At IDS, we believe Physical Education is an integral and invaluable component of every child’s education here. Physical Education classes are designed teach skill development, sportsmanship, cooperation, participation, and of course, having fun all with equal emphasis! During a typical class, the students have the opportunity to work on basic skills such as throwing, catching or dribbling. These skills are then practiced and applied to a wide variety of games.
Interscholastic athletics for students in Sixth through Eighth Grade are offered after school. Every Middle School student has the opportunity to participate in Soccer and Cross Country in the fall, Basketball in the winter, and Lacrosse in the spring. It is our school philosophy to encourage and include all students who wish to participate on a team of their choice. Our coaching staff prepares our student athletes for competition with an emphasis on skill development, physical conditioning, and strategies for playing each team sport.
Early Childhood
Even our youngest students—the Beginners and Pre-Kindergarteners—participate in the program, meeting twice weekly for gym class. At this level, the curriculum emphasizes basic skills, such as skipping, galloping, and hopping, which we practice the first class of the week. The second class typically involves tag "Game Day" with directions simple enough for small children to understand. These games develop spatial awareness and teach basic locomotive skills, cooperation and persistence all while affording the children a great, active experience.
The lessons are much the same in Kindergarten and First Grade when students meet for gym three times each week. We introduce more advanced skills at this stage like dribbling and throwing and incorporate these skills in the theme-based games. Still we work hard to remove the competitive element from play to ensure that the focus of PE at this level remains on fun.
Lower School
In Second and Third Grade, we introduce team activities to encourage cooperative work and play. By Fourth and Fifth Grade, the students engage in grade level team sports employing all the skills developed earlier. We play the basics, of course, such as basketball and volleyball, but also introduce less traditional games including cricket, tennis, and archery. Meeting three times weekly allows for the further skill training necessary for a specific sport. When we learn golf, for example, we devote one day to swinging, one day to putting, and on the final day we combine all our skills in play on a mini course. Fifth Graders receive Health education through BAM, our Body and Mind program.