Welcome to Physical Education at Ramona High School. My name is Coach Monk, I will be your PE teacher this year. The high school experience represents the culmination of physical education instruction for California’s kindergarten through grade twelve students. Throughout their school years, students have experienced a planned sequence of formal physical education instructional experiences.

When students reach ninth grade, they are ready to integrate all that they know with all that they can do. They become capable of higher-order thinking and of more skilled performance. The high school courses provide a blueprint for delivering content in a manner that equips students to make a successful transition from the physical education instructional program to participation in physical activity during adulthood.

To fulfill the requirement for high school graduation, students must take at least two years of physical education in high school, pursuant to Education Code Section 51225.3(a)(1)(F). High School Courses 1 and 2 are designed to meet this requirement.

In those courses, students develop proficiency in their movement skills, expand their capabilities for independent learning, and examine practices that allow sound decision making to enhance successful participation in movement activities. Education Code Section 33352(b)(7) lists eight content areas for high school physical education which, when included in a course of study, provide a wide variety of physical activities necessary to develop the skills and knowledge essential to an individual for the selection of life-time pursuits.

These content areas are:

• Effects of physical activity upon dynamic health

• Mechanics of body movement

• Aquatics

• Gymnastics and tumbling

• Individual and dual sports

• Rhythms and dance

• Team sports

• Combatives

Course 1 (9th Grade)

Addresses three content areas (aquatics, rhythms and dance, and individual and dual activities) as well as the effects of physical activity upon dynamic health and mechanics of body movement. The content area of aquatics is a unique activity in that it does not easily cross over into other physical activities. Whereas the skill of striking is utilized in various sports activities (e.g., softball, golf, tennis) and is addressed throughout the students’ physical education experiences, this crossover does not occur with aquatics. Knowledge of aquatic skills and safety is essential for California’s students, many of whom live near or travel to pools, lakes, rivers, and the ocean. Although aquatic facilities may be limited or nonexistent for some schools, aquatics can still be taught by stressing water safety, rescue techniques, dry-land stroke, and kick practice, and buoyancy principles. At a minimum, students should learn drowning-prevention strategies. It is important to note that dry-land instruction will not ensure that students are able to swim in water or under real-life circumstances.

Course 2 (Grade 10-12)

Addresses three other content areas (combatives, gymnastics and tumbling, and team activities) as well as the effects of physical activity upon dynamic health and mechanics of body movement. Self-defense is one option for addressing the content area of combatives. Because it is directly related to student safety, it is an important area for physical educators to teach and students to learn. The emphasis of this unit is on how to defend, not how to fight. The unit begins with students learning about potentially unsafe situations and how to avoid them. Safety skills are the initial focus of instruction. Only after learning safety skills do students begin to learn how to protect themselves should they be attacked.

Courses 1 and 2 continue to emphasize the importance of physical activity and personal fitness. Students are provided with opportunities to improve their health-related physical fitness as well as to understand advanced concepts related to physical fitness and physical activity. Students learn how to achieve physical fitness and the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle throughout their lifetime. Participation in physical activity also can be an important venue for the social, psychological, and emotional development of young adults. Social skills and personal responsibility skills need to be taught and practiced with feedback.1 Physical education courses provide an ideal setting for adolescents to learn appropriate social interaction skills, suitable ways to express and control emotions, and opportunities to solve complex problems.

Weight Training Elective (Grade 10-12)

Weight Training is an important physical activity component of the fitness components that adults can participate in regularly. Physical activity is critical to the development and maintenance of good health. The goal of weight training is to develop physically educated individuals who have the knowledge, skills, and confidence to enjoy a lifetime of healthful physical activity in weight training fitness programs. In the course you will learn and demonstrate resistance training lifting and spotting techniques, concepts of physical fitness, cardiovascular training methods to compliment your resistance training program, the benefits of proper nutrition, and anatomical and muscles identification concepts.

Course Concepts

• Muscle identification & physiology

• Analyzing and applying physical fitness principles

• Measure & apply heart rate training methods

• Resistance exercise and spotting techniques

• Cardiovascular fitness

• Maintain records

• Goal-setting: Assessing your needs

• Designing an individual fitness programs

• Evaluating personal fitness program progress

• Nutrition basics for healthy eating

• Energy systems