Health, Physical Education and Family Life

This course is a supplement to General Physical Education. Students who are unable to participate in regular Physical Education classes may be offered this course of developmental activities, games, sports and rhythms. Active participation is encouraged in many recreational sports. Students learn rules and techniques for sports adapted to the participants’ specific conditions. Students enrolled in this course may join with the regular Physical Education and/or Health Education classes when appropriate. The goal is to help students adapt their abilities to the demands of daily living. Middle school students have the opportunity to use traverse climbing walls, pedometers, heart rate monitors, inline skates, mountain bikes and outdoor adventure activities.

Students develop the skills, knowledge, attitudes and behaviors that lead to lifetime wellness and fitness. Activities include a variety of aerobic, movement, rhythm/dance and game experiences in which students learn the fundamental rules and practice the lead-up skills that encourage successful participation in sports. Students work cooperatively, exhibit positive sportsmanlike conduct and promote a healthy lifestyle. Health and Family Life are included in the year-long course to present students with information on nutrition, safety and accident prevention, disease prevention and control, alcohol and drug abuse prevention and maintenance of personal health and fitness. The Family Life content focuses on family relationships, sexual safety, assertive behavior, emotional and physical aspects of puberty, human reproduction, and human growth and development.

Physical Education activities continue with skill progression through instruction and participation in rhythmic activities, dance and individual, dual and team sports. Concepts of personal fitness and wellness are developed through experiences in physical activities as well as in the health classroom. Health Education content gives students information on the interaction of body systems in maintaining good health, conflict-resolution skills and the life skills training to be better prepared to deal with the risk factors associated with drugs and alcohol. The Family Life unit covers human reproduction, communicable diseases, HIV/AIDS, abstinence, contraception, communication and personal goal setting.

Students develop personal fitness plans that stress involvement in physical activities that assist with physical, mental and social wellbeing. Skills are reviewed and enhanced through participation in more complex physical activities and sports to promote a healthy lifestyle. Health Education covers information on life-skills training, personal health and physical development, and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. The Family Life unit covers abstinence, contraception, peer pressure, sexual abuse and harassment and changing relationships, and helps students to match behavior to personal values.