USOC Olympic Week Coming Up at End of Month

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado, April 24. NEXT week, the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) will open its first Olympic Week in the United States from April 30 to May 4. The week-long initiative is a comprehensive, interdisciplinary program on Olympic Ideals and Values for grades kindergarten through five. The activities may be implemented any time during the school year, but are being released to coincide with National Physical Fitness and Sports Month, which also occurs in May.

The Olympic Week in America program was created for educators' use in expanding student awareness and appreciation of the Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Olympic Movement. Its lessons and activities enhance core curricula taught in the classroom. Through a focus on the Olympic Games, students will reinforce their skills in language arts, social studies, math, science, and physical education.

"The Olympic Games and Olympic Movement represent universal ideals and values of unity, world peace, perseverance, and sportsmanship that we want children to embrace," said USOC Chief Executive Officer Jim Scherr. "Olympic Week in America, through classroom lessons tied to core subjects, is a dynamic tool to engage students and spark their imagination."

All materials for Olympic Week in America are being distributed free through www.usolympicteam.com. Educators may access the materials by clicking on the Olympic Education icon located on the USOC's homepage.

The activities focus on the Olympic Value of Sportsmanship, in keeping with the USOC's 2007 theme, "Real Athletes Are Good Sports." Participation in the Olympic Week in America activities will help students enhance their knowledge and learning skills using thematic lessons and activities as well as building their self-confidence and flaming their spirit of adventure. Parents, teacher assistants, school or program administrators, and community members can also play a valuable role in the implementation of the program.

The Olympic Week in America program kicks off with a school proclamation about Olympic Week in America and the worldwide historical significance of the Olympic Games. It culminates with field day-type activities for students to explore their own physical abilities through participation in Olympic-like events. The materials also outline suggestions for schools that might stage their own opening and closing ceremonies, for example. Further, schools may conduct their own physical fitness testing, or they may opt to use the USOC's Jr. Olympic Skills program, a national athletic program that currently reaches more than 1.5 million young people through skills training and competition in four sports: basketball, soccer, tennis, and track and field. An administrative handbook for Jr. Olympic Skills is included with the Olympic Week in America materials.

Olympic Week in America also includes support of Paralympic programming for kids with physical disabilities. During Olympic Week, the USOC will announce 50 teenagers with physical disabilities that are being selected to attend the Paralympic Academy, a national mentor program hosted by the USOC at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

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