LINCOLN (SNR) – During the COVID-19 pandemic, physical education teacher Mrs. Roxanne Richter at St. Peter School in Lincoln has used every opportunity to get students outside for PE classes, according to principal Sister Mary Michael.
In fact, she said, the only ‘indoor’ PE days, for the most part, have been when it rained.
“We are blessed with plenty of outdoor space at St. Peter’s,” Mrs. Richter said. “If I can get the students outside, and over 6 feet apart, we get to take our mask off. I have been doing that every chance I can.”
The outdoor PE classes Dec. 15 and 17 were particularly memorable when the PE classes were outside in the snow.
“I love promoting exercise in many different ways,” Mrs. Richter explained, and she said the students “absolutely loved it.”
“The excitement here took off when children began to arrive for school,” Sister Mary Michael said.
The students arrived with sleds, snow pants and boots. They dropped their items in the gymnasium in the morning, and the colorful gear awaited PE time.
“Mrs. Richter had extra supplies on hand for those who forgot, so there was not a sad face in the crowd,” Sister Mary Michael said.
Mrs. Richter said the parents were also grateful for the fun experience for their children. In the note sent home to inform families about the plans, Richter apologized in advance for sending home a bag of wet clothes on the snow days, but no one complained. The two snow classes were held two days apart to give the snow gear time to dry in between.
Mrs. Richter called the snowy P.E. classes a “group effort.”
“God provided the snow, the parents and kids helped out with organization, and I took over with execution,” she said.
As part of the school’s COVID-19 protocols, “special” classes are held daily, in two-week rotations. The school serves more than 300 students, so the class rotations limit the specials teachers and students to working with a smaller group each two-week period. Richter said each class had about 16 students.
“Hopefully,” she said, “God will provide more opportunities for us” to give the other students some snow-day fun, as well.
