Eating
Living
Did you know, not all
chocolate is bad for you?
This holiday season, try
reaching for dark instead
of milk chocolate to
satisfy your sweet tooth!
Even though it’s loaded
with good nutrition,
moderation is key!
Words of
WISDOM
Those who don’t
make time for
EXERCISE will
eventually need to
make time for
ILLNESS!
Upcoming
Events
Dec. 10 – Kent Christmas
Rush 5k & 10k
Dec. 17 – 1st Day of
Winter Break
Jan. 2 – Last Day of
Winter Break
Mar. ? – F.I.T. Day
(Elementary)
“Mr. D” (Tigran Davtyan) seen here stamping students’ cards during Madrona Elementary’s
running club, which takes place every morning before school.
It Works if You Work It: School Routines
By James Roach
With every new start of the school year comes the establishment of new classroom routines
and procedures. Whether these routines are new to the teachers or simply reused from last
year, they are “new” to the students.
As students go into “Vacation Mode” during Summer Vacation, certain habits established
during the prior school year quickly wear off. It should then be no surprise when students
struggle to start up and get back into “Student Mode” during the new school year.
Once norms for classroom procedures are established, students don’t have try as hard to
follow order. Like Nike’s motto, in theory, they “Just do it!” Like brushing your teeth, you do it
often and consistently enough and you get to the point where you don’t have to think about
doing it anymore. You just do it!
So with Winter Break knocking on our door, I encourage you to keep working on your school
routines through this break and into the New Year! These routines I speak of include the
following: getting 8hrs of sleep, eating 3 balanced meals and exercising 60 minutes a day. Of
course, school routines include more than just the physical. While you may take a break from
the daily intellectual, social & emotional wellness habits followed during school, your body will
thank you come January if you stick to the physical aspect of your school routines.
Remember, they work if you work them and if you don’t they won’t!
CONTACT US: 206.631.0000 • [email protected]
VISIT US: www.highlineschools.org/SHAPE
FOLLOW US on TWITTER: @SHAPEhighline
SHAPE HIGHLINE
PE Spotlight:
Tigran Davtyan
You may not need to sleep as much as Garfield is seen doing here but sometimes
there is nothing we would rather be doing. If sleep is on your mind all day, perhaps
you are not getting enough sleep at night!
How Much Sleep Do I Need?
By James Roach
You may have heard that you need 8 hours of sleep every night. You may have
also been told that you need 8 glasses of water a day. But if you are like me,
you understand that one size does not fit all. A 200lb male needs more water
than a 100lb male, just as a long distance runner needs more water than a
golfer.
So before deciding how much sleep you really need, you need to ask yourself
two questions. What time do I have to wake up and how active am I?
A general rule of thumb is that the more physically active you are, the more
sleep you need. Sleep plays a critical role in the rebuilding of muscle tissue. By
determining what time you wake up, you can plan your day out so that tasks
that require a lot of thought process get completed before you have been awake
for 15 hours. Studies have shown that after we have been awake for about
15hrs, our judgement or decision making skills tend to wear down. With this
leaving about 9 hours in the day, it is best to take to activities that are calming
like reading a book, or better yet, SLEEP!
Mr. Davtyan "Mr. D", has been
working in the Highline School
District since 2000 and has been at
Madrona Elementary since 2003.
Originally from Armenia, he began
his teaching career in 1986 and
moved to the U.S. in 1992.
In college, Mr. D excelled as a
freestyle wrestler and used this as
a way to get into coaching at the
high school, club and college
levels.
At Madrona, Mr. D founded the
before school running program. It
started off as “morning exercise” as
a way for kids to get out of the rain
and cold while waiting for school to
start. Then when the school had a
new track put in, he expanded it
outdoors. While students still gather
in the gym for morning exercise on
rainy days, the running club
impacts the entire school, 180 days
a year!
Quick 5:
Try This @ Home!
> Modified Push-ups
Favorite food? Meat
Do you want to have a
stronger core but cannot do
good push-ups? Find a bench
or sturdy platform and try
incline push-ups. Challenge
yourself to do as many as
you can during a commercial
break when watching TV!
Favorite PE activity:
Team Handball
Favorite sport? Wrestling
If you were not a PE teacher,
what would you be? Archeologist


Back straight.
Hands spread slightly more
than shoulder width apart
Best advice: Be appreciative for
all your teachers do for you.