Health Curriculum

When you think about being healthy, what comes to your mind? Nutrition? Exercise? Avoiding drugs, alcohol, and tobacco? All of those topics are part of what you will be studying in Health Science. You will engage in discussions about topics that you might not normally associate with "health." For example, you will learn about internet safety, including the darker side of social media like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Tumblr, and whatever new social medium pops up. You'll also spend some time understanding the importance of mental health, and how you can best help friends who might be having difficulties with eating disorders, body image issues, depression, addiction, social adjustment, or bullying.

I think that students can understand the effects of tobacco more deeply if they first have an understanding of how the respiratory system works. I think that the effects of drugs and alcohol become clearer when you understand how the brain and nervous system work. How can you really understand the importance of nutrition and diet without understanding the digestive system? So, we will spend some time learning about the human respiratory, digestive, nervous, circulatory, and reproductive systems.

Finally, we'll cover the topics that are required by The California Healthy Youth Act.