The purpose of the Health & Physical Education program is to develop the correlation between a healthy mind and body. The department makes a great effort to provide our students with many activities and opportunities so they can begin to develop a positive attitude towards healthy living.
At this juncture of the academic calendar and curriculum, our Health & PE program is focusing on daily and biweekly physical instruction for 8th and 9th-grade students as well as specific health classes for 9th-grade students.
Daily, the 8th grade and 9th grade PE classes take part in instruction that strives to improve aerobic capacity, overall flexibility, functional movements, and motor skills. Additionally, two times a week, a physical fitness routine consisting of aerobic and anaerobic exercises will be implemented this year. Physical fitness tests will be given every nine weeks to track student progress. Half of our week is allocated to the improvement of muscular strength & endurance, cardiovascular endurance, and overall body composition through weight room activities or alternative forms of strength and conditioning. The other half of the week is devoted to taking part in seasonal sports to improve sport-specific skills and to foster healthy competition, teamwork, and sportsmanship. At this time of the year, our focus is on football.
Many of our 9th-grade Health students are involved in the CPR certification process. The certification includes basic first aid, CPR lifesaving techniques, and AED usage. Proper action in the first few seconds of a situation may save a life, so we are training students how to properly assess the scene and victim first. Students will know how to administer the process of breathing and chest compressions for those victims whose breathing or heartbeat has stopped.
In closing, our 9th-grade Health courses are devoting time to learning how to research communicable diseases. Health education provides a level of understanding using the media, technology, culture, and the ability to interpret health resources. This knowledge gives students the tools to assume responsibility for their lifelong physical, social, and emotional well-being. The Librarians are instructing the students on how to access and cite information from Brother Martin’s print and virtual science collections. Not only are the students learning through research, but are also being instructed on how to locate current credible information from reputable experts that rely on medical research.