"Do something today that your future self will thank you for." This quote sums up the overall philosophy of health education. The goal of Health education is to empowered students to take control of their own well-being (in an age-appropriate manner) and to recognize that practicing positive health behaviors will result in positive consequences now and in the future. In addition to comprehending concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention, students will also develop the following skills throughout their 3rd-5th grade Health education classes: 1) analyzing influences that impact health behaviors, 2) accessing valid and reliable sources of information and services, 3) developing positive interpersonal communication, 4) health-enhancing decision making, 5) goal setting, 6) self-management and 7) advocacy for personal, family and community health.
Health Class Expectations:
Students will generally have Health class in their regular classrooms. The same rules and expectations will apply. This includes rules regarding computer and technology use, respecting the ideas and opinions of others and taking responsibility of their things.
Because Health class sometimes covers more sensitive topics, we will spend a lot of time establishing an emotionally safe environment and ensuring that students feel at-ease talking about potentially tricky topics. Students come from a wide variety of situations, families, beliefs and with a 'backstory' that is unique to them. Because of this, we take extra care in Health class to be sure that students can access content that they need now or that they can hold on to for the future.
A critical part of Health education is the home/school connection. I will often send projects home after they are completed- this is a great time to ask questions about what they are learning and how can apply the knowledge or skills to their 'real life'. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have.