Physical Education

Students in kindergarten through eighth grade attend physical education classes three to four times per week for 40-minute periods.

Typical Physical Education units include: movement, group games, cross-country, soccer, volleyball, football, floor hockey, conditioning, ball handling, gymnastics, stunts and apparatus, basketball, team handball, kickball/whiffleball, folk dance, badminton, cricket, softball, and track and field.

Students are encouraged to embrace both “fitness now,” and “fitness for a lifetime.” Physical Education is fun, illuminating, challenging and an opportunity for self-discovery and essential social integration.

At the heart of the program is the desire that the students feel the joy of their bodies at play. Hopefully, they will make a holistic mind/body/spirit connection to the material.

With the teachers’ professional guidance and instruction as a catalyst, students will hopefully be inspired to make the independent choice to incorporate physical activity as a permanent and valued part of their lives.

Through an organized system of class rotation, students benefit from a wide range of content units, diversity of styles, interests and skills of instructors. Maximizing use of extensive facilities provides the students with a broad spectrum of activities and experiences.

The health and well-being of all students is a top priority. We engage the students equally, without regard to skill level or previous experience.

Blue-Green Competition - In third grade, students are placed on either the Blue or Green team on which they stay during their time at MCDS. Games are played on a regularly scheduled basis, scores are posted, and at the end of the school year awards are given to the teams with the most points.

Participation - Every student participates in P.E. unless excused for medical reasons. Other requests to be excused are dealt with on an individual basis. Students are encouraged to participate on interscholastic teams.

Interscholastics - These sports begin, on a limited basis, in the fifth grade and the program accelerates in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades. Soccer, basketball, volleyball, track and field and cross-country are included.

As a school, MCDS participates in the Bay Area Interscholatic Athletic League (BAIAL), currently comprised of eleven independent bay area schools.

Our after-school athletic program is a natural extension of the physical education program. Student athletes get a chance to apply their individual skills and develop teamwork skills in a competitive, independent school league.