The Nissitissit Middle School Health Program offers a comprehensive health education curriculum and continues efforts begun in earlier grades to promote the health and well-being of our students, and to help them make wise and informed decisions during their teenage years and beyond. Students will be able to ask questions which will be answered factually and in an age-appropriate manner. All students’ privacy will be respected, and no one will be put on the spot to ask or answer questions or reveal personal information.

Material will be presented in a balanced, factual way. Topics include:

Grade 5: Goal Setting, Exercise, How the human body functions, Eyes, Ears, Respiratory system
Grade 6: Personal care, Self-Esteem, Emotions, Family Life, Nutrition
Grade 7: Stress Management, Decision Making, Infectious Diseases, Growth & Development
Grade 8: Personal safety, CPR/First Aid, Mental Health, Drugs, Harassment, Violence Prevention

Why Is Health Class Important?

Health education is an essential part of schooling. It provides students the knowledge and skills they need to make informed, healthy decisions to live a healthy, low-risk life. Health class arms the students with the basic tools to make these healthy decisions.

Research has shown that high-quality, comprehensive health education contributes to improvements not only in students’ knowledge, but also in their health skills and practices.The curriculum for the health education program at NMS comes from two documents: the Massachusetts Comprehensive Health Curriculum Framework and the National Health Education Standards.

 Topics include:

 This material teaches skills that can be applied throughout all content areas. Studies show that the middle school age is a critical time for students to learn and establish healthy behaviors because it is harder to change established unhealthy behaviors later in life.

• Growth and Development
• Physical Activity and Fitness
• Nutrition
• Reproduction/Sexuality
• Mental Health
• Family Life
• Goal Setting Skills
• Interpersonal Relationships
• Disease Prevention and Control
• Safety and Injury Prevention
• Substance Use/Abuse Prevention
• Violence Prevention
• Consumer Health and Resource Management
• Ecological Health
• Decision Making Skills
• Community/Public Health

This material teaches skills that can be applied throughout all content areas. Studies show that the middle school age is a critical time for students to learn and establish healthy behaviors because it is harder to change established unhealthy behaviors later in life.