PE Teacher of Year Adds Variety, Value to Physical Education

Sappington’s Elementary School physical education (PE) teacher, Mary Driemeyer, received the Missouri Elementary PE Teacher of the Year Award for 2011 from the Missouri Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. She is qualified to be in the running for the Central District Elementary and Missouri PE Teacher of the Year honors.

“I was flattered when I found out I had been chosen, because there are so many fantastic PE teachers out there doing great things,” Driemeyer said. “I was very surprised.”

Driemeyer’s enthusiastic and creative approach to physical education helps students discover new activities they can enjoy for a lifetime.

Since her start at the school in 1993, her classes have participated in a variety of fun activities including juggling, walking on stilts and learning the mechanics of casting a fishing line. Students also learned their Alaskan buddy school’s favorite sport, “trash ball,” which teaches passing and shooting skills to put a ball into a trash can.

“Mary is an exceptional teacher and person who is always looking for innovative ways to help her students and make Sappington Elementary School the best learning institution that it can be,” Principal Craig Hamby said. “She is a leader in instruction, integration of technology and character education, and I can think of no one more deserving of such a prestigious award.”

PE classes have changed drastically since the days when Driemeyer was a student. She was an overweight but athletic child and remembers feeling stressed and embarrassed to perform skill tests in front of her peers. She vowed to never make her students feel self-conscious but rather focus on self-improvement.

Driemeyer credits much of her professional growth to fellow PE teacher Chris Thomson, who team teaches with her at Sappington. Together, they recognize the importance of teaching basic team sports skills that children can transfer into other areas of their lives.

They also sponsor activities for students such as Archery Club, Cardio Character Club and the Green Team environmental club.

“My goal is for students to know that every activity has a purpose and value,” Driemeyer said. “I want them to leave elementary PE with fundamental skills and a solid base of knowledge in many physical activities, so they’ll stay active for a lifetime.”

Driemeyer is looking forward to continuing her students’ favorite activities of flag tag, archery and wall ball and introducing future students to Frisbee golf. Most of all, she never wants to stop learning new skills and passing them along to her students.