Update from the Institute of Catholic Education (ICE) re: Resources for Health & Physical Education Curriculum (2015)

At the request of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario, the Institute for Catholic Education has begun the task of developing resources to assist teachers, principals and Catholic School Boards in the implementation of the recently revised Health and Physical Education (HPE) curriculum. Writing teams have been established, and classroom teachers, consultants, program coordinators and administrators from Catholic Boards across the province will be working throughout the summer to produce the required materials.

The following information provides an update on the kinds of materials and resources that will be produced and the tentative timelines for the availability of these resources.

RESOURCES

The resources to be developed generally fall into three broad categories:

1. Elementary Program Supports
2. Secondary Program Supports
3. Communication and Leadership Supports

1. Elementary Program Supports

• The intention is to provide materials that will assist elementary teachers to deliver all general and specific expectations of the Human Development and Sexual Health component of the Healthy Living strand of the Health and Physical Education curriculum within the approved Family Life Education program. Specific resources will include:
• Identification of curriculum links between the revised Health and Physical Education curriculum (Grades 1-8) and Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations.
  Identification of curriculum links between the new Grades 1-8 Health and Physical Education curriculum (specifically the Human Development and Sexual Health component of the Healthy Living strand), the Family Life Education Curriculum Policy Document (2012) followed in all Catholic Schools, and the Fully Alive resource series.
• Supplementary teacher resources and classroom instructional materials to augment the Family Life Education curriculum will be updated and expanded to align with the revised Health and Physical Education curriculum, 2015 (Grades 1-8). Materials will include appropriate examples and teacher prompts to correspond with each expectation, and will include 'supplements' to the teacher resource binders for each grade, grades 1-8 of the Fully Alive series, allowing teachers to seamlessly integrate these supports into their existing Fully Alive teacher resources.

2. Secondary Program Supports

• The intention is to provide materials that will assist secondary teachers to deliver all general and specific expectations of the HPE curriculum. Resources will be developed both for the use of Secondary Physical Education teachers, and for teachers of Religious Education. Specific resources will include:
• Identification of curriculum links between the revised Health and Physical Education curriculum (Grades 9-12) and Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations.
  Identification of curriculum links between the revised Grades 9-12 Health and Physical Education curriculum and Secondary Religious Education Curriculum – Grades 9-12 (2006) (currently under revision).
• Supplementary teacher resources and classroom instructional materials, for Religious Education and Health and Physical Education courses. Materials will model appropriate examples and teacher prompts to correspond with specific expectations of the Human Development and Sexual Health component of the Healthy Living strand in the Health and Physical Education curriculum.

3. Communication and Leadership Materials

• The intention is to gather, share and develop resources for school and system administrators to support local initiatives. Specific resources will include:
  Communication materials to introduce the curriculum expectations and demonstrate linkages between Health and Physical Education, Grades 1-8 and Grades 9-12, the Ontario Catholic School Graduate Expectations, the Family Life Education curriculum, Fully Alive, and other Catholic resources.
• Materials will include parent pamphlets, brochures, and guides for working with parents and community stakeholders.
• Communication materials for school and system administrators to support local initiatives to build capacity, and support implementation of Health and Physical Education curriculum.

TIMELINES

The majority of the classroom resources will be developed through July and August of this year, and will be reviewed and vetted by the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Ontario prior to release. Classroom resources will be released and distributed to school boards throughout the 2015-2016 school year, with the first wave of resources to be ready for distribution in late October, after the approval process has been completed. As the themes within the Fully Alive program, which deal most directly with issues of human development and sexuality, are most typically delivered in the Spring, most materials will be available 3-4 months prior to teachers using materials in their classrooms, which will allow ample time for inservice at the school board level.

As resources are developed and approved, they will be released to school boards through a memo from ICE to the Directors of Education. The materials will also be available on the ICE website​