Shawnae

This is cool - this is my neighbor, Relief Society President, Zippy & Soliel's mom,  & one of my best friends - she's pretty awesome:

Area teacher vying for national award

Soda Springs teacher encourages students to pursue life-long fitness

BY KENDRA EVENSEN

   kevensen@journalnet.com  

   SODA SPRINGS — Snowshoeing, fly fishing, kayaking and geocaching may not be part of a typical high school physical education class, but Shawnae Somsen is the type of teacher who always thinks outside of the gym.

   That’s why the Soda Springs High School teacher — who goes out of her way to help kids gain an appreciation of life-long health and fitness by introducing them to a variety of activities — is in the running for the National High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year Award. She has already taken honors on the state and Northwest District levels, and is now competing with four other teachers from across the country for the national award. She’ll find out how she has fared during a national convention in California later this month.

   Although Somsen has received a lot of praise for her efforts, she says the awards simply push her to become a better teacher.

   “I am humbled,” she said, adding that the accolades have overwhelmed her more than anything. “You want to teach up to those standards at all times and it pushes you.”

   But Somsen appreciates the reminder to do her personal best, after all, that’s what she teaches her students to do.

   Somsen teaches a variety of health and physical education courses at the high school, but all of them gold or silver and I want to get that across to kids,” she said.

   One way she does that is by encouraging them to try new things, especially activities they can participate in throughout their lives. With the help of grant money, she’s started an outdoor recreation course to expose her students to unique activities like snowshoeing and disc golf.

   “We live in a recreational paradise,” she said, adding that kids need to learn to use those resources to their full capacity.

   While teaching them about unique sports, she also helps them to learn survivals skills and the importance of preserving the land they enjoy. Her students have helped the Idaho Department of Fish and Game plant new vegetation for deer habitat restoration, they built a disk golf course at Kelly Park and recently started a recycling program.

   “I educate them on how to preserve the land,” she said, adding that she also teaches them how to enjoy it.

   Although Somsen also teaches more ordinary PE classes, she still focuses her lessons on activities to help her students set and attain their personal goals in an effort to promote life-long fitness.

   Somsen said she’s always on the lookout to find new ways to motivate students, which is one of the major reasons she enjoys participating in the award conferences she attends. Mingling with other teachers in her profession helps her learn about new activities to use in the classroom, she said.

   “It’s about finding a little spice to add to my curriculum,” she said. “The award is just extra fluff.”

SUBMITTED PHOTO

   Shawnae Somsen, a teacher at Soda Springs High School, is competing with four other teachers for the National High School Physical Education Teacher of the Year Award.