By:Beth Kressel
Physical education activities and new textbooks were approved by the Board of Education at its July 21 meeting.
High ropes challenge activities will now be offered to all high school students and a rock climbing unit has been added for fifth- and sixth-graders.
"The physical education teachers are always looking to keep the program fresh and attractive to students," said Dr. Gulick. "Things like roller-blading and rock climbing have grown more popular in our society and are viewed as having lots of benefits."
Rock climbing is now a physical education offering at all Hillsborough Schools, Dr. Gulick said. Sunnymead was the first school to offer it during the 2001-2002 school year.
Funding for the elementary school rock climbing programs came from each school’s home and school association, said Dr. Gulick, and the high ropes challenge and rock climbing units at the high school were funded through the regular physical education budget. He did not know the cost of the programs.
"The curriculum has been developed. We have the equipment and the required training of teachers has been taken care of also," said Dr. Gulick.
English, social studies and science classes will also be using new textbooks.
The high school science department ordered three new titles including "Earth Science: Geology, the Environment," and "The Universe" for ninth graders, and "Environmental Science" for juniors and seniors.
On-level seventh and eighth grade English students will be reading the following new books: "Chinese Cinderella" for seventh and eighth-graders; "Whirligig, Walk Two Moons," and "Stargirl" are the new eighth-grade books; seventh-graders will also be reading "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone." Students will read these books in addition to their primary textbook, an anthology of literature.
In social studies, "History Alive" is the new fifth-grade text and "A History of the U.S.," a series that includes "All the People," "An Age of Extremes" and "War, Peace and All That Jazz," was approved for the sixth-graders.
Curriculum is reviewed and often revised on a five-year cycle, said Dr. Gulick. This fall, the district has revised curriculum in fourth through sixth-grade literacy classes, in 12 high school science courses including advanced placement biology, chemistry and physics, and in five business and industrial arts classes at the high school level.
A new computer course will be offered starting this fall at Hillsborough High School that will lead to students working with professional technicians on fixing broken computers throughout the district.
"The course has several purposes. It will give students a preliminary vocational training experience where young people will be taught the technical details of computers and how to fix them and peripherals like printers," Dr. Gulick said. "Gradually, these students will work with technicians in repairing the district equipment and peripherals."
The course will be offered as an elective to high school juniors and seniors.