The physical education program is designed to develop physical
competence and to encourage confidence and participation in physical activity
for a lifetime. The primary goal of physical education is to help children find
a variety of ways to enjoy being physically active so that they will be able to
get all of the physical, emotional, intellectual and social benefits that come
to someone who is physically active.
The program is
designed to focus on successful skill development and learning for all
students, rather than winning and losing.
Current national and state standards define content for physical
education containing the following foci:
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Movement concepts and skill development: In the early grades, for example, the program emphasizes the variety of ways we travel (e.g. running, skipping, hopping), changes of directions and speeds, and different
ways to balance, jump and land. Basic motor skills such as throwing, kicking,
volleying, and striking with a racket are taught in the grades. In the upper
grades the children are taught how to use these fundamental skills in games and
sports, gymnastics and various forms of rhythmical movement.
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Wellness and fitness concepts. These are taught throughout the program. They include, for example,
bicycle safety, healthy and unhealthy foods, and ways to improve cardiovascular endurance and flexibility. In the fifth grade all students are required to participate in the state fitness assessment each spring.
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Self and Social Development. This includes identification and practice of appropriate and positive self and social
behavior in independent, partner and team-like situations during physical
activity.
In the primary grades activities are put into the contexts of appropriate games; dance and rhythms, and educational
gymnastics. In grades 3, 4, 5 the focus shifts to combining basic movement and activity skills and concepts into
more advanced and dynamic activities centered on games, sport like activities,
fitness, and dance and rhythms.
