Have you ever wondered what students at Salem Middle School use their pool for? Salem is one of six out of nine schools that have an available pool for their students in its conference, and the only school in our county that offers swimming. Students at Salem start using the pool in 6th grade as a part of their P.E. curriculum. “Every student leaves middle school knowing how to swim,” said Michelle Stancombe, who teaches the class.
Stancombe has been teaching at Salem for 14 years. She has spent three of those years teaching the swim class. Stancombe first gained her interest in swimming through the middle school swim program that she was put in. “I’ve just always loved the water,” she said. Sherry White and Dan Mulllins were Stancombe’s instructors when she was a SMS student. “Both of them, to this day, are mentors to me. A lot of the things I do now are things that they started.”
In Stancombe’s class, students learn the basics of swimming and water safety. Each year, the students advance in the swim class and learn different and more difficult skills. She first teaches the students the very basics of swimming, or skills that would keep them safe if they fell in water. Later on, the students learn how to use kayaks, boats, and paddleboards. “I try to offer as many things in and around the water that I can, to give swimmers the opportunity to learn how to do these things and become fluent with these in the water.”
Many students enjoy the canoeing unit of Stancombe’s class. Students are taught how to operate a canoe and canoe safety by learning how to paddle, stroke, and recover a flipped canoe. Students also learn essential teamwork skills when working on the unit. “Some students flip it a couple of times before they figure out that they need to keep it balanced.”
Stancombe is glad that she is able to teach such a class to her students. “I think it’s important for every student to learn how to swim and to have water safety instruction to be safe in or out of the water” She said. “It can save their life, or they may save someone else's life.”