Page 21 - The Ontario Curriculum, Grades 9-12: Health and Physical Education, 2015 - revised

OVERVIEW
The secondary health and physical education curriculum comprises four Healthy Active Living Education (HALE) courses, one in each of Grades 9 through 12, and three specialized destination courses in Grades 11 and 12.
Students are required to earn one compulsory credit in health and physical education towards their Ontario Secondary School Diploma, and may also take a health and physical education course to meet the Group 2 additional compulsory credit requirement.
Healthy Active Living Education (HALE) Courses
The HALE program at the secondary level is designed to follow smoothly from the elementary health and physical education program. The emphasis of the HALE courses is on providing students with the knowledge and skills they need to make healthy choices today and lead healthy active lives in the future. Through participation in a wide range of physical activities, they develop knowledge and skills related to movement competence and personal fitness that provide a foundation for active living. They also acquire an understanding of the factors and skills that contribute to healthy development and learn how their own choices and behaviours, as well as various factors in the world around them, affect their own and others’ health and well-being. Through the HALE courses, students build a stronger sense of themselves, learn to interact positively with others, and develop their ability to think critically and creatively.
The HALE courses offered in each of Grades 9 through 12 are open courses, defined as follows:
Open courses are designed to broaden students’ knowledge and skills in subjects that reflect their interests and prepare them for active and rewarding participation in society. They are not designed with the specific requirement of universities, colleges, or the workplace in mind. Students choose open courses on the basis of their interests, achievement, and postsecondary goals.
The HALE courses may also be delivered with a focus on a particular set of activities (see “Focus Courses”, on the following page).
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THE PROGRAM
IN HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION