For many students, swimming during P.E. is their first opportunity to take formal lessons. This school year is the first time that second and third-grade students have the opportunity to participate in the swim lesson curriculum.

Second-grade teacher Andrew Gibbs said, “The opportunity for our second and third graders to be able to take swim lessons at school has been an amazing asset for them and their self-confidence when it comes to swimming.”

Water safety is an important part of the P.E. curriculum at the Intermediate School. The P.E. teachers follow the Red Cross “Learn to swim” program. Students learn how to be safe around water and basic skills such as submerging their bodies, bobbing and floating. As they progress, students learn competitive strokes and refine their techniques. The goal is to have students leave the Intermediate School with a significant level of proficiency in the four competitive swimming strokes as well as water safety knowledge.

“The earlier students learn to swim and are introduced to water safety, the better prepared they will be to make good decisions around all bodies of water,” said Jenn Bowie, Intermediate School P.E. teacher.