Halfway through the second semester of the 2019-2020 school year the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S and suddenly students found themselves learning from their houses. It significantly impacted every subject but the hardest subject hit was PE. How do you transfer playing basketball with your peers and running laps around the track at school to online learning through zoom? That was the question every PE teacher asked themselves when they learned that they would have to do online learning for an unknown amount of time. Online learning impacted the way PE classes are run, and therefore the fitness level and overall health of students. For some people PE is the only way they get physical activities. Before the pandemic and online learning, PE was playing basketball, swimming, playing badminton or running laps around the track at Sequoia. The Sequoia PE department tried their best to change their curriculum to fit the online classes and zoom lessons format.

“As a PE department, we’ve had to really focus everything and put all of our PE curriculum onto an online platform, which is an extraordinary amount of work and we looked at what is the main priority for our students, the biggest thing and the most important thing that we prioritize is we want students to stay active and moving with all of the other classes that they’re doing sitting” Coach Derego said.

Because students are not able to do as much as when PE was in person, they are not getting as much exercise as before. So what could students do to make sure they are still healthy and exercise enough?

“Due to the fact that so many of us are home now for most of everyday, taking up a new active hobby like gardening, or woodworking, or landscaping, etc. can be a fun and active way to stay healthy.” said Mr. Dilley, a PE teacher at Sequoia.

This is a very good thing to do as sometimes exercising can be very boring and tedious but making it into a hobby can make you enjoy yourself, maintain fitness, and also learn something new.

Additionally, he also added that “I think family walks and workouts are great, and even bike riding around the neighborhood a few days a week can be excellent too.”

This is essential. If you’re ever able to workout with people you enjoy being with such as your family or your friends, workouts will go from being a boring chore to being a competitive game where you also get encouragement through the hardest parts.