get ranked by how many “activity points” you have in your class. This fitness watch works for both Mr. Fraser, and the third, fourth, and fifth graders who have the option to purchase this watch available to them. This fitness watch excites kids (and teachers) to get active.

We solicited of Mr. Fraser what he enjoyed to do in his free time.  He remarked he loved all kinds of sports and watches all sports videos. He excels at lacrosse, and enjoys playing too. He chills out by playing some video games at home.

We understand after hearing his answers why he likes P.E. We also love Wonderball as well as he does. We agree with Mr. Fraser with his wish that classes could be an hour long. It’s clear, we love Phys. Ed. as much as Mr. Fraser.

Reported by Alia, Ollie and Thanos