Building a Positive Community Inside and Outside the Classroom: ERHS Intramurals

Professional Inquiry Project

Katelyn Perlich & Shane Hawke
University of Lethbridge
Selected focus of the PIP project:
How do intramurals encourage a positive school community and benefit student well-being?
Our goal for this project was to create a self-sufficient intramural program that promotes
a positive school community and benefits student well-being. Erle Rivers High School has
students ranging from grade 6-12, and we were interested to see how the school community
could be improved through an intramural program. We wanted to encourage students to remain
on the school grounds and contribute to the overall feel of the school. While this was our main
focus, we were also interested in seeing an improvement in the attention and engagement level of
students after they have played intramurals. The majority of our early research indicated that
students benefit academically from physical activity because they come back to class focused
and awake. Intramurals also provides a setting where students learn to interact and learn from
their experiences to respond appropriately in social settings (Everhart, 44)
This project did have another underlying goal that we feel was met through the intramural
program. When we started our practicum we were aware that we may become very involved in
the classes we teach, but will miss out on building relationships with students that are not
directly in our classes. The intramural program not only encouraged us to get to know students
that we do not teach, but it also spurred an interest in extra-curricular activities. Now we are both
involved in coaching basketball and helping around the school wherever we can.
Method:
Our interest in starting an intramural program began while we were taking a Physical
Education for Non-Majors course with Danny Balderson over the summer. When we found out
we were in the same school for our practicum placement the idea seemed like the right fit. Both
of us are interested in the positive effects of physical activity and promoting a healthy lifestyle
intramurals supported both of these interests. Danny emphasized the importance of encouraging
all students to be physically active, and giving them a safe space to do so. This idea made us
think about how intramurals could help promote a positive school community as well.
Once we were approved for our inquiry we set to work. Our early research insisted that
all intramurals should be student oriented, offering a wide variety of activities (Tenoschock
30). We both taught a grade 9 CTF course, so we used this opportunity to help frame the
intramurals as a student led projectwe also wanted as much student input as possible to help
make this a successful project. The grade 9s worked closely with us to develop rules, present our
plan to the Principal, advertising, and deciding activities. These assignments gave them great
opportunities and also helped us get some student input into our intramural program. Because we
worked in collaboration with the students instead of directly instructing students what to do, they
took ownership and pride in the project which was great to see.
The first intramural activity was Doe Ballstudents were immediately intrigued because
no one had ever really heard of it and it is named after one of the more respected teachers at the

school. Though we were a bit concerned about the age range, the students were very respectful
and looked out for one other while playing competitively. Everyone was invited to come and
participateit was important for us to ensure that every student had equal opportunity (Everhart,
44).
However, we did run into a few issues in our first few weeks of intramurals. Some
students were not showing up for their teams and we had to grab students out of the bleachers to
help even the teams. Not only did this disrupt the teams that we had created to ensure a fair
game, it also did not contribute to our goal of creating a positive school community.
After this bump in our PIP, we decided that individual games, or games without needing
teams would be more effective. So, when we started the basketball intramurals the activities
focused on games like Bump, or 21 Cones. This way everyone that wanted to be involved could
be, they didnt have to wait for their team to play.
We held intramurals twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday, and had the gym open for
anyone to come and play or watch. Not long after implementing intramurals the gym was filled
with students eating their lunch and watching the gameseven the high school students that
rolled their eyes at Doe Ball, were interested and came to participate. They gym became a used
space that gave students an outlet to be active and social with their peersno matter the grade.
Even other teachers were stopping in at lunch to watch intramurals.
Results:
In the end our Professional Inquiry Project was successful. We had an increase in the
amount of students who remained on school grounds to participate in intramurals and speaking
from experience (hearing about intramurals in our classes after lunch) the students were always
engaged in the activities and excited to tell, whoever would listen, about their triumphs.
Although they were worked up after intramurals, it didnt take long for them to settle down and
begin work. They were focused on the tasks in class and it gave them something to talk about
with every studentnot just the people in their class.
Allowing students food in the gym added to the success of our program. We discussed the
issue of a 30-minute lunch period with many of the staff and decided that trusting the students to
clean up after themselves in the gym at lunch would give them more time to eat and play. The
students have been very conscientious of this privilege and we have had no issues of a messy
gym after lunch. This gives teachers and students the opportunity to come and watch intramurals
which the majority of the school body does. We promote a fun and positive atmosphere in
intramurals by having adult supervision and referees. This way there is no argument in the
games, only light-hearted competitive banter which we found increased the engagement in the
games and promoted a solid school community. A grade 6 student can easily talk with the grade
10 students on their team through intramurals, which makes both feel more accepted/accepting of
their peers.
While we do not have a self-sufficient intramural programas supervision is of the
utmost importance in providing a safe spacewe believe these intramurals will continue.
Having an open-gym/activities instead of strict organized sports, eliminates the need to plan
specific activities, teams, and playoffs. Also, because we have so much support from the staff,
supervision should not be an issuethere are often 3-4 teachers in the gym just coming to watch
the games.
In the end, we would agree that intramurals provide an opportunity for positive school
engagement. It allows students who do not play organized sports, or do not have PE in their
semester, an outlet for physical activity. They have fun, stay active, and meet different students in

the school. There is always an air of positivity after intramurals that encourages students and
teachers to keep intramurals at lunch.

Works Cited
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