Children struggling in physical education class come to dread three stern words from their coach commanding them: take a lap. But that’s a phrase they’ll never hear from P.E. coach Joelle Newman at Wrightsville Beach School.
“I don’t want to use exercise as a punishment, I want to make physical activity fun,” said Newman, who was recently honored with a statewide teaching award. “If it’s not fun, they’re not going to do it later in life.”
Since she started teaching physical education at Wrightsville Beach School three years ago, her goal has been to pass along knowledge and healthy habits that her students will not only use now, but throughout their lives.
“I just want them to remember this,” she said of her teachings. “I want it to be a positive experience.”
To recognize her efforts, the school’s Parent Teacher Association nominated her for the North Carolina PTA’s Heroes and Helpers Award this year, a statewide honor recognizing one school employee who has helped strengthen partnerships between the family and school that benefit students’ success and wellbeing.
Newman was awarded the honor during a May 21 ceremony.
“We’re not surprised,” WBS PTA president Allison McWhorter said, “but we’re overwhelmed and grateful that out of all the educators in North Carolina, she was chosen as a hero, because she truly is one to our students and parents.”
McWhorter said the school’s PTA nominated Newman because she goes well beyond her role as a P.E. teacher.
“It’s not stuff that’s required by the county or state,” McWhorter said. “She does it to encourage the kids and to let them see their full potential.”
Newman arrives early to school every day to supervise a running club she created to let the children “get the wiggles out” before sitting in class. While the students get to release some energy, the club offers benefits for Newman, too.
“I get to see the kids on more of a personal level versus when I’m teaching them,” she said.
Knowing the students personally is part of her teaching style. Newman knows every child’s name and capabilities, McWhorter said, and she motivates them throughout the year to improve, even if it’s “doing 10 sit-ups at the beginning of the year and improving to 11 at the end of the year.”
She has also brought a fresh perspective to annual events like the school’s Fun Day, held toward the end of every school year to help students play games and exercise. She has given the event a different theme every year — this year, because it fell on Earth Day, she planned all the activities with an environmental theme.
Her concern for her students’ wellbeing extends beyond their performance in P.E., McWhorter added. Newman approached the PTA for funding one day because she noticed the basketballs and soccer balls the children used during recess were flat.
“She’s constantly thinking about the kids and how to support them throughout the day,” McWhorter said.
Part of that support is teaching them both physical and mental health. She earned a psychology degree with the intention of becoming a sports psychologist but once she started teaching P.E. she realized she had found something that just came naturally.
“It was easy for me,” she said, adding that despite the extra hours and effort she puts in, “I don’t have to work at it.”
So the children get a dose of psychology — and even anatomy — during physical education. Newman gives them a weekly fit tip and they learn about sunscreen use, nutrition, calories, heart rate, sleep and peer pressure. Newman’s lessons also include a muscle or bone of the month through which, she said, “the students learn about it and start to see how their body works.”
She also teaches the students healthy habits by example and positive reinforcement. She lives on Wrightsville Beach so she frequently sees her students outside of the classroom.
“I’ll make a conscious effort to be like, ‘Hey, I saw you out running the loop this weekend or riding your bike,’” she said.
WBS foundation president Beth Adams’ son Bo is a second grader at the school, and she said he and his friends look up to Newman.
“Bo will say, ‘Coach Newman says we should eat fruit,’” she said. “And these are little kids, so she’s instilling making healthy choices at an early age.”
And if the students don’t run into Newman while they’re out exercising, they make sure to tell her about it at school the next day. Newman said that’s the most rewarding part of her job.
“They want to share with me some exercise activity they did over the weekend, and they’re so excited because they know I’ll be proud of them, they just light up,” she said.
The students’ attention to her healthy lifestyle only has one slight downside, Newman joked, concerning the distribution of home-baked teacher gifts.
“The teachers will sometimes get cookies from the kids, but they won’t give them to me,” she said, laughing. “I’m like, ‘I still like cookies!’”
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