Robert Ruiz is the head of the Physical Education department. Physical Education is a requirement for 7th and 8th graders at the middle school. Ninth graders do not need to take this class if they do a school sport because it fulfills this requirement. As first quarter ends, Ruiz talks about what is happening in this department.

“We changed one test on the assessment, and we’re doing a vertical jump test instead of the horizontal jump,” Ruiz said.

The assessment happens at the beginning and end of every school year, and tracks your growth in a series of athletic challenges. All students in PE must take this assessment. Previously, you did vertical jumps at the middle school, and then at the upper school, you did horizontal jumps. By changing this, instead of having only three years to track growth, Coaches can watch their players grow for six years. Another change at the middle school includes pickleball courts.

“We are putting pickleball lines on the outdoor court, so we’ll be able to play pickleball outside and not just in the gym,” Ruiz said.

Finally, Ruiz ended with a reminder of what he wants for students in the physical education department.

“We want to be the best we can, and we want to get the best results from our kids,” Ruiz said.