Curriculum
Health
The New York State Department of Education requires all students to complete one semester of Health Education at the senior high school level in order to meet NYS graduation requirements and receive a diploma.
HEALTH - Grades 10, 11 & 12 (1/2 Year -1/2 Credit) 5 per. weekly Offered: Fall and Spring semesters. Required for: GRADUATION. Health education is available to students in grades 10, 11 and 12. It is preferred that students take health in grade 10 or 11. The Huntington High School Health Education course presents a variety of methods for making its content available to the students. Class discussions, motivational games and activities, student presentations, guest speakers and audio-visual aids are all utilized to make this a student centered, positive classroom experience. Huntington High School offers an extensive health curriculum which includes the following topics: • Mental Health: Self-Awareness • Stress and Stress Management • The Troubled Personality • Death and Dying • Chemical Abuse: Drugs, Alcohol, Tobacco • Nutrition • Human Sexuality and Family Life • Sexually Transmitted Diseases including AIDS
HEALTH - Grades 10, 11 & 12 (1/2 Year -1/2 Credit) Alternating days Same as above.
Physical Education
Physical education contributes to the broad goals of education through the development of personal living skills by participation in lifelong activities. The blending of each personal living skill: physical fitness (cardiovascular and musculoskeletal), cooperation, risk taking, safety, initiative, leadership, trust and respect leads to a solid educational experience for our students. Through a combination of activities, each student will acquire these personal living skills. Fundamental and advanced skills will challenge all grade levels, ending in a concentration on leisure, lifetime activities for recreational development. We hope to generate enthusiasm and respect for physical education in our students. We strive to develop an attitude of lifetime fitness. By providing meaningful learning experiences, we may expand the perimeters of the total learning experience. Physical education is a program for all.
The Physical Education program is designed to meet the needs of each and every student. Each course offering encompasses an individual’s physical, social, emotional and cognitive self. The goal is to promote physical movement as it relates to the whole person and to instill a positive attitude toward fitness and health for a lifetime. With a focus on health fitness, which includes cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, muscular strength, muscular endurance and body composition, each student will have the opportunity to achieve these goals through individual or team-oriented activities.
Enrollment in each class is designed to create a safe and productive environment for each student as well as to maximize their development of health fitness and educate their mind and body through physical activity. Students will select their program during their physical education class period. Every effort will be made to accommodate a student’s choice with grade level given first priority during selection. However, the Physical Education Department reserves the right to assign students to any class to meet the overall needs of the school such as: safety, class size, period enrollment, and/or program changes. Therefore, choices may not be granted regardless of grade level. Students will be scheduled coeducationally and separated by gender when participating in contact activities. Requirement: The passing of eight (8) semesters of Physical Education (4 years) is required for graduation. The Physical Education grade is included in the GPA and 1/4 credit is granted each successful semester for a total of 2 credits for graduation.
PE 9 Grade 9 - PROJECT ADVENTURE/ PERSONAL FITNESS The Project Adventure portion of grade 9 physical education aids in the participants’ development of greater self-confidence and at the same time builds a sense of trust and commitment among classmates. The emphasis in this course is on participation, and students are encouraged to extend their limits both physically and emotionally. Students are required to participate in all group activities, but may decline to attempt individual challenges that they feel are beyond their personal limits. The Personal Fitness portion of grade 9 physical education is designed to cover fundamental and current topics in healthrelated physical fitness, nutrition and stress. This component will help each student develop a personal fitness program and assist them in making the commitment to a positive lifestyle.
PE 10 Grade 10 - Sport Education Students will participate in individual and team activities developed through the Sport Education Model. This approach is designed to gradually shift decision making from teachers to students. When students are empowered to take responsibility for their actions, they have the opportunity to practice the element of the following standards: Choosing appropriate personal health and fitness practices, leading in creating and maintaining safe and positive experiences for all and utilizing available personal and community resources. There are many objectives of the Sports Education season to help students. Some include: Developing skills and fitness that are sport specific, sharing in the planning and administration of their sport experience and working efficiently with a group toward a common goal. The overall purpose of this program is to provide a “take-off point” for creative approaches to the teaching of the affective curriculum in both traditional sport units and non-traditional adventure type units.
PE 11/12 Grades 11 & 12 - Choose one for each semester: Team Sports/Activities Individual/Life-Time Sports Project Adventure II (fall) Project Adventure III (spring) Mountain Biking
TEAM SPORTS & ACTIVITIES Team-oriented classes concentrating on those activities which relate to sports and other large group activities. Skill development, socialization, teamwork and cooperation are stressed throughout the program. Skill drills, lead-up activities and modified games allow for maximum learning and maximum participation to take place. Some units include, but are not limited to: flag football, soccer, volleyball, basketball, pickleball, and floor hockey.
INDIVIDUAL & LIFETIME SPORTS Sport classes include sports and activities that one can participate in during leisure time. The focus is on learning and improving skills that are designed to allow one to participate alone or with a minimum number of people. Some units may include, but are not limited to: tennis, golf, archery, weight-training, aerobics, yoga, badminton, and pickleball.
PROJECT ADVENTURE II This course focuses on further developing a student’s ability to manage their perceived personal limits to accomplish new goals. Students will develop higher levels of self-confidence and appreciation for each member of the group, while experiencing challenges. This will give students the opportunity to test themselves against physical and emotional limits in order to attain higher levels of performance. Activities include low and high element challenges on the Project Adventure Course. Written activities are also required.
PROJECT ADVENTURE III This course is an extension of PA 9 and PA II. It further expands and develops the student’s ability to become a leader. The course is designed to nourish each individual’s leadership style and his/her ability to communicate, problem solve, and develop interpersonal relationships while participating in many group activities. Activities include low and high element challenges on the Project Adventure Course. Written activities are also a requirement
ADAPTED/ADAPTIVE PHYSICAL EDUCATION Prerequisite: Inclusion only through referral process and departmental approval. The Adapted/Adaptive program is a comprehensive service delivery system designed to identify and ameliorate problems within the psychomotor domain. Services include psychomotor assessment, individualized educational programming, developmental and/or prescriptive teaching, counseling and coordination of related resources. Services provide optimal physical educational experiences for students who may not safely or successfully engage in unrestricted participation in the activities of the regular physical education program.
SPORTFOLIO/HOME TUTORING In complying with the Commissioner’s regulations, the department of physical education offers a program to those students that are temporarily or permanently unable to participate in the regular program. Students medically excused from P.E. from one day to one year will participate in written projects pertaining to physical education and interscholastic athletics.
INTRAMURAL PROGRAM Activities offered in our intramural program are based on student interest. Students who are not competing at the interscholastic level during that season of intramurals may participate. Listed below are the activities presently scheduled. Other activities may be substituted based on student enthusiasm. FALL: Weight Training WINTER: Weight Training SPRING: Weight Training.
Middle School
Health 7 (20 Weeks) All seventh grade students enrolled at Finley Middle School must take one semester of health. The State Education Department has determined that every student must receive at least one semester of health in the middle school. The Health Education curriculum includes units in mental health, decision-making, family life, substance use and abuse, and chronic and communicable diseases.
Health 8 (10 Weeks) The Health Education curriculum examines critical health issues facing adolescents today. Topics include pressures of being a teenager, prejudice, teen pregnancy, personal safety and abduction, violence, STD’s and drug abuse. The students will identify and practice the skills necessary to make informed decisions and solve health problems.
Physical Education 7 and 8 (40 Weeks – Alternate Days) Physical Education is required of all seventh and eighth grade students. Through various team and individual sports, students will learn fundamental skills, game rules and strategies. Students will also learn skills such as sportsmanship, teamwork, cooperation and many other important life skills. Various units may be co-educational. The unit of activity may include: - Soccer - Floor Hockey - Flag Football - Lacrosse - Basketball - Softball - Volleyball - Track - Wrestling - Weight Training - Tennis - Physical Fitness - Badminton - Field Hockey - Aerobics