Dear Parents and Students, The physical education teachers welcome you to the Durham Middle School Physical Education Program. We are striving to make your physical education experience here a most meaningful and beneficial one. In keeping with the middle school concept, our philosophy is exploratory in nature. We feel each student should experience a wide variety of activities and a positive attitude should be developed through total participation. We believe that middle school programs should emphasize physical fitness and students should develop an understanding of lifetime fitness values. In addition, the middle school student should be exposed to current health issues so that rational decisions regarding one's health can be made. Through these opportunities, our hope is that each student will experience success and develop a positive self-concept. We also hope each student learns the importance of cooperation, sportsmanship, responsibility, and teamwork. Finally, we hope that these experiences provide an opportunity for significant physical, mental, emotional, and social growth. Intramurals are an exciting part of the Durham Physical Education experience. We plan to begin our intramural program on Tuesday, September 2, 2008. Intramurals will be offered Monday through Thursday from 8:00 AM until 8:50am. Each day will feature a variety of activities posted on the intramural calendar in the gym lobby. Students are not required to dress out for intramurals, but may do so if they wish. Students should make every effort to arrive at intramurals by 8:00am.
In order to maintain a successful program, we ask for your cooperation and support in the following ways:
Physical Education Clothes: For daily participation, students need a T-shirt (no hats, tank tops, pajamas, or midriffs), gym shorts (no boxer shorts or cutoffs), socks and tennis shoes (no sandals; no marking black soles, no flip-flops). Warm-ups may be worn in cooler weather. WE ENCOURAGE THE PURCHASE OF THE SCHOOL T-SHIRT. PLEASE LABEL ALL PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLOTHING! This will help decrease the loss of clothes. Wash all clothes at least once a week.
Lockers: Each student will be assigned a combination lock and locker in the locker room to be used for P.E. clothes. It is the STUDENT'S RESPONSIBILITY to make sure all personal items and clothing are put in the locker and that the locker is LOCKED. We strongly suggest keeping clothes in a plastic bag inside the locker (this will decrease the loss of clothes). No aerosol cans or glass will be allowed. (Deodorant, perfume or hair spray). No unauthorized sharing of lockers will be allowed. Lockers of friends or siblings will not be opened and please do not give out your combination to anyone. Lost and found clothing will be collected every 9 weeks and donated to a charity.
Excuses: A written note with a parent's signature is required to excuse a student from participating, but students MUST STILL DRESS OUT. A doctor's note is required when being excused longer than five consecutive days.
Agenda: Agenda and a writing utensil should be brought to physical education each day.
If a student does not dress out the following grade consequences will be given:
1st time: 96-Warning 2nd time: 92-notice sent home to parent to be signed and returned.
3rd time: 88-Written report and parent signature on the report. 4th time: 82-Detention
5th time: 76-Administrative conference and parent contact. 6th time: office referral
Our continuing goal is to have a high quality physical education program at Durham Middle School. We will keep you informed of the various activities which will be offered, and hope you will become involved in any way possible. If you have any questions, please contact us at 770- 975- 6641
