September 20, 2023
Greetings Oakman Community,
I want to thank our parents for sharing their thoughts on the importance of physical activity during the school day and the value it adds to our school. Since I have been contacted by a few parents with questions about gym class, I felt it would be a good idea to share more details about the changes taking place across the district to all of our Special Classes including Physical Education (Gym Class).
Prior to this school year, schools were able to choose to have additional special area classes based on their individual preferences. With twenty two elementary schools this created inconsistencies across the district. As agreed upon in the new contract with our teachers, for this school year, every student has: one Physical Education, one Art, one Music, 1 STEAM for the full year. Students will also get an additional Music and Media class for one semester each. Also, students who want instrumental music will have that opportunity as well.
Our plan is to spend the year reflecting on the new model, evaluating how effective it is in providing students with a variety of learning opportunities, and then making recommendations about any possible changes for the next school year.
Here at Oakman, and throughout the district, we all work to create an educational environment that offers our students a variety of learning opportunities. We do value Physical Education classes and promote physical activity in our school. All elementary schools offer two daily recessess for all students and lunch recess. We want our students, especially at the elementary level, to have opportunities to explore and learn about a variety of subject areas. Finding the best balance is vitally important to ensure that students across our district are receiving similar learning experiences and opportunities.
Have a great day,
Principal