Our Gymnasium class offers the opportunity to follow through on our mission to educate the whole person. In so many of today’s schools, physical education programs tend to be phased out or viewed as extracurricular. At the St. Jerome Institute, we understand that the formation of the human body is integrated with the education of heart and mind. In our Gymnasium classes, students are lovingly challenged to be the best expressions of themselves in every aspect, including the body.
What is the structure and purpose of the human body? At SJI we believe physical excellence must be a response to this question. Our students will run, crawl, roll, and jump, and grow in heroic, magnanimous spirit as they are challenged in classic exercises. This physical culture is most emphasized in Gymnasium class, but is integrated throughout the school days. For example, students might work at standing desks, and are invited to stretch, play outside, and engage in playful competition during extracurricular periods. In competitive sports, love, honor and virtue – rather than mere victory – are understood to be the goals of any match. In festive or non-competitive exercises, the joy of the activity itself leads students to pursue excellence. Preference is always given to sports and activities that quicken or quiet the mind, promote graceful movement, delight the students and their community, and foster bonds of fellowship among the students.
