Athletics at Whitby
Overview and Goals
Whitby School's physical education and athletics program aims to provide a wide range of athletic disciplines that cater to the needs of a wide diversity of students. Whitby offers interscholastic team sports earlier than most schools starting at third grade with participation in a local Montessori/Independent Schools league for 3rd-4th graders and full-participation in the Fairchester Athletic Association League for 5th-8th graders, in soccer, basketball, softball, baseball, tennis and cross-country.
The aim is to expose students to the competitive aspects to playing sports, while developing sportsmanship, cooperative and problem-solving/decision-making skills that are associated with sports. In physical education, the curriculum is built from a bottom-up approach with gross and fine motor skills being the dominant base for lower and middle elementary students with a greater exposure to team and individual sports in the upper school. The goals are thus:
To promote enjoyable, challenging and successful experiences both in PE and Athletics. Since it is not mandatory for students to participate in after school sports, our experience has shown that students will want to play based on their experiences from regular PE class and prior year's involvement.
To develop and reinforce a child's inherent love of movement, play, healthy competition and thus a lifelong interest in personal health and wellness.
To develop the understanding that the way the game is played and the personal benefits and growth gained from participation are more important and valuable than winning.
To foster a student's desire and willingness for inclusion in both recreational and competitive sports outside of school. We want students to be inclusive when graduating Whitby in high school sports as opposed to self-exclusion, through the development of self-esteem and self-confidence.
Physical Education Classes and After-School Sports
Teaching Philosophy & Approach
Physical Education Assessment
