Health education and concern for students’ health status have always been the shared responsibilities of the home, the school and the community. We serve a varied student body at UNIS which includes children of all ages and of many different cultures living in and around New York City. UNIS recognizes its responsibility to work with all children, their parents and community health care providers, to ensure that these health care and educational needs are identified and met and that students have the tools and experiences that will help them become productive, satisfied members of society.
Middle One
In Middle One Health, the health teacher works closely with the Middle One homeroom teachers to create a health curriculum that covers issues relevant to the students throughout the year. Some of the questions that the program addresses are: What are the physical, mental and social components of health? What is a true compliment? What is identity? What is self-esteem? How can I deal with put-downs and bullying? What is friendship? How can I make friends? What are my goals? What is popularity? What is puberty? What is tolerance?
Middle Two
Some of the issues that students discuss in Middle Two Health are: What is health? What changes have I experienced, and what is still ahead? What is identity? What is self-esteem? What are values? What are feelings, and what do I do with them? How do I make friends? What are the resources available to me? Students work with interviews, cooperative learning and brainstorming techniques. They learn about anger-management, hygiene, decision-making skills for different situations and peer influence.
Middle Three
In Middle Three Health, students look at the three components of health, group dynamics, one and two-way communication, environmental and consumer health, media influence on decision-making, body image and current trends, gender roles and relationships and substance use and abuse.
Middle Four
Some of the topics that students consider in Middle Four Health are: the components of health, music and health, group dynamics, teamwork, identity, needs and personality, values, stress, gender roles and relationships. In addition, they look ahead to high school.