FEATURES
Middle School PE
IS ALWAYS MOVING AHEAD Innovative programming is designed for today’s student health and well-being By McKensy Phillips, Middle School Physical Education Department Head
Fresh air, a sense of movement, and finding fun and engaging ways to heighten students’ learning have always been natural components of the Country Day curriculum. We take those ideals even further in our daily physical education (PE) program. Much like the PE class you may remember, we continue to focus on fundamentals like how to throw and kick a ball, building cardiovascular health and muscular strength, and practicing teamwork and sportsmanship. However, how this information is presented to students at Country Day continues to evolve. As PE teachers, we strive to be at the forefront of student health and well-being by continually innovating our program.
FACING TODAY’S CHALLENGES To address rising concerns nationally and within our own community surrounding mental health and wellness, we have found a natural space within the Middle School PE curriculum to help students find ways to cope with, process, and react in healthy ways to the stressors they may feel during their adolescent years. For instance, on the second day of school, all Middle School girls learned proper posture while they deliberately and intentionally performed bodyweight exercises. We want to help them correct the “hunched neck-and-shoulder” posture that’s highly associated with increasing amounts of screen time.
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PERSPECTIVES
