Grants in Action: Up, Up, and Away in Mr. Webb’s PE Class

Your Support Is Filling PE Class with Color, Laughter, and a Sense of Belonging.

Some elementary school memories stay with you for years, and parachute day is often one of them. The bright colors billowing through the air, the laughter echoing across the gym, the giggles as students rush underneath before the parachute floats back down, it is one of those simple, joyful experiences that sticks with you long after childhood.

At Poulsbo Elementary, those colorful, laughter-filled memories are being made every day in Mr. Webb’s PE class.

Thanks to support from the North Kitsap Schools Foundation, Poulsbo Elementary received a new parachute designed with more handles for larger class sizes, along with a set of easy-to-use stopwatches. Together, these tools are helping create a PE experience that is energetic, inclusive, and filled with opportunities for students to move, laugh, challenge themselves, and work together.

The new parachute means more students can participate at the same time. That may sound simple, but in a busy elementary gym, it changes everything. More handles means more students can grab on, lift together, and feel the rush of seeing the bright parachute rise above them in one giant wave of color. It means more shared laughter, more teamwork, and more students included in those unforgettable moments of creating a dome, bouncing objects across the top, or trying to send it soaring all the way to the ceiling. In Mr. Webb’s class, parachute games are more than just fun. They help students practice cooperation, communication, coordination, and trust; all wrapped in movement, color, and joy.

That sense of belonging is part of what makes Mr. Webb’s class so special. There is not a student who has had Mr. Webb who does not carry fond memories of being in his class. His energy and enthusiasm have a way of filling the gym just as much as the laughter does. Students feel encouraged, included, and excited to participate. In many ways, that is what great elementary PE is all about. It is not just movement for movement’s sake. It is the smiles, the cheers, the playful competition, and the feeling of being part of something fun. It is giving students something to look forward to and a place where they can feel successful.

The stopwatches have brought another layer of excitement to class. Students love timing themselves in all kinds of activities, from running laps around the gym to jump rope, hula hooping, wall traverses, and obstacle courses. Then comes the challenge: can they do it faster the next time? Because the stopwatches are simple enough for even kindergarten students to use, they allow students to track their own progress in real time. Suddenly, every lap becomes a race against their personal best, every jump rope streak becomes a challenge, and every second shaved off feels like a celebration.

One first grader saw their lap time improve by a single second, and their face lit up. That moment captured the heart of the program. In between the motion, the laughter, and the bright swirl of activity, students are learning something important: effort matters, growth is possible, and even small improvements are worth celebrating.

Programs like PE, along with music, art, and athletics, often motivate students to attend and engage at school. They spark passion, build school pride, and give students a place to shine. In a class like Mr. Webb’s, students are not just building physical skills. They are building confidence, resilience, friendships, and memories filled with color, movement, and joy.

This grant did more than provide equipment. It created more opportunities for students to participate fully, laugh together, work as a team, and experience the pure fun of being active. It strengthened a program that students already love and gave Mr. Webb even more tools to make PE a place where every student can belong.

Grants in Action: supporting the experiences students remember, the teachers who inspire them, and the joyful moments—full of color, laughter, and movement—that help make school feel like home and learning fun.