Physical Education

In Physical Education, students acquire the knowledge and skills for movement that provide the foundation for enjoyment, continued social development through physical activity, and access to a physically-active lifestyle. Our goal is for the student to exhibit a physically-active lifestyle and understand the relationship between physical activity and health throughout the lifespan.

Grades K-2

In Grades K-2, children learn fundamental movement skills and begin to understand how the muscles, bones, heart, and lungs function in relation to physical activity. Students begin to develop a vocabulary for movement and apply concepts dealing with space and body awareness. Students are engaged in activities that develop basic levels of strength, endurance, and flexibility. In addition, students learn to work safely in group and individual movement settings. A major objective is to present activities that complement their natural inclination to view physical activity as challenging and enjoyable.

Grades 3-5

In Grades 3-5, students continue to develop strength, endurance, and flexibility. Students can demonstrate mature form in fundamental locomotor and manipulative skills and can often maintain that form while participating in dynamic game situations. Identifying personal fitness goals for themselves and beginning to understand how exercise affects different parts of the body is an important part of the instructional process.

Grades 6-8

In Grades 6-8, students understand in greater detail the function of the body, learn to measure their own performance more accurately, and develop plans for improvement. They learn to use technology such as heart rate monitors to assist in measuring and monitoring their own performance. Identifying the types of activities that provide them with enjoyment and challenge and that will encourage them to be physically active throughout life is reinforced during instruction in these grades.

Grades 9-12

In grades 9-12, an array of physical education courses is provided in order to meet the diverse needs and interests of high school students.  Students can choose from Foundations of Personal Fitness which is geared toward those students who want to strive for lifetime personal fitness with an emphasis on the health-related components of physical fitness.  For those students who want to spend time exploring the outdoors, Adventure/Outdoor Education is an option.  Aerobic Activities focuses on students who wish to take part in a personal fitness program that uses aerobic activity as a foundation.  And for the sport enthusiast, Individual Sports or Team Sports are available.  Students in Individual Sports are expected to participate in a wide range of individual sports that can be pursued for a lifetime.  Students enrolled in Team Sports are expected to develop health-related fitness and an appreciation for team work and fair play. 

Off-Campus Physical Education

According to policy EIF (Local) the Board of Trustees may award up to 2 credits, which may be substituted for state graduation credit in physical education, for physical education in appropriate private or commercially sponsored physical activity programs conducted either on or off campus, upon approval by the Commissioner of Education.  As specified by the Texas Education Agency, students in secondary grades (7-12) may apply for Off-Campus Physical Education and will be considered for participation in one of two (2) categories.  These include:

• Category One - These programs involve a minimum of fifteen (15) hours per week of HIGHLY INTENSE, professionally supervised training. The training facility, instructors, and the activities of the program must be certified by the superintendent or designee to be of exceptional quality. Students qualifying at this level may miss one period per day.   The student would be required to follow this schedule for at least a full semester.  Students participating at this level may receive a maximum of one-half credit per semester.  A total of one and one-half credits may be earned toward state high school graduation requirements in grades 9-12.
• Category Two - These programs are to be of high quality, well supervised by appropriately trained instructors, and consisting of a minimum of AT LEAST FIVE HOURS PER WEEK.  Students certified to participate at this level may not be dismissed from any part of the regular school day.   Students participating at this level may receive a maximum of one-half credit per semester.  A total of one and one-half credits may be earned toward state high school graduation requirements in grades 9-12.

Students who participate in the district’s Off-Campus Physical Education Program (OCPE) are still expected to demonstrate mastery of the Physical     Education TEKS/SE for that grade level.  A copy of these may be obtained from a counselor at one of our secondary campuses or by visiting:
 
Middle School Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Website > (Grades 7-8)
  – or –   
High School Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills Website > (Grades 9-12)

Fitnessgram

During the 80th Legislative Session Senate Bill 530 was passed requiring fitness assessment for all students in grades 3 to 12 beginning with the 2007-2008 school year. After a thorough review and a request for offer process, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) identified FITNESSGRAM© as the assessment tool to be used by all districts throughout the state. S.B. 530 mandated that the Texas Education Agency complete the following objectives:

1. Annually assess the physical fitness of students enrolled in grades three through 12.
2. Adopt an assessment instrument to be used by school districts.
3. Compile the results of the physical fitness assessment captured by school districts and     provide summary results to the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
4. Analyze the results received for each school district to determine whether a relationship     exists between student academic achievement, attendance, obesity, disciplinary     problems, and school meal programs.
5. Provide a report to the legislature no later than September 1 of each year.

In November of 2007, the state selected FiITNESSGRAM© by Human Kinetics as the approved assessment instrument. FITNESSGRAM© is a health-related fitness assessment tool for grades K-12. It uses criterion-referenced standards called the Healthy Fitness Zones which are based on age and gender and represent the basic levels for good health and fitness in children ages 5 - 17 years. FITNESSGRAM© was developed by The Cooper Institute of Dallas in an effort to provide physical educators with a tool that would facilitate communicating fitness testing results to students and to parents. The assessment measures three components of health-related physical fitness that have been identified as important to overall health and function: 

• aerobic capacity;
• body composition; and
• muscular strength, endurance and flexibility.

Depending upon the age of the student various types of activities could be employed for each of the components:

Aerobic Capacity

• PACER test
• One-mile run/walk
• Walk test (ages 13 or greater)

• Percent body fat (calculated from triceps and calf skinfolds)
• Body mass index (calculated from height and weight)

• Abdominal strength and endurance (curl-up)
• Trunk extensor strength and endurance (trunk lift)
• Upper body strength and endurance (choose from push-up, modified pull-up, and flexed     arm hang)
• Flexibility (choose from back-saver sit-and-reach and shoulder stretch)