Students participate in weekly fitness days, P.E. on half days and Halloween, and students are even required to walk around the gym before class starts. Sitting in the bleachers is a thing of the past , which has left many students wondering why the Physical Education department has implemented new changes this year.

While none of us were at the school to experience the old “run days,” in which students had to run a big boy outside once a week, a lot of us know about them from older friends and siblings. Also, many of us remember the old “Workout Wednesdays” in middle school.

Similar to these designated workout days, new fitness days occur once a week. However, instead of occurring on the same say each week, the new days occur randomly, so students often do not know when they will occur.

With all of the new changes, it may seem like the the new fitness days reign in a new era of gym, but that is not the case.

P.E. teacher Cassandra Fisher explained that the P.E. curriculum was rewritten a few years ago to include these changes in an effort to be more aligned with the state standards, and that is where the major changes occurred such as required grade level gym classes.

“Students did not like the change at first,” Fisher said. “It took a few years to catch on, and now that we as a staff are more comfortable with the required classes, I think that sentiment is trickling down to the students.”

The majority of current students do not know a time before common assessments, skill tests, and required P.E. classes.

For younger students wondering if they will be experiencing changes in these standards within the next few years, the answer is no; at least not until the next curriculum re-write.

“Since the standards are required by the state, we will not be getting rid of any of the things we are currently doing any time soon,” Fisher said. “We are constantly re-visiting our required classes and making small changes to make it work for everyone involved.”

According to New Jersey’s Comprehensive Health and Physical Education Standards, the gym curriculum is written to encourage healthy lifestyles among students. Students are introduced to recreation, aerobic, and strength building activities that they can continue to participate in long after they leave the high school.

It is hoped that the new activities will positively impact the health and well being of HHS students as a whole.

“Overall, I personally hope that over the course of four years, students find some type of physical activity that they are interested in and continue to do throughout their lifetime,” Fisher said. “There are so many activities available through intramural programs and fitness centers as well as many things someone can do at home or in their neighborhood. My hope is for people to find and then continue healthy behaviors once they leave us at HHS.”

So, although some students may be unhappy with the changes, overall the new gym standards appear to be another important step in the right direction to increase the fitness of students at HHS.