Schools set to take part in phys-ed pilot program

Westman schools are preparing for changes to the physical and health education curriculum, with local schools set to join in a two-year voluntary provincial pilot program.

Waverly Park and Riverview schools in Brandon (with 442 and 160 students, respectively) in Brandon and Douglas Elementary in Rolling River School Division (with 80 students) have put their names forward to participate in the pilot.

The decision to participate was left to individual schools, Brandon School Division Supt. Jon Zilkey said.

The two Brandon schools “are not confirmed by the province yet, but we are hopeful,” he told the Sun.

The new curriculum will require mandatory in-person physical education for students from kindergarten to Grade 12, Zilkey said.

“Schools have always accommodated different student abilities and needs and will continue to do so within the new curriculum,” he added.

The potential changes could have implications for gym space, staffing and scheduling.

“Given the curriculum was just released, we are still in the very early stages of looking at it and sorting out what we will need to do down the road,” Zilkey said.

The pilot is also being introduced in Rolling River School Division, where Douglas Elementary is the one confirmed school participating in the two-year pilot program.

Supt. Jason Cline said the division is looking forward to working with the province as the new curriculum is introduced.

“It is still very early in the pilot process, but as curriculum documents, resources, and implementation details continue to be shared by Manitoba Education and Early Childhood Learning, we will have more information to share,” Cline told the Sun in an email.

Cline said RRSD plans to review the new materials at both the school and divisional levels while supporting teachers throughout the pilot.

Participation will also give teachers opportunities to collaborate with colleagues from across Manitoba, sharing ideas, experiences and resources, he said.

For Brandon, the two K-8 schools will work with the province on implementing the new curriculum if their participation is approved.

Zilkey said the province will ultimately determine whether adjustments are needed as the pilot progresses.

“We anticipate that there may be minor changes as the pilot proceeds, and that the new curriculum will be implemented at all schools in September 2028,” he said.

The policy is called “Every Body, Every Day.”

“When we talk about health in Manitoba, this is a category where, unfortunately, we’ve been the leader in too many negative areas,” Premier Wab Kinew said during a news conference when he announced the program.

“Areas like the prevalence of juvenile diabetes, even child mortality,” he said. “This curriculum is going to make Manitoba a leader across the country. We are going to have the highest standard for making sure that kids are active.”

Kinew told reporters soft drinks cause “more damage to Manitoba” than alcohol and methamphetamine.

Manitoba is already an outlier in Canada in that phys-ed and health classes are compulsory in all levels.

Final-year courses are delivered in a range of formats, with in-class time ranging from 25 per cent to 100 per cent. Teens have long had the option to exercise independently and submit their hours to obtain a credit after Grade 10.

The curriculum also explores health risks associated with sedentary behaviours, screen time and sugary drinks, Education Minister Tracy Schmidt said.

“The habits that we teach our kids today, the narratives that we tell them around what it means to be healthy are the foundations of what our province will look like 25 years from now,” she said. “The message of this curriculum is that physical activity and healthy living are for everyone, for every single child.”

More than two dozen schools have signed up to test out the curriculum whose central message is, in the minister’s words, “physical activity and healthy living are for everyone.”

» aodutola@brandonsun.com, with files from Connor McDowell and Maggie Macintosh

» X: @AbiolaOdutola