Dear Parent/Guardian:

Greetings!

My name is John Bennett, I will be your son or daughter’s physical education teacher this semester at UNCW. In this letter I want to briefly describe the physical education program at UNC-Wilmington and what your son or daughter can expect to learn over the next few years in our program. Let me begin, however, by briefly describing my professional background.

My degrees are in health and physical education. The core courses for the degrees included work in English, history, math, and science. General education courses included work in educational philosophy, child development, and educational psychology. The specialized courses included work in understanding children’s physical development and how they learn motor skills, scientific aspects of physical fitness and sports, as well as effective teaching techniques and progressions for a variety of lifetime sports and fitness activities.

I am certified in health education as well. The course work for health education included courses in first aid, personal health, nutrition and health-promotion. In addition to my college course work, I participated in the sports medicine program and played numerous intramural sports. My current life time physical pursuits include jogging, weight training, cycling, in-line skating, waterskiing, surfing, and fishing.

As a result of taking these university courses, attending one or more professional conferences each year, and thirty years in education, I have designed a program for your son or daughter that helps them develop the physical competencies that lead to confidence and participation in physical activity for a lifetime. My primary goal is to help students find a variety of ways to enjoy being physically active so that they will be able to get all of the physical, emotional, intellectual and social benefits that come to someone who is physically active throughout his or her lifetime.

At UNC-Wilmington your son or daughter will have physical education twice a week with me. The program has been designed to focus on three major areas that contribute to one’s physical health and well being: Knowledge for becoming a proficient mover, development of high-level movement skills, and practice for a lifetime of health-promotion behaviors.

As a teacher I recognize that students are at different developmental levels, with a variety of needs and interests. For this reason, in every class I attempt to provide all of the students with learning experiences that are both beneficial and enjoyable for their personal skill level. Each lesson is also adjusted to take into account the wide range of skill and fitness levels that characterize our students. In closing, I want to invite you to come and observe your son or daughter in his or her physical education class at any time during the semester. If you have the opportunity to visit, you will quickly see that your son or daughter’s physical education classes are very different from the old "gym classes" of the past that primarily consisted of running laps, jumping jacks, captains picking teams, and competitive team sports.

I am very proud of the physical education program at UNC-Wilmington and our students, your children, and I am looking forward to being your son or daughter’s physical education teacher this semester.

To your good health,

John P. Bennett

P.S. Please send me a note indicating that you received this letter and feel free to add any comments that you would like to make related to your daughter or son’s participation in our physical education program or anything else for that matter. Have a great year!