Physical Education
All students are required to successfully complete at least 1 semester/credit of Physical Education each year. Each PE class meets every other day for one semester.
Class Options:
Health & Fitness
This course is a mix of classroom work and fitness activities. Students will spend their classroom time in a project-based learning environment researching and reporting on topics in nutrition, living an active lifestyle, mental health, and the effects of drugs on the body. Each class period, the fitness component will consist of approximately 20 minutes of activities including walking, strength training with free weights, machines, and body weight movement. This course can only be taken one time. Students are NOT required to dress out for this class.
Personal Fitness
Students will be involved in a variety of fitness activities including core development, functional agility and movement patterns, plyometrics, muscular strength development, cardiovascular endurance work, and joint mobility/flexibility training. Yoga and Pilates concepts will also be utilized. This course is similar to Performance PE, but at a lower intensity and skill level. Students are required to dress out for this class.
Key Contact
Performance PE
Students will follow an individualized functional strength training program. The class will also incorporate workouts that focus on core strength, upper and lower body mobility, muscle flexibility, foot agility, and linear and lateral speed development. This class is designed for athletes. but is also for non-athletes who are serious about fitness. Students are tested on the hang clean, front squat, bench press, vertical jump, standing broad jump, pro agility drill, and 10-yard dash five times throughout the course of the term. Improvement on these tests factor into the final grade. Students are required to dress out for this class.
Team Fitness
Students in this course will begin each class with a low-level cardio activity followed by flexibility development and some light movement activities. The remainder of the class will be spent in an open gym atmosphere where students must stay active by walking, playing basketball, bumping the volleyball in groups, etc. Students are required to dress out for this class.
Unified PE
Kennedy is proud to be a Special Olympics Unified Champion School! Unified PE brings students with and without intellectual disabilities together to practice sports and do fitness activities. It creates an environment where everyone feels welcomed, valued, and included in both school and the local community. All students enrolled in this course receive PE credit. There are also opportunities to assist with Special Olympic events throughout the school year, including a bowling tournament in the fall, basketball skills in winter, and a track and field event in the spring.
- What is the required dress for PE classes?
- What happens if I forget my PE clothes?
- Where can I keep my personal items? Do you have lockers?
- What if I don’t have room in my schedule for PE?
- Since PE is only one semester, what do I do the other semester?
- Can I take Physical Education all year?
- If I participate in a sport or am involved in marching band or show choir, do I have to take a PE class?
- What happens if I fail a PE class?
- How do I make up classes if I am sick or gone from school?
- What happens if I cannot participate because of an injury or extended illness?