Throughout the 7-week term, we will be exploring the following health topics in each grade:

6th grade:  we will be defining and understanding the importance of the 4 parts of health: social, mental, emotional, and physical. Students will learn a wide range of activities to incorporate into their daily lives which help improve all 4 parts of health. Also, students will briefly explore the functions of body systems, and nutrition, including analyzing one's diet and understanding how to read food labels. Students will also participate in a program called Healthy Choices. This will focus on how to make healthy choices and how to cope with issues related to middle school students such as stress, friendships, bullying, relationships, etc. We will focus on the skill of making healthy choices! 

7th grade: students will be focusing on drug prevention and drug information including how drug use influences one's health physically, socially, and mentally/ emotionally. Students will learn and discuss useful, realistic ways to say NO techniques (refusal skills) as well as role-play these techniques in realistic settings! Furthermore, we discuss the top reasons teens use drugs and in turn discuss what we can do instead of resorting to drugs for those reasons.  We will discuss stress- what it is and how we can manage stress in a healthy way.  Students will learn ways to improve self-esteem and how they can positively and negatively influence others' self-esteem. We also discuss teen mental health/depression through a program called Erika's Lighthouse. Finally, we learn hands only CPR!

8th grade: students will be discussing factors which influence teens to be or not to be sexually active; such as media, peers, parents, etc. Our discussions are abstinence-based. We will define abstinence and focus on the many benefits to being abstinent. Students will learn and discuss mental/emotional, physical, spiritual, and social health consequences of choosing to be sexually active versus leading a lifestyle which is abstinence based. Furthermore, we will discuss dating and benefits and consequences to dating, along with including characteristics of healthy relationships vs. unhealthy relationships.  Another part of sex ed includes STI's (Sexually Transmitted Infections). We will also be learning the functions and parts of the male and female reproductive systems.  We will focus on how making healthy choices leads to a healthy, happy life!

You will find most of our assignments on our Google Classroom page :)

***Please check online via Skyward to view your child’s current Health grade and assignments***

If you ever have any questions or concerns, email is the fastest and most effective way to contact me :) If you don't have access to email you can call the school office and they can put you through to my voicemail :)

email:  sandresen@d15.org