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Health and Wellness Education

Dave Nicholson

Instructor: Mr. David Nicholson, M.A.

Contact information: 899-3711

email: dave.nicholson@mmuusd.org

Welcome to BRMS Health and Wellness Education. Students in Health and Wellness Education will participate in weekly discussions, activities and unit projects encompassing a variety of Health and Wellness topics.

The Vermont Department of Education states the reason for Health Education in the "Vermont Health Education Guidelines for Curriculum and Assessment"

Rationale for Health Education

Promoting healthy behaviors to help young people acquire the knowledge and skills to become healthy and productive adults is an important part of the fundamental mission of schools. Health-related behaviors are both learned and changeable, there is no better time to initiate formal health education than in the middle school years, when the child is more flexible and forming health behaviors. Research has consistently confirmed and given a clear message: by promoting healthy behaviors, schools can increase students’ capacity to learn, reduce absences, and improve physical fitness and mental alertness.

Public support for health education in today’s schools is strong. A 1993 Gallup Survey funded by the American Cancer Society documented this high value for health education. Major findings included:

• Nearly nine in ten adolescents feel health information and skills are of equal or greater importance than other subjects in school.

• More than four in five parents of adolescents (82 percent) feel that health education is either more important than or as important as other subjects taught in school.

• Parents clearly support teaching problem solving, decision making, and other health-related skills in schools.

• Administrators view health education as being of equal to or greater importance than other things adolescents are taught in school and believe that students need to be taught more health-related information and skills in school.

If you have any questions please email me at dave.nicholson@cesuvt.org

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David Nicholson, M.A.

Health and Wellness teacher