- Keith Valley Middle School
- Health/ PE Overview
Health/ Physical Education
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"Setting the PACE... Own Your Fitness"
Is your child getting enough exercise and making wise food choices?
We are one area at K.V. that concentrates on the physical health of your child. We live in an environment that makes it easy to over-eat and be sedentary. Poor diet and physical inactivity may soon overtake tobacco as the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S. Health professionals are concerned about the rapidly rising number of children who are overweight or obese.
We are here to help!!! Our students have health and physical education every other day for the full year at Keith Valley Middle School!
We offer many activities throughout the year to enable students to be physically active on a regular basis. We offer team sports, lifetime sports, cooperative games, weight training, dance and fitness room to accomplish this goal. It is our hope that every student will find some form of activity that s/he can enjoy doing into adulthood. View the links to the left to find an overview the activities and health programs offered,
Health and PE Mission
As a department, we feel it is important to demonstrate to students that being physically active can be fun! We stress preparation, active participation, cooperation, and effort enabling each student to meet success, regardless of their individual skill level. Our mission as physical educators is to:
- Stress the importance of physical fitness to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
- Expose the students to a wide range of activities so they can find something that they enjoy.
- Give students confidence in certain activities enabling them to further their participation in/out of school.
- Emphasize manners, kindness, and respect for individual differences when working in a group or on a team.
Health Classes
Health is taught in every grade at Keith Valley, with the content emphasis shifting in each grade level. In addition to core content, health skills including self-management, goal setting, decision making, accessing reliable information, analyzing internal and external influences, interpersonal communication, and advocacy are discussed and practiced throughout your student's three-year health curriculum.
In sixth grade your child will learn information that will guide him/her in formulating a personal wellness plan. Topics include: growth and development, physical fitness, personal hygiene, nutrition, and interpersonal skills needed to build healthy relationships. Communication, making decisions, managing stress, dealing with conflicts, and respecting differences are all important skills to have when dealing with friends and family.
In seventh grade your child will focus on substance abuse and the physical, emotional, and social problems associated with using drugs. Tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs are examined and discussed. Refusal skills and making wise decisions will be emphasized throughout the units.
In eighth grade your child will focus on disease prevention. You student will learn about communicable and non-communicable diseases in terms of causes, symptoms, treatment, and means of prevention. The structure and function of the male and female reproductive systems and the discussion of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases are presented in same-sex classes to promote good discussion in a more relaxed environment.
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P.E Uniform
We require the students to change their clothes for phys. ed. class. Being prepared involves being in the proper uniform. Students may purchase a Keith Valley Physical Education uniform ($20.00 for shirt and shorts or $10.00 each) or use clothes that your child might already have, which include:
- A light colored T-shirt with student's last name boldly printed on the back
- Plain shorts with the last name boldly printed on the leg
- Sneakers that tie and can be secured to fit so they remain on the feet.
- Sweat pants and sweat shirts are optional no name required on these
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Fitness Assessments
In order to assess your student's fitness level, we administer four fitness assessments to all students at KV twice a year (fall and the spring). These include: push-ups, sit-ups, sit-and-reach, and the mile run. These measure the four important components of fitness that we work on during every PE class in addition to their regular activity. These health components include cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength , muscular endurance, and flexibility.We use an Excel program we have created based on the FITNESSGRAM information to evaluate and educate the students about their personal fitness level.. We have been using this Excel program to compare results to national norms and to provide feedback to the students on their individual strengths and weaknesses. The program also allows us to track students fitness assessment scores from 6th through 8th grade.