Rokeby High School 2000

School Profile:

 Rokeby High School has a current enrolment of just under 300 students.  Since its founding in 1980, the school has been a community dedicated to the provision of a caring, supportive, safe environment in which students are encouraged to work hard and to enjoy learning.  Health Promoting Schools activities are a vital part of all areas of the school.  Programs include provisions for student and staff health and welfare, a comprehensive Health curriculum and community involvement. 

Getting started 

• HPS became a priority area within the Bowen District the year before the course was changed.  Our school took on the priority and under its umbrella came HPE.  This meant that HPE was a school priority, curriculum priority and professional development priority from 1998 onwards.
• As a professional development priority, HPE was given monetary assistance which enabled us to attend ACHPER conferences and the HPS conferences.  It also enable us to have ‘planning and curriculum writing’ days and buy resources.
• As a school priority, HPS Award PD days were held, activities varied, but the refocus on ‘Health’ and its associated parts was excellent for us.
• Prior to 2000, student completed the PE214/215 course over two years.  Because we were involved with the writing of the new Syllabuses, we were given ample time to argue a case for increased HPE time.  This process began in 1998 and in 2000 students now complete the HPE course in one year.

Planning 

• Developed rough units of work, trying to make sure that they involved relationships, identity etc.
• Timetabled a rough year plan.
• Prior to developing units, we expanded upon the rough plan to develop what we and the students wanted.
• Implemented units.
• After implementing the units, we reviewed the program.  This was done through staff discussions as well as student input.

 Major focus, goals and strategies:

           Goals

• To develop and implement units of work which are practically based but have a healthy knowledge content as well
• Emphasis in our course is on social skills, safety and achieving best personal performance. 

Strategies:

• Sports education units.
• Negotiating.
• KISS (lots of group tasks, less individual, sit down and theory).
• Relevance to students and their lives.
• Theory supported by practical. Listen, reflect and put into practice.

Key results, what we achieved: 

• More students are now participating in HPE than three years ago.
• Students have greater responsibility in class.
• The philosophy of ‘be your best’ and ‘participation’ seem to have taken hold.
• We have not negotiated the curriculum with students as much as we may have.  We decided that there were some core units such as Health and Fitness, Sexuality, Understanding of self and others, Sports Education and Nutrition and Athletics has to be done, However…
• Students had a choice between a gymnastics or my lifestyle unit.  And there was negotiation involved in the Health and Fitness, Sports Education and Nutrition and Athletics units.

Implications: 

• HPE is still a curriculum priority in 2001
• New syllabuses has enabled the less physically inclined student to achieve to a higher level.

Student/staff responses: 

• Having the extra contact time with students has been excellent.
• Nice to be able to develop/teach the ‘whole picture’ and connect the ‘why’ rather than just ‘how’