SUHSD PE and Health Newsletter

Welcome back! I hope your break was restful and that you're ready for Semester 2 and a fresh start. The work that you do is incredibly important-the relationships that you build and maintain with your students change their paths through this life for the better. Thank you for showing empathy and understanding each and every day and for always moving your students forward.

Danny

A few questions to contemplate before leaving 2025 in the past and moving forward:

1. What was your biggest accomplishment this year?

2. What challenges did you face, and how did you overcome them?

3. What moments brought you the most joy?

4. What did you learn about yourself this year?

5. Who made a positive impact on your life, and how did they help you?

6. What are you most grateful for in 2025?

7. How did you spend your time, and did it align with your priorities?

8. What habits served you well, and which ones didn’t?

9. What are you proud of that you didn’t expect to achieve?

10. If you could sum up this year in one word, what would it be?

SOURCE: https://www.calm.com/blog/new-year-questions

The 25-26 EOC Data Protocol below is a useful tool for analyzing Semester 1 End-of-Course Exam performance data. School-wide trends and student performance data as well as tools for identifying the most missed questions are included and can be used in PLC discussion or in isolation.

25-26 EOC Data Protocol

A new calendar year is a perfect time to open ourselves up to different ideas, modes and perspectives. Sometimes the beliefs that we've embraced as foundational deserve to be reconsidered. What is the aim of Physical Education? What concepts and beliefs do we want our students adopt and internalize? How do we define a positive outcome for individuals with many different abilities, needs and motivations?

Dr. Jamie Brundson, Associate Professor at the University of Memphis argues that our goal as physical education teachers should be to enable our students to flourish:

"Flourishing—eudaimonia—is not about being happy all the time, nor about maximizing fitness metrics. It’s about helping students lead good, meaningful, and connected lives. That means PE should nurture five domains of flourishing:

• Physical and mental health
• Happiness and life satisfaction
• Meaning and purpose
• Character and virtue

• Close social relationships

This holistic vision reframes PE as a space where movement is not the end goal but the means through which flourishing can grow."

The article posits that performance virtues are commonly overemphasized in the average PE class and that "students need opportunities to reflect on what their movement means, not just how well they perform it."

Check out the full article on the Research In Health and Physical Education website or listen to the companion podcast.

Fred Korematsu was an ordinary person who took an extraordinary stand. By resisting the U.S. military orders that imprisoned more than 120,000 Americans of Japanese descent during World War II, he shows us how anyone can stand up for what is right—no matter the odds. His arrest and conviction, the constitutional issues raised by his U.S. Supreme Court case, Korematsu v. United States, and his vindication 39 years later stand as civil rights milestones.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION RESOURCES 💪

Sports and Recreation in Japanese Internment Camps
Baseball and Barbed Wire
'The Eagles of Heart Mountain': How a Team from a Japanese Internment Camp Changed American Football

Sports in Internment Camps
America's pastime Helped Interned Japanese-Americans Pass the Time
A Century of Japanese American Baseball

HEALTH RESOURCES 🧠

Health Impacts at Japanese Internment Camps
Psychological Effects of Japanese Internment Camps
Health in Japanese Internment Camps
Family, Food, and Dining at Japanese Internment Camps
Studying Food History at World War II Internment Camps
Effects of Food in Japanese Internment Camps
Processing Cultural Trauma: Intergenerational Effects of the Japanese American Incarceration

Victims of Incarceration: The life-altering impact of WWII Japanese-American camps
The trauma of Internment

When adults build strong and supportive relationships with youth in their community, the empathy and understanding that is so essential to our collective wellbeing is magnified. As teachers, we have the unique opportunity to make just such an impact on the lives of the students that we serve.

Consider making mentorship a priority this month and selflessly sharing the value of your wisdom and compassion with someone else. Take the pledge and become a mentor!

Already on board? Here's some strategies to elevate your mentoring game:

Becoming a Better Mentor: Strategies to Be There For Young People

✅1/12/26: Site-Based Professional Development

✅1/19/26: Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service (NO SCHOOL) 💚

✅1/30/26: Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution

Here are some ways I can offer support:

• One-on-one PLC/Department visits to discuss your experiences and needs

• Curriculum support and where to find resources

• Strategies, tools and ideas to increase student engagement

• PD for your site and department goals

Email: daniel.schroeder@sweetwaterschools.org

Location: 1130 Fifth Avenue, Chula Vista, CA 91911

Phone: (o) 619.585.4505 (c) 619.206.3107