I too had a gym teacher in mid 80s elementary school who threw dodge balls at us as we all ran in a circle around the gym.
We also had bomb drills in the hallway where we sat facing the wall and covered our heads imagining in horror that the Soviets were dropping nuclear bombs on us.
Thanks for reading this breakfastchief, and responding.
I remember that hallway drill well. I came to associate it with the hammer & sickle of the Soviet flag. Also I remember watching the Challenger explode on a big TV wheeled into our classroom, and my teacher crying.