Specific grade level content

Athletics are not everyone’s gift. Some students are better in academics, music, or art. Our goal for all students is not to necessarily achieve a certain physical goal but rather to gain an appreciation for sports and physical activity. Taking this into account, however, there is an area of Physical Education that all children must learn to appreciate and incorporate into their daily lives. All children need to learn the importance of staying physically fit simply to stay healthy. Students are assessed not on ability but effort.

Preschool to 1st Grade

Students focus on coordination and developing healthy routines for sports and life. Students exert lots of energy and have the opportunity to develop both an idea of what friendly competition entails as well as understand what working as a team is like. It is fundamental that physical education be seen as an activity which is not only informative but one that is fun. It is because of the fun that they will choose to enter physical activity later in their lives. In this age group we try to work into some sports such as soccer, basketball, and hockey. Much of their time however focuses more around developmental activities which build the capacity to understand, the strength to accomplish, and the coordination to enjoy more complicated sports.

2nd Grade to 6th Grade

Students in these grades have many different objectives to be accomplished in their classes. First and foremost, class is enjoyable. Class is enjoyable because they learn to make it fun. It is one of our goals that they learn to have fun in a game or in an activity regardless of whether that particular activity happens to be their favorite. Students also spend time developing the ability to excel at sports they may wish to play later in life. Sports such as hockey, basketball, soccer, lacrosse, football, and gymnastics are taught in such a way that the student begins to get an understanding of how the sport is played and begin to understand the skills involved in playing the game. It is during this time that drills and tips are taught to students interested in pursuing sports in a more competitive environment.

Students are also pushed to a greater level of physical fitness. By running weekly and stretching daily students are getting an idea of what it means to stay physically fit in order to maintain a healthy body. The Presidential Fitness program is a new tool in exciting students toward a more health way of life. In this program they work on flexibility, strength, and cardiovascular endurance. All three of these aspects are ones we work on regularly and encourage work on at home.

In addition to sport and fitness levels there is a third aspect of physical education at VCS. For students who do not wish to pursue sports we try to establish knowledge of social games. Games like Bombardment, Knock Out, and Tag, though they are not generally thought to be sport, they do serve a purpose in our program because they encourage relationships within the classroom. They are fun and students have a good time playing them. These are the games that if taught well in gym class you might find students playing these during recess or in their own back yard. They generally encourage cardiovascular fitness and teamwork.