Healthy bodies for inquiring minds

Physical activities are part of the lifestyle at some private schools

For many private schools, helping students to meet their fullest potential involves not only academic success, but also ensuring their physical and mental wellbeing. And, to do this, they will invest in creating a culture where physical activity is part of school life.

While some private schools may develop sports programs designed for students who want to play in professional sports or excel athletically, others are just interested in ensuring students have a place where they can go to take a yoga class, swim a few laps in a pool, throw some hoops or paddle on a lake or river in solitude.

For example, Branksome Hall — a Toronto-based allgirls school offering classes from junior kindergarten to Grade 12 — is home to a 64,000-square foot, two-storey athletics and wellness centre that includes two saltwater pools, a gymnasium, a fitness centre, a rowing room and yoga and dance studios.

Students enrolled in Brampton’s Rowntree Montessori Schools learn a different sport each month and can join both competitive teams, including soccer and track and field, or non-competitive sports clubs such as cricket or basketball.

At Rosseau Lake College, located in Ontario’s cottage country, its 55-acre campus nestled on the edge of a lake includes a trail system, snowboard park, climbing walls and water-based activities.

To learn more on the approach private schools take to physical education, we spoke to Glen Herbert, the director of marketing and communication at Rosseau Lake College.

Do private schools place more of an emphasis on physical education than public schools?

It is an interesting question, and I think different schools would answer it in different ways. Some schools offer elite sports programs, and they are really intended for those who may want to go to the Olympics or maybe into the professional basketball or hockey, so students can get their high school diploma and a high level of training.

We are at the other end of the spectrum at Rosseau. When the school was founded, there was a belief that one of the things students need to be able to live their best lives, and to become their best selves, is an approach to physical education and enjoying a healthy and active lifestyle. So, that is where we place our emphasis.

Private schools have that latitude to say, ‘Where does physical education fit into what we particularly want to deliver to our specific students?’ Whereas public schools don’t have that same latitude in that regard. They are given the physical education curriculum by the province and that is what they follow.

Does that mean physical activity is mandatory at private schools like Rosseau?

It is really about living an active and healthy lifestyle, that is where we place our emphasis. Different people have different approaches to that.

They like different forms of activities. Maybe they like team sports while others might like solo adventure sports, like running.

When students come here, some of them haven’t had these experiences. They are entering a culture where they see other people doing these things and they are enjoying them. Students can really try out anything when they are here, and it is less about excelling at a specific sport — although they can. It is about finding that thing that you gravitate to, that excites you. That activity you really enjoy doing.

It is culture of activity. It is not that it is mandatory, it is just that it is hard to avoid.

How does being physically active benefit students?

If we are active, we sleep better. If we sleep better, we perform better in academics. We know the health benefits of activities and, if you are active, you will do better in school and you will feel better about yourself.

But the other part is that I think that physical activity provides an analogue to our lives and what it means to be challenged and to be successful. Teachers will use those analogues in traditional academics, saying, ‘Yes, you are being challenged, but you have experienced what it means to be challenged and you know you can be successful.’ If you train to run, and then you get a good time in a race that you enter, there is a lesson there. It is not just about feeling good about yourself.

NOTE: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.