Home Experience Athletics & Physical Education

Why is Physical Education Important to the Friends Academy Experience?

Regular physical education helps students focus better in the classroom, understand the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, and strengthen teamwork skills such as cooperation, communication, and respect.

PE begins with our youngest students in the Farmhouse. Students practice different movements to strengthen their developing motor skills, which aids them as they learn how to write and draw. As students progress through Lower School and into Middle School, they continue to have PE in their schedules at least twice a week.

Starting in fifth grade through eighth grade, students with any level of experience and ability can participate in interscholastic athletics. Friends Academy competes against teams from local independent and public schools in soccer, cross-country, field hockey, basketball, lacrosse, and track. The athletics program focuses not just on scoring points, but on mastering skills. Following the principles of the Positive Coaching Alliance, our coaches guide and motivate students to make a maximum effort, continue to learn and improve, and refuse to let mistakes and fear stop them – all valuable life skills for students to take into high school, whether they continue to play sports or not.

“I love PE because it’s always competitive, fun, and kind of challenging.”

Ellie, third grade

Features of the Athletics Experience

  • Fourth grade students play in the gymnasium during PE class.

    Regular PE Class

    All students from Early Childhood to eighth grade take part in physical education class at least two times per week. Classes are led by professional educators with decades of experience teaching athletics to children.

  • A girls' lacrosse game at Friends Academy.

    Interscholastic Athletics for Grades 5-8

    Students can choose from soccer, cross-country, and field hockey in the fall; basketball in the winter; and lacrosse, track, tennis, and golf in the spring.

  • Students practicing on a grass field during PE class.

    Two Grass Fields for Athletics and Outdoor PE

    The lacrosse field and soccer field host outdoor PE classes, practices, and games, as well as Blue and Gray Day each May.

  • A cross-country runner on Friends Academy's trails through the woods.

    A Mile of Cross-Country Trails

    Friends Academy sits on a 65-acre wooded campus, with one mile of rolling trails where students practice and compete in cross-country.

  • A basketball game in the Friends Academy gymnasium.

    Gymnasium

    The Friends Academy gym is used for physical education classes and interscholastic basketball, and features state-of-the-art air purification systems and a rock climbing wall.

  • A student in a potato sack race during Blue and Gray Day.

    Blue and Gray Day

    Each May, the entire school gathers outdoors for a field day. Students are assigned to the Blue Team or the Gray Team, and participate with their grade in friendly competition and old-fashioned physical fun.

Meet the Athletics & Physical Education Team

  • Michael Williams, Director of Athletics

    Michael Williams

    Director of Athletics, Middle School Physical Education Teacher

  • Grace Rodrigues

    Lower School Physical Education Teacher

Physical Education Curriculum

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Early Childhood-Grade 4

  • Promote physical movement and motor skill development, including locomotor movements, throwing and catching, gymnastics, track and field, and jump rope.
  • Practice skills such as teamwork, following directions, taking turns, strategy, accuracy, and communicating with peers.
grade5_pe1

Grades 5-8

  • Promote physical movement and motor skill competency through activities including soccer, handball, basketball, volleyball, kickball, and ultimate frisbee.
  • Practice skills such as communication, following the rules of the game, proper form and technique, spacing and body positioning, and team strategizing.