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Elementary School Swim Lessons

Welcome to the Newfane Aquatic Center

child swimming

Elementary Swim Lessons

The Newfane Aquatic Center (NAC) offers six comprehensive levels that teach your child to swim skillfully and safely. 
The prerequisite for each level is the successful completion of skills from the preceding level, except for Level 1, which has no prerequisite.
Each level of Learning to Swim also includes training in basic water safety and helping a swimmer in distress.
The following pages will give parents what to expect as their child progresses through our Learning to Swim program

  • Purpose of Level 1 - helps students feel comfortable in the water.

    Level 1 students learn to:

    • Enter and exit the water safely
    • Open eyes underwater, pick up submerged object
    • Swim on front and back using arms and leg actions
    • Submerge mouth, nose, and eyes
    • Float on front and back
    • Follow basic water safety rules
    • Exhale underwater through mouth and nose
    • Explore arm and hand movements
    • Use a life jacket

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  • Purpose of Level 2 - Gives students success with fundamental skills

    Level 2 students learn to:

    • Enter water by stepping or jumping from the side
    • Open eyes underwater, pick up a submerged object
    • Roll over from front to back and back to front
    • Swim on side
    • Exit water safely using a ladder or side
    • Float on front and back
    • Tread water using arm and leg motions
    • Move in the water while wearing a life jacket
    • Submerge entire head
    • Perform front and back glide
    • Swim on front and back using combined strokes

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  • Purpose of Level 3 - builds on the skills in Level 2 through additional guided practice

    Level 3 students learn to:

    • Jump into deep water from the side
    • Dive from kneeling or standing position
    • Submerge and retrieve an object
    • Bob with the head fully submerged
    • Use rotary breathing in horizontal position
    • Perform front and back glide
    • Perform survival float
    • Change from horizontal to vertical position on front and back
    • Perform front and back crawl
    • Butterfly -- kick and body motion
    • Perform the HELP and Huddle positions
    • Perform a reaching assist
    • Use Check-Call-Care in an emergency

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  • Purpose of Level 4 - develops confidence in the skills learned and improves other aquatic skills

    Level 4 students learn to:

    • Perform shallow dive or dive from stride position
    • Swim underwater
    • Perform feet-first surface dive
    • Perform open turns on front and back using any stroke
    • Tread water using sculling arm motions and kick
    • Use safe diving rules
    • Perform compact jump into water from a height while wearing a life jacket
    • Perform a throwing assist
    • Care for conscious choking victim
    • Perform the following:
      >front and back crawl
      >breaststroke
      >butterfly
      >elementary backstroke
      >swim on side using scissors-like kick

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  • Purpose of Level 5 - provides further coordination and refinement of strokes

    ​​​​Level 5 students learn to:

    • Tread water with two different kicks
    • Learn survival swimming
    • Perform rescue breathing
    • Perform the following:
      >standing dive
      >shallow dive, glide two body lengths and begin any front stroke
      >tuck surface dive
      >pike surface dive
      >front flip turn
      >backstroke flip turn
      >front and back crawl
      >butterfly
      >breaststroke
      >elementary backstroke
      >sidestroke

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  • Purpose of Level 6 - refines the strokes so students swim them with ease, efficiency,
    ​​​​​​​power and smoothness over greater distances

    Level 6 students learn to:

    • Personal Water Safety
    • Lifeguard Readiness
    • Fundamentals of Diving
    • Fitness Swimmer

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