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It is estimated that 75 percent of our youth participate in insufficient physical activity. To combat this problem, Notre Dame Academy developed a physical education program for students that promotes fitness for life.
The daily personal fitness program at Notre Dame Academy:
As part of every school day, students participate in 30 minutes of physical education. The focus of the physical education program is to develop a lifetime of fitness. The program follows the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. The SPARK (Sports, Play and Recreation for Kids) curriculum and the Velocity Sport Performance program are utilized in class instruction.
The goals of the Notre Dame Academy physical education program are:
Curriculum encourages maximum participation during class time. It is the goal at Notre Dame Academy to provide a program with active participation and practice in a positive, non-threatening atmosphere. The program aims to improve the children’s physical skills, fitness, social development, and personal enjoyment.
Activity areas presented, and their major physical parameters emphasized are:
| Instructional Units | Physical Parameters Developed |
| Perceptual Power | body and spatial awareness, directionality, non-locomotor and locomotor skills |
| Great Games | agility, locomotor skills, fleeing, chasing, dodging, tagging |
| Beanbag Boogie | small object manipulation, grasping, throwing, catching |
| Parachute Parade | non-locomotor and locomotor skills, strength, creative movement |
| Happy Hoops | large object manipulation, general coordination, rhythm and balance |
| Jumping for Joy | balance, rhythm, strength, endurance |
| Having a Ball | small and large object manipulation, catching, throwing, dribbling |
| Let's Hit It | striking; general, hand-eye, and foot-eye coordination |
| Dance With Me | rhythm, balance, creative movement, general coordination, agility |
| Superkid Stunts | strength, general coordination, creative movement, agility |
3rd-8th Grade PE Curriculum
The two different types of class activities are as follows:
Type I Health-related fitness: Includes the development of muscular strength and endurance, cardiovascular endurance, flexibility, locomotor, and non-locomotor skills.
Type II Skill-related fitness: Includes the development of manipulative and sports related skills. Children learn to manipulate objects, particularly those relevant to opportunities for youth sports participation. A limited number of skills/sports are emphasized, but these are the ones that have the potential for cardiovascular development. By limiting the number of sports, the possibility that instructors will teach the generalizable skills and that students will become successful at them are increased.
Sample activity areas and the major physical parameters emphasized are:
| Type I Activities | Parameters Developed |
| Group Fitness | rhythm, balance, coordination, cardiovascular fitness |
| Jump Rope | balance, hand-eye coordination, rhythm, endurance |
| Walking, Jogging, Running | pacing, gait, cardiovascular fitness |
| Fitness Circuits | strength, agility, balance, general coordination |
| Parachute Play | locomotor skills, rhythm, strength, creative movement |
| Aerobic Games | coordination, locomotor skills, fleeing, chasing, grasping |
| Dance and Rhythms |
rhythm, locomotor skills, coordination, creative movement |
| Cooperative Games | aerobic and anaerobic conditioning, agility |
| Type 2 Activities | Parameters Developed |
| Soccer | dribbling, passing, shooting, eye-foot coordination |
| Frisbee | throwing, catching, pivoting, hand-eye coordination |
| Basketball | dribbling, passing, catching, shooting, hand-eye coordination |
| Volleyball | serving, passing, setting, striking |
| Track & Field | running, jumping, throwing, passing, general coordination |
| Softball | striking, catching, throwing, hand-eye coordination |
| Handball | striking, serving, catching, hand-eye coordination |
| Field Games | throwing, catching, passing, pivoting |
The physical education program encourages positive interactions where both good sporting behavior and skill performances are reinforced during classes. Games are modified to promote the development of positive interaction skills at each grade level.