Imagine having to go from running the mile once a quarter to four to five times a month. This is one of the changes caused by the new physical fitness program at PHS.
Athletic Director Jeff Peters said that the goal of the PHS program is for students to learn the importance of physical fitness in their lives now and in the future,
“There is a very real connection between the mind and the body which can affect ones daily life. The PHS PE program is modeled after the content standards stated in the CA PE content standard booklet” he said.
The 9th grade curriculum stresses individual and dual sports where the 10th – 12th grade curriculum stresses more team related sports Peters said.
“The overall program emphasizes skill work, lead-up games, and then actual game play. Students focus on the biomechanics of lifting weights, principles of biomechanics (leverage, force, inertia, rotary motion, and opposition) as well as safety and proper form and alignment” Peters said.
Peters said that the course sequence provides a blueprint for delivering the 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.
“Students will also focus on the “trinity of special education” which involves three concepts: scapular retraction, lunges, and squats” he said.
Junior Will Strimling said that although the kinds of exercises required did not change, the students have to do a lot of them more regularly.
“We do weight room twice or three times a rotation, and run the mile four to five times a month. It used to only be once per month” Strimling said.
Peters said that the unit plan for ninth grade Dance P.E. covers dance concepts as well as an aquatics unit.
Freshman Katie Yu is in Dance P.E. and has to do similar exercises daily.
“We do lots of stretches, mostly with the lower body and abdomen. Ms. Moorhead has us do butterfly the butterfly stretch and the splits and planks” she said.
Sophomore Frances Putnam believes that the ramped up P.E. curriculum is beneficial. “Learning the techniques to all these different sports influences my decision on whatever sport I want to do next year” she said.
Items that are stressed in the PHS PE curriculum
- Students demonstrate knowledge of and competency in motor skills, movement patterns, and strategies needed to perform a variety of physical activities.
- Students achieve a level of physical fitness for health and performance while demonstrating knowledge of fitness concepts, principles, and strategies.
- Students demonstrate knowledge of psychological and sociological concepts, principles, and strategies that apply to the learning and performance of physical activity.
