Every student at Arrowhead needs three gym credits spread over three different years in order to graduate. This sounds easily attainable, but for some students it can create conflicts within their already packed schedules.

Zero hour gym is a class offered before first hour everyday, but only for first semester. For many students, this is the only gym class that would fit into their schedule.

Every gym class except for zero hour is a block period. This is the reason many students have problems fitting gym into their schedule. In her junior year, Mariah Zuzick needed a gym class in her schedule, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to graduate. Zuzick said, “I didn’t get into zero hour gym, so I talked to my counselor and she put a gym class in my schedule.

My schedule was already full though, so there was no room to add a block class. I ended up having to drop a class that I actually wanted to take to instead having to take gym.”

Students are required to take gym so the school knows they are staying active at least 3 semesters of their high school life. Staying active is something that most students find very easy with all the athletic opportunities Arrowhead offers. Some students stay after school for almost two hours and do conditioning before heading to their sport. These students are staying very active without being required to. However for the few that don’t participate in a sport, gym might be the only time they would think about putting on tennis shoes.

Lizzy Bringe, an AHS junior, said, “I liked having gym in my schedule because it gave me an opportunity to work out before starting my day. It was nice to have a little bit of time to kind of wake up. I liked having some fun to run around with my school friends.”

Bringe is an avid gym-goer, but couldn’t find time during the school year with also being involved with work and her softball practice.

Zuzick threw out an idea about the gym requirements.

She said, “I ran track during my  freshman and sophomore years when I had to take a gym class, so I was already active. If someone plays a full season of a sport they should be waived a gym class because it shows they are already active without needing to be.”  Many students agreed with this idea.

Peyton Harper, an AHS senior said, “I swam all four years of high school. I continued practicing even outside of the season so it always kept me active. Being in gym classes made me feel uncomfortable and judged, but swimming was natural for me. Everyone has different ways of staying active and I don’t think we should all be forced to do the same things.I took summer gym

because I thought I could be with more people that made me feel comfortable. ”

For the students who don’t participate in sports, this would still affect them positively.

Marcelina Worden, an AHS senior, said, “If there were no jocks showing off in my gym classes, I would be a lot more comfortable participating and giving it my all. You feel inferior and judged when your 100% isn’t as good as someone else’s 50%. Although I am very comfortable working out, I still don’t want the pressure to be on me during school. ”