Physical education at Junior High South is heading out of the gymnasium and into the woods following approval of a new curriculum by the school committee last night.
The innovative course, known as “Project Adventure,” replaces traditional team sports with a series of outdoor tree-and-timber challenges designed to foster individual growth and peer cooperation.
Overcoming the “Win, Win, Win” Pressure
Developed by physical education teacher John Solomon, the program introduces students to challenging outdoor obstacles, including scaling a wooden wall, climbing rope ladders, walking rope bridges suspended between trees, and balancing on logs hung above the ground.
Solomon emphasized that participation is entirely voluntary and designed to strip away the intense competitive pressure of traditional team sports like basketball. “It’s an individual accomplishment for the student to make,” Solomon explained.
Guest speaker Jim Duggan, assistant principal at Maynard High School—who launched a similar program in Maynard five years prior—noted that the curriculum gives less athletically gifted students an opportunity to shine.
“Everyone comes into this program on an equal level,” Duggan told the committee. “It’s having fun that counts. What happens in a basketball game? The starting guys play the whole game and the others never touch the ball.”
Teamwork and Community Support
Duggan stressed that proper instruction and peer assistance ensure every student can successfully complete the course. The activities heavily emphasize group collaboration, noting that a student struggling to climb over a wooden barrier will receive a physical pull or push from classmates when help is requested.
The rollout of the program received enthusiastic backing from school committee members. “It’s one of the most exciting things in physical education I’ve seen in a long time,” praised committee member William F. Egan.
Construction and Future Plans
- Building the Course: Students at Junior High South will construct the outdoor obstacles behind the school building, with oversight from the school’s industrial arts department.
- Funding: The Women’s Community Committee generously donated $1,500 to purchase construction materials.
- Expansion Potential: Solomon noted that students from Junior High North and the high school could eventually utilize the course after school as part of an intramural program.
Similar “Project Adventure” programs are already established at Walpole High School, the Hale Reservation in Westwood, and school districts across Massachusetts.
Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger
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