(May 24, 2013) — “We only have one body in this life and instead of damaging it, we should do as much as we can to nourish and take care of it,” said Alina Samuelian. Samuelian is very enthusiastic when it comes to her health and well-being. She said that as a sophomore, she would use her time efficiently to get as much exercise as possible done during her PE class.

Samuelian’s favorite part of PE was exercising in the weight room. “It gave me a feel of actually being a gym,” Samuelian said. After getting her black belt in taekwondo, Samuelian began to train at a real gym, using similar routines and workouts that she practiced in the school’s weight room.

While students like Samuelian were enjoying a vigorous PE period, other students like Hasmik Movsisyan, who is a teacher assistant for PE, were enjoying hanging out with her friends. “It was kind of a free period,” said Movsisyan. Even though M was not a big fan of PE, she said that she liked being able to exercise and talk with her friends at the same time. “I was kind of depressed after sophomore year, because as a junior I didn’t have PE and I couldn’t talk a lot during class,” said M.

Graduation requirements include four semesters of PE. “I think PE should be every year, but obviously that’s not going to happen,” said PE teacher Judy Thomsen. She said that she would really like to see it be offered as an elective for juniors and seniors to take. Samuelian said that if she could have taken PE all four years, she would have because she enjoys the extra exercise.

Diego Salazar said that as a junior, he felt more stressed over school work because he did not have a PE class anymore. According to the American Psychological Association, people who are physically active have lower rates of anxiety and stress than those who do not exercise.

Salazar said that not only was PE a good way of staying active, but it was a subject that he was really good at. His greatest accomplishment was running a mile in 5:18 freshman year and again in sophomore year. “It was a huge deal, at least to me,” said Salazar, “and PE is still one of my favorite subjects.” One of Salazar’s favorite part of PE was being able to play soccer during free Avb. Salazar said that he would play soccer outside of PE and continues to enjoy play the sport, today.

One of Thomsen’s goals to accomplish as a PE teacher is to teach students to be active and be healthy. However, she also puts a strong emphasis on sports that are specific to teamwork like volleyball and basketball. “I think that it’s a very important aspect not only in sports, but now in the business world,” Thomsen said. She teaches her students that teamwork is necessary in sports and outside of sports. “PE is sort of like life in a little capsule.”