Physical Education

The purpose of Physical Education is to teach the whole student, not just your body and movement. Physical Education provides the opportunity to teach you about movement, strategies, teamwork, problem solving and health related fitness. Each of these areas is addressed in the National Association for Sport and Physical Education’s (NASPE) standards and is important to teaching the whole student. Exposing you to various physical activities, sports, and methods of fitness can better provide enjoyment of physical activity, as well as build social, psychomotor, and cognitive skills. We strive to safely provide the means for you to enjoy physical activity, become more confident with your abilities, increase your knowledge of health related fitness, and help you find ways to continue to be physically active.

The present level of activity among children and young adults is a problem and a known contributor to the rising levels of obesity in the United States. Our hope is to provide an opportunity for you to find enjoyment in physical activity by sharing our passion for physical activity and movement. Every student is unique, and will be given the opportunity to test their strengths and weaknesses, while continually finding success in our classes. We will do everything within our ability to provide you with attainable goals, as well as challenge you in ways that will help you observe your improvement. The use of various assessments that measure your progress and improvement will provide tangible evidence of growth. Assessments are a form of opportunities to succeed and will consist of task achievement checklists and quizzes. Our focus will be to make physical education class as enjoyable as possible. This goal starts by providing a safe and comfortable environment. This occurs when you feel physically and emotionally safe, and anti-bullying is implemented. Enthusiasm and respect for you is integral to fostering an enjoyable environment. To further develop respect and provide a fun environment we will be open with all students and encourage them to challenge us in ways where there is the opportunity to learn from each other. We believe that including the students in curriculum selection is the best way to provide enjoyment. This will help you feel much more involved in the curriculum, rather than feeling forced to participate in activities where you find no personal meaning. We will allow students to help shape the course of study, where you can select some of what you are learning, without neglecting your overall development in Physical Education.

We will provide you with the means and knowledge for living a healthy, active, lifestyle. You will be encouraged to find individual ways that work for you to stay fit in a safe fashion, both physically and emotionally. Providing the knowledge of how to be physically fit is not enough. We must seek to help you continue to be physically active outside of class. To further emphasize continued participation in physical activity, we can encourage parents to play or join you in the activities you enjoy. It is fundamental to this profession, and as a role model, that teachers practice what they preach. By being involved in many physical activities, both in and outside of school, students will see we live what we teach and hopefully develop respect for us on a much higher level. Our passion for physical activity led us to the noble profession and we hope to leave a legacy of that passion within you.