Greetings all Arizona Health and Physical Education members and teachers,
I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful Thanksgiving break, spending precious time with family and friends. Coming back to school after such a break is tough, but we only have a short few weeks before the end of the fall semester. Hard to believe it is almost 2025!
A big thank you to all of you who attended our most recent state convention held at the Mesa Convention Center. We have not held a convention in Mesa for several years so this was a new experience for many of us. If you haven’t already done so, please fill out the convention survey that was sent out before the break. We truly want to hear your feedback so we can be sure to make next year’s convention bigger and better! You should have also received an email with a link to your professional development hours. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].
As the new president, I am asking each and everyone of you to advocate for our profession by inviting one teacher who did not attend the convention this year, to attend next year. Maybe even advocate for our profession by inviting several colleagues to become members of Arizona Health and Physical Education. After all, an organization is only as strong as its members.
I quote from one of our past presidents, Lynn Preble:
“One goal of our organization is to provide appropriate and quality professional development for health and physical education teachers across the state. But, we also are in the business of advocacy. We advocate for our field at both the state and national level, helping to ensure our field is not marginalized and receives the respect and recognition it deserves. The Arizona Health and Physical Education Board and Committee Chairs are all physical education teachers and serve as volunteers for the organization. There is a lot of work that goes into maintaining the integrity of the organization, but all of us are passionate about our profession and ensuring the flame doesn’t go out. As recent events have shown, we all have to advocate for our respective fields. If we don’t tell our stories, someone else will, and it most likely will be wrong. I know all subject areas have their own professional organization. Math has the Arizona Association of Teachers of Math, Social Studies has Arizona Council for Social Studies and the National Council for Social Studies. Band ABODA and AMEA. I can go on. It is important for all subject area teachers to be a part of their professional organization”.
So how can I become part of the organization? I’m so glad that you asked. Once you become a member (and let’s face it, our price for membership is literally the lowest of all state organizations), you can join one of the many committees we have that keep our organization going. You can choose from following committees:
- Advocacy
- Adapted Physical Education
- Best Practices
- Partnership
- Public relations/Marketing
- Future Professionals (mostly for students)
If you want more information on joining a committee, please email me at [email protected] and I will be sure to get you in touch with that committee chair. You can also join us at our fourth quarter board meeting on December 14th at the Mesa Public Library starting at 9:30am. If you plan on attending, please send me a quick email so we’re sure to have enough seats.
You can also advocate for our profession by sending out information about our organization. Send a link for AZHPE (www.azhpe.org) to your administration, to your department chairs, to your PTOs and PTAs, to your colleagues…getting the word out and encouraging others to join is the best way to show the public that physical education is an important – the most important – subject for our students!
In the meantime, stay tuned for information about upcoming professional development opportunities. Our goal this year is to provide more opportunities throughout the year at various locations around the state.
Be well and stay safe!
Sincerely,
Jennifer Houston
Dr. Jennifer Houston
President AzHPE 2024-2025
Past President AzHPE 2020-2021