Personal Health

Personal Health Syllabus and Acknowledgement

Dutch Fork High School 

     CTE

Personal Health and Wellness 

2026-27 Course Syllabus 

Teacher Name, Room Number: #412                               Planning Periods: 3A_ & _5B_

Department Head: __Barry Lindler                                   Academic Assistance:   __3A, 5B_ 

Asst. Principal for Instruction: Katherine Hayes Website: https://www.lexrich5.org/dfhs

TEACHEREMAIL shoppe@lexrich5.org Phone:  803-476-3457

I. Course Catalog Description 

PERSONAL HEALTH AND WELLNESS 340200CH (CHS, DFHS, IHS, SHHS, FIVE)

Grade: 9-12 Semesters: 1 Credit: .5

Personal Health and Wellness is designed to help students develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to promote wellness, maintain health, and prevent disease. A minimum of 750 minutes of reproductive health, pregnancy prevention, and sexually transmitted disease along with consumer health, environmental health, growth and development, nutritional health, personal health prevention and control of diseases and disorders, safety and accident prevention, substance use and abuse, dental health, and mental and emotional health is required by the Comprehensive Health Education Act of 1988 in addition to community health. Erin’s Law, Ronald Rouse’s Law, and Gavin’s Law are embedded within the curriculum. PE and health courses cannot have honors academic weighting. *This course cannot be taken via alternative programs (i.e. Virtual SC, Edmentum, 

II. Course Standards and Success Criteria

SC State Standards- Click here

District Success Criteria; 

III. Instructional Goals 

Personal Health and Wellness is a valuable, skills-based health education course designed for general education in grades 9 through 12. Personal Health and Wellness helps students develop knowledge, attitudes, and essential skills in a variety of health-related subjects, including mental and emotional health, social health, nutrition, physical fitness, substance use and abuse, disease prevention and treatment, and injury prevention and safety. Through use of accessible information and project-based learning, students apply the skills they need to stay healthy. These skills include identifying and accessing valid health information, practicing self-management, identifying internal and external influences, communicating effectively, making healthy decisions, setting goals, and advocating. Students who complete Personal Health and Wellness build the skills they need to protect, enhance, and promote their own health and the health of others. 

IV. Course Sequence/Pacing Overview

Personal Health and Wellness Timeline

Week 1- Intro and Chapter 1- Health and Wellness Fundamentals

Week 2- Finish Ch 1 and begin Ch. 2 Health and Wellness Skills

Week 3- Ch 3, Interpersonal skills

Week 4- Ch 4 Promoting Mental and Emotional health

Week 5- Ch 5- Shifting to Positive Thinking

Week 6- Ch 6- Managing Stress in your life

Week 7- Ch 7- Understanding Mental Illness

Week 8- Ch 8- Following a healthy Diet

Week 9- Ch. 9- Healthy Body Image

Week 10- Ch 10- Engaging in Physical Activity

Week 11- Ch 11- Vaping and Tobacco

Week 12- Ch 12- Alcohol

Week 13- Ch 13- Medication and Drugs

Week 14- Ch 14- Maintaining Healthy Relationships

Week 15- Ch 15- Violence Prevention and response

Week 16- Ch 16- Personal Safety

Week 17- Ch 17- Environmental health

Week 18- Ch 18-20- Understanding diseases and Disorders

V. Textbooks and Additional Resources 

Essential Health Skills, 3rd Edition

VI. Course Grading Policies and Assessments 

1. Assignments will be given during class and are expected to be turned in on time.  Late assignments will not be accepted unless there are extenuating circumstances. Class work is related and builds upon previous knowledge and skills. To that end, class work has a dual purpose; to prepare the student for discussion and to reinforce the information presented in class.  Please be aware that if you are absent from class for any reason, upon your first day back in class, it is the student’s obligation to see the teacher in order to obtain any makeup work/assignments.  Failure to do so forfeits any opportunity to make up the work and change grade from a ZERO.  The responsibility always falls on the student. You cannot make up or redo something that has never been done.

2. Periodic quizzes will be given to ascertain the student's understanding of material.  Expect to have at least one, fifteen-minute quiz per week.  A unit test will be given upon completion of each unit of study.  Questions on quizzes and unit tests will include material covered during class, in assigned readings from the text, and from lab work.

3. You should expect to study any notes or materials, for homework, every night with few exceptions.  Homework assignments will require reading and answering questions based on assigned reading. Homework is usually not given other than to study.

4. Your Knowledge of Personal Health will be assessed by your ability to demonstrate knowledge of clinical laboratory skills and understanding of technological principles through lab check-off, homework, quizzes, projects, and unit tests, as well as overall class/clinical participation.  

5. In order to foster characteristics of integrity and honesty, both inherent traits to health care professionals, cheating and plagiarism on tests, quizzes, research papers, or any other individual assignments will not be tolerated.  Any student observed or suspected of cheating/plagiarism will receive an automatic zero on the assignment in question, with no chance to make up, and your parent or legal guardian will be notified.  Any violation of the honor code will be reported to the principal and investigated to the fullest extent.

6. Extra credit assignments may be considered due to the nature of the situation.  Teachers and students should use discretion when assignments do not meet standards. 

7. Uniform Grading Scale and Make-up Work Policy are in sections XII and XIII.

VII. Grading Procedures

Continuing in the 2026-27 school year, grades for minor assignments must be posted within 5 school days, and major or extended assignment grades must be posted within 10 school days.

• Major Grades - Assignments that students are given 2 or more classes (more than 48 hours) to produce or prepare. The following will be major grades in all content areas:

  • Test

  • Essay

  • Research paper

  • Speech/Presentation

  • Project

  • Cumulative Assignments

  • Summative Assignments

  • Lab Reports

• Minor Grades - Assignments that students are given 1 class (48 hours) to produce or on-the-spot work. The following will be minor assignments in all content areas:

  • Homework

  • Quiz

  • Vocabulary

  • Classwork

  • Formative Assessments 

  • Journal Entries

  • Other department specific assignments

VIII. Exam Exemptions 

Seniors on track for graduation can exempt final exams in semester classes and year long classes if they meet the following conditions:

1. Grade of 80 or higher in the course.

2. Has not had an Out of School Suspension.

3. Has no seat time.

IX. Honor Code

In order to foster an environment of mutual trust and respect, we believe, within the community of School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties, each individual should accept the personal responsibility to exhibit and promote academic and social integrity. Students will not cheat or plagiarize. 

X. Suggestions for Success in Course  

• Make a good beginning.  Once you fall behind, it’s hard to catch up.

• Ask for help immediately if there is something you don’t understand.

• Ask questions before, during, or after class.

• If given time at the end of class, use it wisely by beginning homework or getting help from me.

• Pay attention in class and take good notes and keep them in order, by unit, in your notebook.

• Read the textbook as it will help you understand information presented in class.

• Review the materials covered in class each night.  Cramming for tests at the last minute is not productive.

• If you are absent, be responsible for keeping up with your assignments, it is your responsibility to come to me for missed assignments, tests, or quizzes – they will be 

            made up according to district policy.

• Be in class.  If you know you will miss, ask for assignments ahead of time.

• Ask for help immediately if you do not understand something.  Topics build on previous knowledge---don’t lose major links in the chain of knowledge.

• The bell does not dismiss you, the teacher does. Remain seated until the teacher dismisses you for safety reasons.  Do not stand at the doors.

• Know that I care about you and want you to succeed.  Let’s work together!

• Content Recovery Plan (See attached link)

• DFHS Health Science Department Content Recovery Plan

XI. Classroom Management Plan 

1. Students are expected to come to class prepared to engage and learn. Please understand that all Health Science classes are designed to teach students about different healthcare fields/careers/topics/issues.  Health care careers are about people helping people.  One must learn to be polite, courteous, and respectful to others and themselves.  Being appropriate with one’s mannerisms, actions, and attitude is of the utmost importance.  Please keep these things in mind when reviewing this management plan in order to guarantee your child and other students the excellent learning opportunities that they deserve.

2. Students are expected to follow all rules and guidelines listed in the Student Handbook on the school’s website.

3. Students are expected to use school and personal technology responsibly and follow rules included in the 26-27 District Issued Device Guide and Acceptable Use Agreement.  This includes:

   1. Having a charged mobile device (district-issued Chromebook or comparable personal device) at school EVERYDAY.

   2. Not using devices assigned to other students. 

   3. Being responsible for their own devices and should keep them secured at school and off campus.  

   4. Following all teacher directions regarding appropriate times for use of the device.

XII. Uniform Grading Scale

See State Department of Education website for complete details.

All report cards and transcripts will use numerical grades.

A=90-100; B=80-89; C=70-79; D=60-69; F=Below 60

Each final grade (numerical) will have different weighting for the basis of computing GPR. The chart included gives the weighting for each numerical value.

Extra weight is given to honors (.5) and AP (1.0) courses. This policy also establishes that courses may not be dropped after the fifth (5th) day in a semester class or after the tenth (10th) day in a yearly class without penalty.

Students may only retake a class at the same difficulty under the following conditions: Only a course in which a D or F was earned may be retaken.

The course must be retaken at the first opportunity within the next year. The student’s record will reflect all courses taken and the grade earned, except for courses taken prior to the ninth grade. 

XIII. Student/Teacher and Parent/Teacher Communication 

1. All students should use district issued email accounts for communicating with teachers (studentnumber@stu.lexrich5.org). 

2. All students should check school email, Google Classroom and Google Calendar every school day.

3. Parents and students should check the teachers’ websites for classroom calendars/assignment sheets.

4. Parents may contact teachers via email in order to receive invitations to Google Classroom parent/guardian signup. Parents will receive an email from Google and then need to register to receive emails from Google Classroom. Once a parent is registered to receive emails from one class, he/she will receive emails from all Google Classroom groups. It is not necessary to contact all teachers to register.

5. Emails and phone calls to teachers will be returned within two business days.

6. Parents and students who would like access to the parent/student PowerSchool portals should visit the DFHS attendance office for login information.

XIV. School Attendance and Make-up Work Policy

Students are encouraged to attend school regularly. If, however, a student must be absent from school for any reason, it is his/her responsibility to make-up all missed work. 

Students who miss more than one half of an instructional block will be marked absent for that block of instruction. See the Student Handbook on the school website for the full attendance and absence policy or this FAQ for Attendance.

Since it is in the student’s best interest to make up all missed work as quickly as possible, the following guidelines have been established for make-up work: 

1. When a student misses a class meeting, all previously assigned work that was due the day of the absence is due no later than the beginning of the next class meeting in which the student is present. All work missed as a result of the absence is to be completed by the beginning of the second class meeting from the absence. 

2. When a student misses two consecutive class meetings, all previously assigned work due while the student was absent and all work missed as a result of the absence should be completed by the beginning of the second class meeting from the absence. 

3. When a student misses three or more consecutive class meetings, he/she must make specific arrangements for make-up work with each teacher the day he/she returns to class. The amount of time given for completion of work will be up to the teacher’s discretion based on the amount of work missed and the level of difficulty of the material. 

4. Long term projects and papers are due when the teacher says they are due. In the event of an absence, the student or the student’s parent should notify the teacher in advance or upon immediate return to school. 

5. Students are responsible for the work they miss while on a field trip or attending any other school event. Students should contact each of the teachers whose classes they will be missing to make specific arrangements with them regarding all make-up work. Teachers may choose for work to be submitted in advance. If the student does not follow the teacher’s guidelines, the student will receive the academic penalty as assigned by the teacher. 

6. Students must make every effort to complete all make-up work according to these established guidelines. If the student has not submitted his/her make-up work within the specified timeframes outlined above or as directed by the teacher, the teacher has the option of not accepting the work. As with anything, regular communication with the teacher is encouraged.

XV. Syllabus Acknowledgement and Information Form

Please click on the link below for the Acknowledgement

•  Syllabus Acknowledgement Sheet