EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Local schools are beating the summer heat by taking safety measures during Physical Education class.
Joel Olivas and Aaron Bajek want parents to send students to school with two iced water bottles, hats, sunglasses, and sunblock.
“We do tell them sunblock at home, because we can’t have them put it on here at the school. Luckily it is only 45 minutes, it’s not too long of a time being in the sun, but the thing is heat exhaustion,” said Olivas.
Throughout P.E. class, students take bathroom and water breaks every 15 minutes. Bajek says they’re always finding a solution to make sure students do not overheat since they don’t sweat like adults.
“Shorts will help a lot, the jeans do get hot, some students do bring black jeans and that traps the heat a lot. Since I’m out here all day, I have to take extra measures to make sure we are being safe as well,” Olivas said.
Telling KTSM they’re between five-to-10-minute increments at the most and use shade for rest areas since Canutillo Elementary schools do not have recreation indoors.
“We like to have them walk in their own space without touching anybody. We like to see that they can run, skip, in a confined area without running into anybody. They can hop, they can bound, they can jump, and they can gallop,” Bajek said.
Both P.E. instructors hold higher cardiovascular activities indoors, such as running back and forth or playing tag to keep students’ heart rate up in a safe manner.
