Over the past few months, there have been many changes with the physical education classes than there usually is at St. Robert School. Recently, the yoga teacher, Mrs. Steinberg, had and, therefore, was not able to teach classes. Mrs. Steinberg was new this year, filling in to teach yoga during gym, something specifically designed for students  because of Covid 19. The physical education teacher, Mr. Jefferson, from previous years had to step away from St. Robert for personal reasons. Though at first students hoped he would be able to return later in the year, he is unfortunately not expected to be coming back. While Mrs Steinberg has been away, students have had extra study halls to work on their work from other classes, teachers have taken kids outside to play, and a former St. Robert parent / soccer coach stepped in to run soccer drills.

While Mrs. Steinberg was gone, some students like the study hall while others missed yoga and physical education. Eighth grade student Nathan likes the extra study hall period. He speaks on the topic and says, “I think it is a good way to get some extra work done and catch up on anything that I missed.” Another eighth grade student, Jane, misses physical activity but doesn’t necessarily mind the study hall that many middle school classes were getting in place of gym. She says, “I like having an extra study hall some days but I think gym is beneficial and sometimes fun.” While a study hall is a very useful time for students to get their work done without the stress of having to do it at home, physical activity is equally important for students of all ages who need some time to get their body moving. Many teachers, especially those who teach the younger children, opted to take the students outside for gym. Teachers gave up their prep time to make sure students received the exercise they craved.

While there was no physical education teacher, Mr. Harwood, whose children all graduated from St. Robert, stepped in to get students exercise they needed. Mr. Harwood who is a soccer coach, ran students through scrimmaging as well as many different soccer drills to keep everyone active. Stepping in as a temporary soccer coach was a very kind of him especially since he currently has no children at the school, sacrificing his time for the students of St. Robert when he didn’t necessarily have to. Many students also appreciated his help, for eighth grader Jane says she thought, “Mr. Harwood was very nice and I had a lot of fun playing soccer with him.” The teachers definitely appreciated the help as well! 

While there have been many shifts to gym class this year,, there will be newfound stability since two new gym teachers are coming to St. Robert! Mr. and Mrs. Andersen are coming to be the new physical education teachers. They will be splitting the job between the two of them while also continuing to run their own fitness business. One of them will be working in the morning, and the other in the afternoon. Mr. Andersen was formerly working as a police officer and he co-owns the coaching service Achieve Physical Fitness with his wife. Mrs. Andersen was also works as a coach at Achieve Physical Fitness. They are both experienced personal trainers and are ready to start working at St. Robert. The students are also very excited to have a new start with their gym teachers after saying goodbye to Mrs. Steinberg Mr. Harwood, and Mr. Jefferson.

Mrs. Steinberg, Mr. Harwood, and Mr. Jefferson were very great teachers and contributed to the school in different ways. Ms. Steinberg was a great yoga teacher, a calming but rigorous exercise especially helpful during these crazy times. Mr. Jefferson is a great active and sports teacher, who has inspired kids at St. Robert for many years. While students are not always pleased with having to deal with change, there is hope that the Andersens can bring new life to the school.