Day One-what a treat!

Today bright and early...did I mention it was bright and early when I started the day! As a fellow we were asked to help out at registration this morning. I had such a good time meeting those that I found name tags for. I was blown away by the distance that many traveled. There were 17 from one district that came for the conference and several internationally. WOW, is that I kept saying...that and "Welcome to NC...so glad to have you."

The first Keynote speaker was Jean Blades. She did a great job and had the research to back it up! So much knowledge. I got to chat with her afterwards about somethings. She was a doll and so personable.

I went to a breakout session this morning that was a town hall meeting. It was on Adapted PE...so glad to know that I am not alone in this area. We are making progress in our district and I found out that we are moving in the right direction. Such good news! After that session I was approached from several in the group that were very encouraging! So cool.

Chip Candy was up next! I always make sure to catch his sessions. So energetic..we do have to work on getting his music on an itunes account. The man is still using cd's to run his music. Come on Chip! You can do it!

After lunch it was off to another Adapted PE session. Great modification ideas for adapted assessment were shared. Good stuff! The presenter also had great examples of adapted equipment. I loved this soccer ball.

The final keynote speaker for the day was. Dr. George Graham. Now let me first say if you know anything about physical education you will recognize this name. Dr. Graham is the founder of pecentral. He was the guru of PE at Virginia Tech (Go Hokies). Today he gave a great 6 pt message on what physical education needs to be. Well, at the end we watched him walk off the stage for the last time. It was quite emotional. He received a standing ovation and I was on the front row for it all. Such a special moment for me! He shared that leaving his 'shoes on the mat' for the last time was a symbol of his exit. Quite emotional if you must know.

Last night I did not sleep well so I am calling it an early night. My final thoughts of today: At one point today I had an overwhelming feeling of being totally blessed. Being here at the Institute with people that "get what I do" is a rare thing. You have to really attend a conference or workshop for PE teachers to understand what I am saying. So often I sit through workshops and have to advocate for my program. Not today, I was in a auditorium where if I were to advocate I would be preaching to the choir. It was so nice to be in sessions that were the nicest, kindest, energetic people in the country. Today was just an overwhelming sense of blessings to be able to attend this National Institute.


Here are a couple of pictures that I have taken around the hotel and area. Enjoy!