At St Peters, we care about the complete development of our students. Rather than just focusing on their academic performance, musical abilities, or sporting prowess, we seek to go beyond—to really drill into the finer details and life skills so that our students can emerge as well-rounded, functioning adults.
How do we do this? From Prep to Year 12, St Peters is proud to provide a range of programs that focus on specific skill development. One of these is the Perceptual Motor Program (PMP): a program that develops the gross motor skills of Prep to Year 3 students at St Peters Indooroopilly.
Why PMP?
Gross motor skills are larger movements made with arms, legs and feet. They enable children to perform everyday functions, like walking, running, climbing and skipping. The PMP, at St Peters, focuses on the development of these skills, encouraging students to get active and have fun as they perfect essential movements.
Key initiatives of PMP
Bike On Day is a key initiative of the St Peters PMP. It is the brainchild of PMP Teacher, Sally Hannah and is run for Year 2 students.
“[Bike On Day] originally started when I noticed how poor some of the children’s balance was. Some of the children couldn’t walk along a balance beam, which is an indication that their proprioception, balance and audio-balance is underdeveloped.”
Sally also noticed that, due to an increase in apartment-based living and both parents working long hours, there was a decline in opportunities for children to learn how to ride a bicycle. To address all of these issues, she enlisted the help of Bike On—a Noosaville-based organisation that offers bike hire, tours and education.
Since 2012, Bike On have been administering the program at St Peters (typically over one day on Stolz Oval in Term 3). They provide:
- Bikes and helmets (for students who don’t have their own)
- Road safety lessons
- Helmet fitting tutorials
- Basic bicycle maintenance
- Instructions on how to use hand signals
- Information about the laws around riding in parks, on footpaths and on roads
Benefits of Bike On Day
The benefits of Bike On Day are many. Students who can already ride are offered the opportunity to hone their existing skills, while those who’ve never ridden can enjoy the benefits of professional, one-on-one coaching! Overall balance is improved; children can learn while being outside, having fun; and, because the lessons take place on the oval, leg strength is also developed (students need to pedal harder on grass compared to bitumen).
“Bike On Day is an important part of PMP,” Sally told us, “because balance is one of the most fundamental movements. It’s been a great success. The children love it and the change in their confidence is lovely to see.”
To learn more about the programs and initiatives that take place at St Peters, click here: https://www.stpeters.qld.edu.au/indooroopilly-school.