Winchester Village Elementary School
Everybody Say “GAGA!”
Every year, we take our fifth grade students to a YMCA summer camp in the Fall Semester. What we observe is spectacular. Many of our students who struggle in the classroom setting begin to thrive in the active outdoor environment. This grant proposal will help fund the need for outdoor student activity here at our school.
Currently, we serve a population that needs direction for organized activities. Not many of our students sign up for team sports outside of the educational experience, and as a result, we need more direct guidance and opportunities to explore physical activity. Currently, recess is a free-for-all with a limited amount of equipment and a large number of students in need of direction. Gaga (and I don’t mean Lady Gaga) is here to help.
Gaga is an Israeli dodgeball game that is taking the nation by storm at summer camps around the U.S. This is a fast-paced, safe form of dodgeball where 30 or more can play at a time. The thrill of competition and enthusiasm is contagious. The game is played in a large octagon with a two ft. wall and one single dodgeball. The ball is rolled on the ground and is batted by the players in an “everyone for themselves” type of way. If the ball is batted out of the octagon, then that player is out. If the ball hits off of another player from the knee down, then the player that was hit is out of the game.
The game promotes cooperation, communication, conflict resolution, physical activity, and leadership.