Eighth Grade P.E.
While the skills of the major units are briefly reviewed together to begin each unit, the focus of eighth grade applying the skills and knowledge gained over the years to competitive gameplay. Challenge PE is both the application of and celebration of the physical work and social-emotional development put in over the past years of Upper School PE and is the culmination to our Burke’s PE experience.
Challenge PE allows students to have a team experience with a set team for the year, competing in challenges, and scrimmages against the other teams. Students are encouraged to identify their own role on their team for each unit and figure out how they can best utilize their individual strengths to contribute to the success of their team. Teams are responsible for upholding the team pledge that they make together at the beginning of the year by reflecting back on it throughout the year to see if they are living up to their ideals. Rotating team captains allow every student to practice leadership throughout each unit. Drawing on their prior knowledge, teams design their own warm-ups based on the activity that class, break their team into various configurations for mini-games, coach each other and develop their own plays and team tactics, and even apply their knowledge to officiate for each other’s games. Students are encouraged to celebrate effort over the outcome and congratulate teammates and opponents alike at the end of each class so competition and sportsmanship remain in balance.