Health & Physical Education
The Middle School students in Edison Township are required to take 3 marking periods of Physical Education and 1 marking period of Health for each of their three years of middle school.
The purpose of the Physical Education program is to help develop the correlation between a healthy mind and a healthy body. Utilizing the basic principles of physical fitness, muscular strength, endurance, flexibility, and cardiovascular development, a student can begin to develop a positive attitude towards healthy living. Fitness activities will be incorporated every week throughout the school year. The curriculum has been contoured to meet the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards for Physical Education.
The development of skills, an understanding of the strategies, and the tactics and techniques employed in various activities, allows a student to become more competent in that sport, or hopefully become a better educated spectator. Students will participate in a combination of team sports and lifetime or individual activities throughout the school year.
Our coeducational program also helps to develop important social skills. The extensive variety of skill levels dictates a recreational setting, allowing students to learn and play in a relaxed atmosphere.
As professional educators we recognize the importance of warm-ups as an essential beginning to every class session. Our students are prepared through a series of specifically designed flexibility, strength, and cardiovascular activities created to meet the demands of each particular lesson. Both Dynamic and Static stretches will be utilized, which incorporates the most recent research and scientifically – based best practices into our Physical Education programs.
The purpose of Health Education is to have students focus on taking personal responsibility for their health through an active, healthy lifestyle that fosters a lifelong commitment to wellness. Students should develop a high level of health literacy. Health Education provides for a high level of health through the use of the media, technology, culture, and the ability to interpret health resources. This knowledge gives the students the tools to assume responsibility for their lifelong physical, social, and emotional well-being. Embracing this concept, the health program at the middle school level is organized around the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards, and the New Jersey Legislative Statutes and stresses communication, problem solving, and personal responsibility. The Health Education program will help create advocates for global wellness and knowledge of public health and safety issues.
The manner in which fact, opinion, values, level of maturity, and emotions bear upon the decision-making process will be discussed at every level. The extent to which the objectives of the health program are achieved will be determined, in the final analysis, by the health practices of the students.
We in Edison Township focus our programs on total health, stressing the important balance between quality physical, emotional and social health.