Climbing Wall takes PE program to a new level

There’s a new mountain at Windsor Middle School, and staff and
students have already named it Mount Whitney.
Named after P.E. teacher Xerxes Whitney, brand new climbing wall
has been assembled in the Middle School gym. The school is throwing
a party this Friday, Feb. 27, at 6 p.m. to celebrate the completion
of the new wall, and is inviting the public to give it a try. For
$5, climbers will have a shot at scaling the 22-foot-high vertical
surface, and will be supporting the Windsor Boosters Club at the
same time.
The climbing wall is part of the school’s physical education
program. “It provides new, challenging opportunities for students
at Windsor Middle School,” Whitney said.
Students receive training in safety procedures and climbing
technique before beginning to scale the wall, and parents must sign
a liability form that explains the risks of climbing.
Most parents have already submitted the form, and students have
been climbing for the past four weeks without incident.
Whitney brought the idea to the middle school in 2000 after he
did his student teaching at Kenilworth Junior High School in
Petaluma. Kenilworth has a climbing wall, and it’s been a big
success.
“It’s a very integral part of our program,” said Kenilworth P.E.
teacher Nancy Janeck. “We use it to teach life skills and
cooperation. A lot of kids don’t know each other at the beginning
of the year. It really brings the classes together. The kids learn
how to trust each other.”
Parents will be happy to learn that there have been no serious
accidents on the Kenilworth wall since it opened in the
mid-1990’s.
Windsor Middle School students like their wall. “It’s fun,” said
sixth-grader Kaiti Carnation. “I’ve climbed on a climbing wall
before, but it feels different in our gym. I think it adds a lot
more to our P.E. program.”
Classmate Kellie Wise agreed. “I also think it adds more spice
to our P.E. program,” she said.
Heather Mumby, who teaches P.E. alongside Whitney, is already
impressed with her students. “I had some kids who you would have
thought would have had a fear factor,” she said. “They made it
right up. It’s a real encouragement for the kids. They really have
a great time.”
Mumby believes the climbing adds to P.E. curriculums, which
historically have focused on traditional sports such as basketball
and football.
“We try to diversify to more life activities,” she said. “This
is great. It teaches them something different.”
In order to build the wall, Whitney had to convince the school
principal that it was safe, and he had to raise $10,000.
Convincing Principal Loren Barker wasn’t hard. “One, I thought
‘what a cool idea,'” said Barker, recalling his first conversation
with Whitney four years ago. “Two, I wanted to know who else had
done it, and what was the history.”
Whitney sold the idea to the district and raised the money. The
wall was first opened for students last month. It was a big event
after years of planning and fundraising.
“If you have a vision, and are willing to work for it, things
can get done,” said Whitney.