PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND HEALTH
Physical Education is an opportunity for students to participate in activities that help to promote a lifelong love of movement. Through active participation, students grasp the concepts attributed to spatial awareness, cooperation, teamwork, problem solving, hand-eye coordination, and overall fitness.
Health concepts are introduced in a classroom setting and center around fundamental topics including anatomy, proper hygiene, safety, bullying, nutrition, and drug education.
All students are expected to participate in the activities to the best of their abilities. Respect for each other, good sportsmanship, and active listening are essential.
Pre-Kindergarten
In preschool all students receive Physical Education weekly. These classes focus on developing competence and confidence in gross motor skills like hopping, galloping, jumping, running, and marching. The use of objects and props to develop spatial and coordination skills like throwing and catching a ball. Students are instructed to follow two and three step directions and participate in simple games while demonstrating good sportsmanship.
Health Education consists of developing the knowledge necessary to make nutritious food choices, explore foods and food groups. They develop self-help and personal hygiene skills that promote healthy habits. They learn about safe and unsafe behaviors outside, in school, and at home and identify community helpers who assist in creating a safe environment,
Kindergarten to Grade Two
In the primary grades all students receive Physical Education weekly. Students in Physical Education classes perform movement skills with developmentally appropriate control in isolated settings such as skill practice and in applied settings such as games. Students demonstrate changes in time, force, and flow while moving in personal and general space and correct movement errors noted by the teacher. An emphasis is placed on cooperation and compromise in activities that involve simple directions and games that demonstrate good sportsmanship and fair play.
Health Education classes include nutrition and how it relates to overall health. Students identify personal health habits and explain why they are necessary for their overall well-being. They identify personal safety strategies to prevent injuries at home, school, and in the community. They distinguish the difference between strangers, acquaintances, and trusted adults. Students are introduced to procedures related to safety while walking, on a bicycle, or crossing the street as a means of keeping them safe. It is important for students to understand that kindness is a big part identifying kind and unkind behavior. Students identify kind and unkind behaviors as part of learning the importance of how to treat each other with respect.
Grades Three to Five
In Physical Education, students build upon previously learned locomotor skills and concepts to effectively provide the foundation for participation in games, sports, and recreational activities. They perform movement skills in various settings. Basic offensive and defensive strategies are applied in most games. An emphasis is placed on cooperation and compromise while participating in activities and games. The demonstration of good sportsmanship and fair play while acknowledging the contributions of team members and opponents in an appropriate and positive way is required.
Health Education classes expand upon nutritional concepts and its impact on wellness. Students are introduced to common diseases and disease prevention through healthy behavior. They identify personal safety strategies to prevent injuries at home, school, and in the community. Students are introduced to water safety. Additionally, students identify possible causes of conflict. They learn to identify bullying behavior and the strategies used to prevent it.
Grades Six to Eight
Physical Education classes are based upon a developed understanding and execution of skills necessary for successful participation in games, sports, and recreational activities. Teacher feedback, self- evaluation, and constructive feedback from peers is required to detect and correct individual skill performance. Students demonstrate the use of offensive, defensive, and cooperative strategies in individual, dual, team and group activities. Students are expected to use behaviors that promote personal and group success, apply safety practices, adhere to rules, teamwork, and positive social interaction.
Health Education classes focus on nutrition including the influence of food choices. The benefits and risks associated with nutritional choices, nutritional content, and how culture, health status, age, and eating environment influence personal eating patterns are discussed. Personal hygiene, sleep, healthy relationships, and peer pressure are presented in addition to the impact of tobacco, alcohol, and illegal substances on physical, social, and emotional well-being.