Green Acres School

Just as children’s cognitive, social, and emotional development all affect their overall growth, their physical development also plays a key role. Parents understand these interrelationships instinctively: Students must eat well to learn effectively; they must feel confident in their learning to maintain positive social relationships; and they must feel nurtured to feel safe and perform well when facing life’s normal challenges.

Middle School students participate in physical education classes three hours per week, divided among either three or four class sessions. Team-building skills are honed for a variety of games, such as soccer, basketball, volleyball, and hockey, enabling students to understand basic strategies like passing, getting open to create scoring opportunities, defending a team’s goal, and developing “court sense.” Not surprisingly, these skills are also put to use in both weekly PE “league” games and in interscholastic athletics, which begin in grade 5.

Physical education classes also emphasize personal physical activity and commitment to lifelong exercise as a component of health. Each student competes against himself or herself to improve scores in running, calisthenic and aerobic exercise, and agility. Because scores are kept from year to year, students see their improvement and develop confidence they need to sustain commitment to physical activity throughout their lives.

At Green Acres, the importance of physical education is not eclipsed by other subjects. Rather, because physical development is an essential component of a student’s overall health and growth, we continue to seek new ways to challenge students on the fields and courts as well as in their classrooms.