Physical Education in primary school is an integral part of the IB Primary Years Programme (IB PYP). Its purpose is to develop a combination of transferable skills promoting personal, social and physical development; to encourage present and future choices that contribute to long-term healthy living; and to understand the cultural significance of physical activities for individuals and communities.
Five strands are designed to interact with each other, working together to support the overall development of each student. These strands are detailed below:
Individual Pursuit
- Students develop basic motor skills and their body’s capacity for movement through locomotor and manipulative skills, developing techniques and learning the rules and purpose of a range of activities.
- Students learn to recognize a high level of achievement and how to improve their own performance in track and field related activities in upper primary grades and swimming in grades K-5.
Movement Composition
- Students recognize that movements can be linked together and refined to create a sequence of aesthetic movements.
- Students move in response to stimuli to communicate feelings, emotions and ideas in gymnastics and dance in the lower primary grades.
Games
- Students identify and develop appropriate skills and strategies when playing a variety of team games.
- These games vary from simple, low-organization games for the lower primary grades to football, basketball, and volleyball for the upper primary classes. Students recognize the importance of teamwork; identifying and developing appropriate skills and strategies; recognizing the importance of rules and how they define the nature of a game; modifying existing games and creating new games.
Adventure Challenges
- Students engage in a variety of tasks (both individual and group) to develop their physical and critical-thinking skills.
- Students work together collaboratively in order to solve problems and accomplish common goals. Cooperative games and activities are done in all grade levels.
Health-Related Fitness
- Students learn to recognize and appreciate the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle; the body’s response to exercise including the interaction of body systems and the development of physical fitness.
Sports Day and Swimming Gala
Physical Education provides a fun and active experience full of learning. During their PE time students will discover some lifetime activities that they can take away with them. The physical education department also organizes a whole school Sports Day shortly after the beginning of the year whereby students engage in a day of physical activities and sporting events throughout the MEF IS campus. This is a day for students to share their school pride by wearing their house colors and parents visit to cheer on the students.
The Swimming Gala, held in the spring, is another community event that provides an opportunity for students to demonstrate what they have learned in swimming class, as there are individual competitions,while demonstrating good sportsmanship by cheering on their peers.
