By Isabella Talavera
Copy Editor

As some students return to school with the hybrid schedule, they must comply with basic COVID guidelines, such as wearing a mask at all times unless you’re eating or drinking outside, and social distancing. P.E. classes are challenged by these limits because they involve exercise, teamwork, and movement, and they are not exempt from COVID restrictions. This school year, P.E. teachers have given students workouts to do and sports to study over Zoom, and it was up to the students to continue working out at home. 

P.E. teachers will continue to give online students lessons on sports skills and gameplay and give them workouts to do at home, while in-person students will practice and exercise in person using the knowledge on sports and physical health they learned from the first semester. In-person classes will sometimes combine students to improve the social aspect of the class. 

“We will of course be mindful of students that may have not been exercising too much,” says P.E. teacher and boys soccer coach Jeff Schofield. “Exercising with a mask on takes some getting used to and we will be accommodating and make sure students exercise at a level that they are comfortable with. We will follow all current social distancing rules, but with the new stadium there is plenty of open space for our students.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF ISABELLA TALAVERA

The new Millikan football field will be used by sports teams and P.E. classes alike, albeit with the appropriate COVID-19 safety rules.

The locker rooms will not be available to students out of COVID concerns. Despite this, they may still become available after P.E. teachers first start monitoring classes and determining if their students need the lockers or not. Students will be asked to wear any clothing that suits them for P.E. (not specifically the school PE clothes) and put their belongings next to the area they’re participating in.

“I am looking forward to seeing the students and interacting with students in person and in an active environment,” Schofield adds, “One of the reasons I became a P.E. teacher was to be able to interact with students and help create a fun and engaging environment where students can be active. I have truly missed that the most through virtual learning.”

SEGA freshman Skylar Pierce adds, “I don’t really look forward to anything for [in person] P.E. [but] it would be nice to start working out again.”

Many students are not returning to in-person classes, but COVID safety measures are already set in place for those who are. P.E. classes, like all the other classes, have to get used to in-person instruction, and both teachers and students will maneuver through this new way of physical education.