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Health and Physical Education Advisor Position Reinstated at the Pennsylvania Department of Education

Health and Physical Education Advisor Position Reinstated at the Pennsylvania Department of Education

SHAPE PA would like to congratulate Nicholas Slotterback on returning to his position as the Health and Physical Education Advisor at the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Nick held this position from 2016 to 2019 until he was moved to the Office for Safe Schools at PDE as Safe Schools Coordinator. In 2022, Nick was reinstated as the HPED advisor position.  

Nick graduated from Lock Haven University and received his Master’s Degree in Education. Nick taught elementary and middle school health and physical education from 2005 to 2016 in the Midd-West School District where he also served as the Curriculum Coordinator of Health and Physical Education. In addition to teaching, Nick coached JV basketball at Midd-West and Lewisburg Area School District as well as Varsity Track and Field at Lewisburg Area School District. Nick also served as an Educational Consultant for Playworld Play Systems from 2006 to 2018.

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SAVE THE DATE! We are BACK at Spooky Nook!

We are BACK!

Can you believe it's been over two months since we last gathered for our state conference?! We cannot wait to reconnect at Spooky Nook Sports this December 1st and 2nd for our 101 annual state conference. Before we do, we need your help! We want to ensure the conference and professional development we provide is everything you expect it to be. There are two ways to share your feedback with us:

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We are Headed to Seven Springs!

We are Headed to Seven Springs!

 As our organization celebrates its 100th year, we are taking time to pause, focus and celebrate. The landscape of Health and Physical Education has been challenged and changed drastically in recent times and is more than ever a priority needed in our schools. After two school years of navigating this new landscape, we are more than ever grateful to celebrate our teachers, membership, and those who have served our organization.

So, are you ready to join us in person to celebrate?!

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Finding The Summit

Finding The Summit

By definition a summit is:

  1. the highest point of a hill or mountain.
  2. the highest attainable level of achievement.
  3. a meeting between people who are interested in the same subject.

When we tried to think of a name for the relaunch of our professional journal, it only seemed fitting that after a year of what seemed like uphill climbing, we landed on the name, The Summit. While we saw metaphors in the first two parts of the definition, we had our “A-HA!” moment with the third...a meeting between people interested in the same subject. Over 6,300 of you supported our efforts in advocating for Health and Physical Education this year when proposed legislation threatened to cut programs in lieu of athletic substitution. Hundreds of teachers join us monthly, (virtually!) while watching live webinars, or catching up with the recordings later. For the past 100 years, HPE teachers have rallied together at our conferences and workshops to ensure they have access to the most up-to practices, content, and resources to continue their own professional growth. So yes, The Summit just felt right.

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The Future for Future Professionals!

SHAPE PA is excited to announce a new committee designed to meet the needs of our future professional members! The Future Professionals Advisory Committee (FPAC) is composed of a student representative from five Pennsylvania universities with Health and Physical Education teacher preparation programs; East Stroudsburg University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Lock Haven University, Slippery Rock University, and West Chester University.

Members of this committee will serve as liaisons between SHAPE PA and their universities. Their duties include monthly zoom meetings, reporting back to their universities, creating professional development opportunities for our future professionals through SHAPE PA, and assisting in projects and tasks assigned by the SHAPE PA Board of Directors (BOD).

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How Could We Ever Thank You?

As teachers, we constantly have little reminders that remind us why we do what we do. An email from a former student now pursuing a degree in education because of you. A handmade card from a student. A phone call from a parent thanking you for the support and encouragement you gave their child. Those little moments have BIG impacts. 

As we were gearing up to launch our online learning series, we wanted to find a way to say THANK YOU to you, our membership for standing by. As an organization, we've faced a lot of challenges and changes. You were there with us through it all.  

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Getting Our Act [48] Together

Getting our Act [48] Together

The long wait is over, we are ready to roll out our 2021 Professional Learning Series! We've said it once and we'll say it again. We MISSED you. We missed our in-person gatherings, celebrations, learning, and socials. Despite the virtual shift we've all had to make, we are committed to providing you will opportunities to not only learn but earn Act 48 hours as well. 

Thanks to our NEW partnership with The Northwest Tri-County Intermediate Unit 5, Act 48 processing is now online, fast and simple. 

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New Year begins with Last Year's Lessons

If anything we learned anything in that year that shall remain nameless, it’s fair to say we learned A LOT, and perhaps, are still processing those lessons. One big take-away as an organization we have is the gratitude for those teachers, former board members, and volunteers who helped us get here. Where is here you may ask? To our 100th year!!! It’s time to celebrate (big time!) our past, present and keep building a strong future. So guess what? We are going to do just that. 

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20/20 Vision

Oh, the irony that a rollercoaster of a year marked 2020 shares the same numbers as what ophthalmologists use to mark normal vision, 20/20. 

I don’t know about you, but personally, for me looking back on the past 4-ish months I somehow feel that time has flown and it’s also stood still. How is that possible? 

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