Grundy Center Physical Education Mission and Belief Statements

The Grundy Center Physical Education Department has a mission to "Energize and Educate Students for Healthy Lifestyles." This is done using the following belief statements:

* Physical education will challenge students, not
categorize them.

* Physical education will strengthen the self-concept of
each individual

* Physical Education is a lifelong process addressing
energy through the physical, mental and social domains.

* Physical Education recognizes the equal importance of all
students

* Physical Education teaches students the need to INVEST in
themselves in order to see a RETURN.

* The following strands must be interwoven into the K-12
Physical Education curriculum: movement skills strand;
fitness (energy) education strand; team building strand;
cognitive/literacy strand and technology strand.

* Quality Physical Education programming is essential,
Kindergarten - 12.

* Delivery of quality instruction requires certified
physical educators.


Grundy Center Physical Education Philosophy

The Grundy Center Physical Education program represents the New P.E. with a vision to bring physical education into the 21st century using a wellness based curriculum designed to Energize and Educate for Healthy Lifestyles.

At Grundy Center the challenge of teaching physical education is balancing a health related and skill related approach to learning while enhancing the self-concept of the child. State of the art technology is used to provide visual and objective evidence for student progress. Polar E600 heart rate monitor printouts of student activities and fitness routines allows for essential visual feedback to reinforce concepts of positive living investments for students. Developmentally appropriate movement skills and concepts are taught and reinforced continually, however, the heart of teaching physical education at Grundy Center focuses on teaching the skills of life from the skills of games. The Grundy Center physical education program provides preventive prescriptions for students by taking them through an educational process of daily awakenings of their choices with the resulting consequences within their selected lifestyles. This is done by teaching daily lifestyle concepts, filling out lifestyle prescription plans, as well as analyzing TriFit printouts of individual and group summary fitness assessments.

Physical education at Grundy Center is taught using innovative teaching protocols. Class management systems such as the "ultra shuffle" are used to ensure creating a climate for success for all students, not just the talented. Gravionics are a futuristic series of warm-up exercises, which promote posture efficiency. Classical music emphasizing a composer of the month is used for warm-ups emphasizing positive imagery, relaxation, and interdisciplinary learning. Grundy Center Physical Education is constantly changing and evolving as a result of a commitment to the continual quest for best practice. This journey invariably leads to a search to explore new kinesthetic learning opportunities to capture the imagination and attention of the students. The result will be students that personally value and invest in their own physical activity and health.