When every student walks in freshman year, one of the very first classes they will have to go through is Freshman Exercise Physiology and Wellness (EPW), a class that’s overdue for improvements, and maybe even a replacement.  

Freshman EPW, which is required for every freshman at Oyster River High School to take, is something lots of upcoming freshmen look forward to. However, due to kids losing interest in the units and lack of effort, it can be disappointing for some. One way to fix it is to switch to the elective system, smaller classes, freshmen get to pick something that they have interest in, and more fun, which is what gym class is supposed to be.  

Because of the state of New Hampshire’s law where every high schooler must take a minimum of one year of gym class, the school can’t just completely get rid of freshman EPW being a requirement and call it a day. One way to solve this is to use the type of system that the computer science program runs on. Students don’t have to take Introduction to Computer Science, which is basically what freshman EPW is, an introduction to certain sports or games. Instead, you can take classes like Adobe, programming with Python, and programming with Java.   

The school can make this switch fairly easily, considering they already have classes that would work for this system. These include Team and Individual Sports, Weight Training and Fitness, Yoga and Mindfulness, and Adventure Education. These are all semester classes which means taking two would get you that year of gym that’s required while also adding a variety of new skills into your life.  

When asked about this, EPW teacher Victoria Sickler quickly said that she is opposed to this and wants to keep freshman EPW required. “It allows the freshman class to know each other in a unique way.”  

At the start of the year, in the current class, you do a month-long unit called “CATS program.” This program is designed to do exactly what Sickler said, have students get to know classmates and learn how to work on a team. Sickler says that is a great introduction to the class, as well as an opportunity to get to know expectations and talk to each other.   

All these things would be true, but the curriculum makes it so freshmen feel like they’re still in middle school. Casey Pirtle (‘25), said “That was the worst part of gym class.” It all leads to frustration and a disappointing way to start a class.  

I understand where Sickler comes from but connecting athletes with non-athletes is difficult in a class where most of the time, you’re playing sports. Max Scopel (‘26) says that in his Team and Individual Sports class, which mainly athletes take, there is no awkward dynamic that he saw in EPW. Also, because most of the classes freshmen take are required freshman classes, getting to know people is hardly a problem.   

 Another thing an elective-based system would do is let freshmen build connections with people in other grades. So many people connect over sports and freshmen who choose to fulfill part, or all of their gym requirement freshman year can use that to connect to with kids who are completing their requirement in later years. These connections can help introduce freshmen to the school and give them kids they can talk to and ask questions about the school.  

Once you get past the CATS program, the sports or games that you play should be fun and can be fun for some people, but for a portion of people, they are not. “There were people in that class that really didn’t try. They would just stand around, wouldn’t be active and I feel like that was just kind of a waste,” said Kai Nield (‘25).  

Another reason to believe that an elective-based system would work is that the current electives are doing very well. EPW teacher John Morin doesn’t want to see freshman EPW no longer be required but agrees that the current electives are doing very well. “Weight training alone, which is an elective, it’s not the requirement, but I have three classes and then maybe even a fourth one building for next semester, and they’re packed with people.”  

While making the switch to the elective system, it also gives you a great opportunity to add new classes to give students an even bigger variety. This could include opportunities in stuff such as martial arts, dance, and foreign sports and games. All this would do is ensure that everyone can do something they are interested in and make it, so everyone is putting in effort.  

– Kevin Kell