To be a Sutton Jumper the students agree to come to practice before school, to be at practice regularly, and to work together as a team. All students are accepted and no one is "cut" from the team.

The Jump Band unit is part of the physical education curriculum at Sutton for grades 3-5. First and second graders do lead up activities involving tinikling sticks.

To clarify, Jump Bands is a rhythmic activity that resembles Tinikling. The difference is that the "jump band" are elastic bands that have a loop at each end and moved by foot, not two poles moved by hand. Two enders put a loop on each foot and create parallel bands which open and close to a rhythm, in our case "oldies" records with a 4/4 beat. Dancers move in and out of the bands using a variety of steps or movements. These steps or movements are put together into a routine.

Interested 4th and 5th graders may join the Sutton Jumpers Troupe. The troupe practices in the morning before school starts. Typically our total number of participants has been between 35 and 50 students in the five years I have done this. Teams (usually consisting of 4-6 children) create their own routines which are set to "oldies" songs that have the correct rhythmic pattern. The culminating activity for the troupe is a performance at another organization. All Jumpers are part of the Troupe when we perform somewhere. Over the years the troupe has performed for the Indiana Art Association state meeting, other elementary schools, service groups, FAME (Fine Arts and Music in Elementary), and special performances for their parents.

Jump Bands have become part of the culture at Sutton. Fourth and fifth graders are anxious to become a "Jumper", they begin asking the first day of school, "When do Jump Bands start?". Younger brothers and sisters follow in their older siblings footsteps by becoming "Jumpers".

This activity is a practical application of skills learned in physical education class.

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