Program Description

In the pre-school and kindergarten grades the physical education program is designed to allow students to develop physical strength and life-long skills.  Students work on developing large motor skills such as running, walking, skipping, hopping, catching and throwing, and balancing.  They begin to develop coordination, physical grace and greater control of their bodies.

As students progress through the elementary grades, the large motor skills are sharpened and small motor skills are developed.  Game activities are introduced with specific sets of skills.  Students learn to follow multi-step instructions and to move from one physical activity to another.  Finally, they learn the basics of an array of athletic activities such as soccer, basketball, floor hockey, lacrosse, kickball and volleyball.

Students learn the importance of responsible personal and social behavior in an athletic setting and they learn to work together and to compete appropriately.  They learn to challenge themselves as individuals and to set personal goals, and they are introduced to the concept of working together in a team.

In grades six through eight, students have a choice of an athletic activity or team sport across the three seasons of the school year.  In team sports we compete with several local independent schools in a league, and we also play friendly games with some schools that are not in the league.  In the fall, the choices of team sport are soccer (boys) or field hockey (girls).  The athletic activity is karate. In winter the team sport is basketball and the athletic activity is racket sports.  In spring the students play lacrosse, or choose karate.