Physical Education

Student running outside with a pool noodle

Learning to Move with Competence and Confidence

At Westside School, our Physical Education class is built on joyful exploration. Throughout their time at Westside, they learn to move with competence and confidence in a wide variety of physical activities and in many settings that benefit the healthy development of the whole child.

Westside’s state of the art gym and our all-weather turf field are places where students are encouraged to have fun! They learn to cooperate and collaborate. They develop a sense of self and community and the importance of committing to a healthy lifestyle. Our students are encouraged to understand the importance of daily exercise and seek ways to improve their fitness.

In P.E. class, children develop team-building and social skills. Our program has a strong emphasis on social and emotional learning which develops interpersonal and intrapersonal skills through physical activity. Students demonstrate skills and concepts in movement such as balance and body stillness, and manipulative skills such as throwing, catching, dribbling, volleying, and striking.

Westside students identify opportunities in their community for exercise and play. They begin to set goals for their physical wellness and work toward those goals throughout the school year. Students learn they are physically capable beings with minds and bodies built to move. They leave Westside School with competence and confidence in their physical selves which allows them a lifetime of opportunities.

P.E. Learning Highlights by Grade

Preschool & Pre-Kindergarten

Kindergarten

1st Grade

2nd Grade

3rd Grade

4th Grade

5th Grade

5th grade P.E. builds on many of the skills, movement patterns, and responsible social behaviors that students learned and practiced in lower (or elementary) school, while also laying the foundation for middle school P.E. Students continue to develop and apply their manipulative and locomotor skills, and participate regularly in physical activities designed to improve their cardiovascular endurance. Students participate in cooperative and competitive gameplay with a focus on teamwork and respect, and having fun.

6th Grade

6th grade P.E. builds on the foundational skills introduced in 5th grade. Students do cardiovascular fitness work, strength building, skill practice, and gameplay, often within the same period. Activities in P.E. reinforce muscle memory begun in 5th grade and give the students the chance to continue building and practicing outside of class. Gameplay is also a focus, both individually and in teams. Finally, giving personal effort and being respectful of classmates, two main themes from 5th grade, continue to be emphasized in 6th grade.

7th Grade

7th grade P.E. class builds on the foundational fitness work, skill-building, and gameplay from the last two years. Students work to improve their cardiovascular fitness and engage in body resistant muscle building and dynamic stretching. Skill-building is scaffolded, with students working on basic athletic skills to advanced sport-specific skills. Throughout the year, students participate in both individual and group games.

8th Grade

8th grade P.E. class builds on the foundational fitness work, skill-building, and gameplay from the last two years. Students work to improve their cardiovascular fitness and engage in body resistant muscle building and dynamic stretching. Skill-building is scaffolded, with students working on basic athletic skills to advanced sport-specific skills. Finally, students participate in individual and group games..

LEARNING AT WESTSIDE

Early learning: preschool & Pre-Kindergarten

Lower School: Kindergarten-4th Grade

Middle School: 5th-8th Grade

SPECIALISTS

Physical Education

Learning to Move with Competence and Confidence

P.E. Learning Highlights by Grade

LEARNING AT WESTSIDE

SPECIALISTS

Limited Space in Select Grades for 2024-2025