Whether you’re a new student or a longtime one, the requirement of one semester of physical education for each academic year has grown cumbersome.
No more.
In a recent email, administration announced that with the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year, juniors and seniors will no longer be required to take a gym credit. The choice was done purely in favor of promoting academic enrichment for students; upperclassmen are now afforded a better opportunity to take full-year courses in place of where the one-semester wellness requirement used to be.
If students still wish to take gym as juniors and seniors, they still have the option to do so. Students interested in wellness should continue taking courses, as new types of wellness classes may be created in the future if student interest accumulates.
Saint Viator President Mr. Ryan Aiello maintains that eliminating the requirement provides students with greater flexibility in choosing courses suited to their individual needs.
“The ultimate goal here is to offer the best experience to as many students as possible,” says Mr. Aiello. “Letting students make that choice, as opposed to having the school dictate that choice, is an important distinction.”
Perhaps the most significant change with the removal of the requirement will be the lower number of upperclassmen enrolled in summer gym. An alternative to fitting a wellness requirement in with other classes during the school year, summer gym had been offered to students as a way to ease schedules: at a price.
“That [wellness] requirement was actually very profitable for the school because, in the summer, so many people took PE III/IV so they would have flexibility during the year,” says Mr. Aiello.
“I took summer gym,” said freshman Aria Shirazi. “I don’t know, I still feel like it’s good to improve and learn about your physical health throughout high school.”
“I’m really happy about it,” said junior Grace VanFossen. “I was supposed to take summer gym this upcoming year because I couldn’t fit a semester of gym into my course load. It’s a real relief to not have to do gym anymore.”
Students’ split opinions demonstrate why this change was necessary; where some may find thrill in getting a workout in, others are overjoyed to never have to run a Mamoo again.