On May 9th and May 10th, many CKM sophomores and juniors were trained to help assist freshmen during the swim unit from Ms. Caulk, a CKM P.E. teacher. Students had to swim either to the middle or to the other side of the pool, and also learned swimming techniques during their training to increase their endurance, mobility, and knowledge on what to do while assisting a student. In order to become a good assistant, you have to encourage students so they can feel comfortable. “It is a good opportunity to support students during the swim unit, because it is always good to help students, even your siblings or family members on how to swim.” said Chloe Falzarano, a sophomore.
“Ever since swimming has been taught at McClatchy, we’ve had swim helpers, also known as swimming assistants,” said Ms. Caulk. More than 30 sophomore students came to training, including myself. Actions they had to perform included swimming freestyle while your head is underwater, gliding underwater to the middle of the pool, and giving an example of good encouragement. “We taught sophomores and juniors who have P.E. during a specific period basic swim aggression and skills, as well as what it should look like at a beginning level.” said Ms. Caulk.
Ms. Caulk mentioned, “With two freshmen classes in the water, we have approximately 90 students in the water, and out of those 90, we usually have 15 non-swimmers, and teachers don’t have time to give those students assistance that they need.” Sophomore Chloe Falzarano mentioned, “I joined because I enjoy helping others. It has good feeling to it, and this is a great opportunity to help students swim.” Swim helpers will help the non-swimmers or almost non-swimmers from the freshmen class to test their ability.
“We tried to not get more than six per period so it won’t be too crowded in the pool where we have them work from 3 feet to 3 ½ feet,” Ms. Caulk mentioned. She also added, “The non-swimmers will be taught to kick, propel their body in the water, become comfortable with holding their breath, learn the basic beginners stroke, learn how to be comfortable when performing a backstroke, and as well jumping into the water.”
