Wellness

Philosophy

The Ramsey School District Wellness Department is committed to teaching the importance of lifelong activities of the body, mind, and spirit. Wellness is an active process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a healthy and fulfilling life. 

The Ramsey Public Schools believe that the content of the school curriculum should reflect the educational aspirations that the parents of a school community have for their children. The health curriculum, kindergarten through twelfth grade, includes drug and alcohol avoidance education, family life education, and harassment, intimidation and bullying prevention education along with community health education information. The curriculum has been developed and implemented, in alignment with New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, to promote the growth of students who are capable of thinking critically and making informed decisions appropriate to their age and maturity levels. 

Not only is health considered the absence of disease, but it also conveys a sense of wellness and satisfaction derived from the feeling that what one is doing has meaning and purpose. The physical, social, emotional, and mental aspects of health cannot be separated one from another.  Of these four components of wellness, physical health represents the absence of disease as well as the ability to use one’s body efficiently. Mental health may be defined as a combination of emotional and social health, but also consists in a large measure in the ability to use ones’ intellectual powers to their limit. Emotional health involves controlling ones’ impulses by using these strong drives for expression in constructive ways. Social health deals with the development of a strong, healthy personality and character to enable the students to contribute to responsible relationships in our society.

The responsibility of family life education should be shared by the home, church, and school. Individual sex roles must be related to the total adjustment of the individual in the family and society. Sexuality, being an important dimension of personality which involves maleness or femaleness, has expression in behavior from infancy and persists throughout the complete life cycle. Sexuality is the quality of living as a sexually motivated human being that environment and heredity have nurtured.

Family life education is a continuing process throughout life and must be planned for during the entire school experience of the child. We believe that family life education begins at birth. Children coming to kindergarten have already had five years of family life education in the family circle regardless of whether a single word about it had been spoken or whether a single question had been asked. Since an individual is a member of a family, has religious affiliations and is a member of a school community, his development will continue to be influenced by these socializing agencies. The school strives to assist parents in developing guidelines for behavior throughout life. This program is based on a philosophy that sex is something one is, not something one does.

An approach which encourages open discussion and solicits concerns of the individual is needed to help young people develop appropriate attitudes and understandings regarding sex roles. This developmental program, because of its broad connotation, cannot be limited to a series of units of instruction assigned to a specific area. Each area of curriculum can make a contribution that is unique to its subject content and should take advantage of the “teachable moment” when it arises. Curricular areas are presented with regard to providing information and decision making. The decisions of abstinence, refusal of peer pressures, and reinforcement of these decisions based upon family and religious beliefs are key aspects of this program. Finally, we recognize the growing complexity of the world in which the school and students must function. Consequently, the curriculum is in a continuous process of evaluation in anticipation of inevitable changes which must be made. In order to insure the adaptability of the students to their changing environment, revisions in procedure and curriculum are made as experiences and circumstances dictate.


Course Descriptions

Physical Education

Prerequisite: None - 3 quarters 3.75 credits Grades 9-12 

Physical Education is an integral part of total education which contributes to the development of the individual. Through physical activity which is aligned to instruction in fitness, skill development, and individual and team activities, students learn strategies which will assist them in remaining fit throughout their adult lives. A carefully planned selected sequence of activities provides continuing opportunities for the development of students’ physical, social, and emotional well-being throughout their school life. The total program content relates to human growth and development and is designed to meet the interests, capacities and abilities of each individual student.

Instruction in a wide variety of activities is offered throughout the year:

Fall:

Badminton

Pickleball

Tennis

Flag Football

Soccer

Weight Training

Physical Fitness Activities

Team Handball

Ultimate Frisbee

Self Defense


Winter:

Aerobics

Team Handball

Yoga/Pilates

Basketball

Physical Fitness

Volleyball

Bowling

Pickleball

Weight Training

Physical Fitness

Self Defense

Floor Hockey


Spring:

Badminton

Softball

Physical Fitness Activities

Team Handball

Ultimate Frisbee

Golf

Tennis

Weight Training

Self Defense


Family Life Education

Prerequisite: None - 1 quarter 1.25 credits Grade 9 

All freshmen take this introductory course. Topics covered include: the reproductive anatomy, fertilization, fetal development, childbirth, the effects of drugs and alcohol, decision making, abstinence and birth control. Additional topics covered within this course are: components of wellness, nutritional planning, healthy life style, exercise physiology, sexually transmitted diseases, human sexual response, dating, love and infatuation, teen pregnancy, and acquaintance rape. Students will be focused on making well planned decisions. Guest speakers and video presentations are used periodically as a means of supporting the curriculum.


Driver Training

Prerequisite: None - 1 quarter 1.25 credits Grade 10 

Driver’s Education classroom education is provided to students during the first marking period  of sophomore year. The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Driver Training Manual content is utilized to prepare students to take the New Jersey Driver’s Permit Test. The course covers the following areas of study: skills needed for driving an automobile; rules of the road; weather and hazardous road conditions; insurance contracts and types of coverage; purchasing a car; vehicle maintenance; legal responsibilities; physical and psychological fitness for driving; effects of drugs and alcohol and DWI, and accident prevention.

Human Awareness/First Aid

Prerequisite: None - 1 quarter 1.25 credits Grade 11

The Human Awareness course is designed to help students identify and understand the key aspects of wellness as contributors to mental, emotional and social health. Students will be certified in first aid and CPR by teachers/instructors Topics addressed in this health sequence include: reassessing the ninth grade components of wellness, nutritional planning and healthy life style, personality development, peer interactions, decision making, drug and alcohol education, addictive behaviors (gambling, eating disorders), suicide, death and dying. Guest speakers, videos, readings, and class discussions are utilized to support implementation of these topics.

Issues in the Family and Society

Prerequisite: None - 1 quarter 1.25 credits Grade 12

This course is an opportunity for seniors to have question-and-answer formatted dialogue with their instructors regarding the topics covered in this curriculum. The content of senior health focuses upon a review of the information provided in grade nine family life and then an in-depth study of various aspects of family living. These topics include: The Wellness Component in regards to Family Life, Decision-making (Drugs and Alcohol) and Mental Health. The class will discuss in detail: abstinence; birth control; natural childbirth; family planning; options to unwed parenthood; the effects of drugs and alcohol; HIV/AIDS; and psychological aspects of sexual behaviors; the health care system and insurance; taking care of elderly parents; and various family structures and parental roles. For many students, this curriculum is a key source of information on topics relating to family life and sexuality.