Dedham Country Day School | Private Lower School Athletics

Programs

Athletics

Physical education at DCD is not a “special” but a class.

Teachers and coaches see the children regularly and are able to implement an extensive and comprehensive curriculum. We emphasize the development of ball skills, movement education, and problem-solving activities that develop confidence and self-esteem. In Fourth and Fifth Grades, when competition is introduced, emphasis is placed on fair play, teamwork, and sportsmanship.

Daily activities are planned with varying levels of structure with the intention of encouraging leadership and autonomy in peer- to-peer problem solving at an early age.

Over the course of the school year, children receive instruction in such activities such as soccer, touch football, basketball, floor hockey, volleyball, field hockey, softball, baseball, badminton, gymnastics, and rhythmic activities. Instructors encourage personal growth through activities involving the whole class as well as individual participation.

Students in Grades 1, 2, and 3 have physical education for 45 minutes four days out of the six-day rotation. Students in Grades 4 and 5 have physical education Monday through Thursday for one hour (including skating in the winter), and in the fall term participate in interscholastic soccer or field hockey games with area peer schools.