Physical and Personal Wellness 9

Cross-listed with physical education, wellness & college counseling

One semester will be Physical Wellness taught by the Physical Education faculty, and students will be taught the basics of healthy living, how to incorporate healthy habits into our daily lives, and be introduced to lifetime fitness activities such as yoga, Pilates, exercise fitness; nutrition, mindfulness/breathing techniques. Students will learn how to put together a workout program, become knowledgeable in the use of the equipment in the Fitness Center, learn proper techniques and skills for exercising properly, and learn to play lifetime sports such as badminton, tennis, golf, pickleball, etc. The purpose is for students to learn how to be active and healthy, thus promoting the physical wellness of the child.

The other semester will be Personal Wellness taught by the counseling department and supplemented with outside speakers, which shift annually according to the students’ developmental needs and issues in our community. The goal is to provide a foundation for health, wellness, diversity, and relationships. At Roland Park Country School, we recognize that our students are experiencing more stress than ever before and we use course topics to explore good and bad stress, reflect on boundary setting and the importance of self-care, and talk about asking for help as steps to create resilience. Topics include: anxiety and depression (The Johns Hopkins Adolescent Depression Awareness (ADAP) Program includes three one-hour classes on depression and bipolar disorder); sex education, which focuses on respect, relationships, and responsibility from the Project School Wellness curriculum, and specific topics, including sexual health, making healthy decisions, and consent; drug and alcohol use prevention; self-care; healthy relationships; time management; and peer pressure.