High School Health Overview

The Health Education requirement for secondary students is met by successfully completing a semester of instruction in grade 10.

The goal of Health Education is to help students acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to independently make healthy and responsible choices regarding their personal wellness throughout their lifetime.  Health Education provides students a safe, structured environment in which they can explore and discuss with their peers and teacher important health issues. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey will be read and used extensively throughout the course. The concepts from the book will serve as a foundation for the course discussions and activities. Students in Health Education will also receive active training in the New York State mandate of Hands-Only CPR and a basic introduction to the Automatic External Defibrillator (AED).

Skills and knowledge taught in Health Education include:

Wellness:  Stress management, time management, sleep, nutrition, positive body image, humor, goal setting, and lifestyle diseases. 

Mental Wellness: Mental health, depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, suicide prevention, self-injury; accessing community resources for help; how to be a supportive friend.

Substance Abuse Prevention:  Perceptions of peer drug use, drug categories, tobacco, alcohol, addiction, DWI and the NYS mandate of heroin/opioid abuse.

Relationships:  Healthy/unhealthy/dangerous relationships, communication, abstinence, sexual assault, sexuality, contraceptive methods, pregnancy, sexually transmitted illnesses, HIV and AIDS.