Wednesday, December 14, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
7
SMS students ‘Ping It On!’
By Erin Borla
Correspondent
Sisters Middle School stu-
dents have a new afterschool
activity they can participate
in this winter: ping pong.
Propelled by language arts
teacher Becky Aylor, students
in grades 5-8 are invited to
“Ping It On” two days a week
after school.
Aylor has five 4-by-
8-foot particle boards that
are painted and striped along
with retractable nets, ping
pong balls and 30 paddles
thanks to community dona-
tions and from businesses
like Hoyt’s Hardware. Each
of the makeshift tables rest
on the cafeteria tables in the
commons.
“After the bell rings, stu-
dents are provided with a
small snack, and a few help
set up the tables,” said Aylor.
“Then students scatter to
the tables for 10 minutes of
warm-up and hitting the ball
back and forth, then we head
into ‘Ping-It-On’ time.”
The rules for Ping-It-On
require five people to play
and six is ideal. Four students
are at each table with paddles
and two are on deck ready to
slide in after the ball is hit on
that side.
Just before each server
serves they say, “ping it!” and
the other three in the game
say “on!” This way the whole
table knows that the ball will
be in play. Once the server
hits the ball over the net the
player next to them takes off
around the table to get “on
deck.” The server picks up
their paddle as the opposing
side returns their first hit. The
on-deck person slides into the
server position and everyone
has rotated one position to the
left.
“Each time the ball is hit
on your side of the net you
shift one position over,” said
Aylor. “You can’t take the
paddle with you. The goal is
to keep the ball in play with
your team of five or six.
Twenty-three hits was our
record on day one!”
Every 10 minutes stu-
dents are rotated so they get
an opportunity to meet other
students and mix up the abil-
ity level.
Ping It On currently has
20 students involved and runs
Mondays and Wednesdays
in December and January on
days when students are in
school.
Aylor developed a similar
after-school program in the
fall called Take A Hike.
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“My purpose in creating
this after-school activity was
for me to get up and away
from my desk to get active
a couple days a week,” she
said. “I can blow off the gym
or my home treadmill — but
I can’t say no to these awe-
some students who aren’t
already involved in other
activities or hobbies wanting
to also do something fun and
inexpensive after school.”
There is still time to sign
up for Ping It On; the cost is
$10 — to help pay for snacks
— and parents or guardians
need to email Aylor at becky.
aylor@sisters.k12.or.us to
register.
Aylor hopes to plan
another after-school activity
in the spring, potentially on
the Peterson Ridge Trail.
PHOTO BY BECKY AYLOR
Ping pong keeps ’em happy and occupied.