Health Class Supplies

Grant - March 2022

School: Manhattan High School
Subject/Area of Influence: Physical Education
Cost of Grant: $406.16

This year the Manhattan High School east campus physical education and health department will instruct approximately 550 students in these required-to-graduate courses. Health focuses on the relationship between overall well-being to include social, mental, and physical well-being. Having a healthy mind and body are both important. The mental health unit focuses on self-esteem, emotions, stress, and identifies types of mental illnesses as well as where to get help. Each student is introduced to various coping mechanisms during class discussion/activities and given tools to help deal with stressful situations. The Mindful Breathing Sticks are an example of one of these tools that the grant will allow students to make. The food and nutrition unit teaches students about essential nutrients and the five food groups with recommended daily allowances. Students learn to read food labels to make healthy choices and become educated consumers. Showing the classroom the model of one pound of fat versus one pound of muscle helps students visualize what happens inside the body. There are 11 body systems introduced during freshman health. The skeletal and muscular systems are two of those. The mini skeletons and muscle activity (with Play-Doh) will help students identify the major bones and muscles of the body. Students also complete body systems project presentations. The cardiovascular system activities show how to measure heart rate and the oximeter will be useful to measure students who have difficulty finding their heart rates. The goal is to empower students to take time for self-care, make healthy food choices, discover physical activities they enjoy and do them consistently, and have an understanding of how the body works.

Jennifer Dixon- Physical Education Teacher