A health and physical education community story against all odds

At 2019’s end, if someone from the future showed up and told you you’d be teaching your health and physical education (HPE) classes remotely for the first few months of 2020, you might’ve laughed in their face. Physical education especially is traditionally a hands-on subject, so the concept of delivering it online may have seemed close to impossible.

Fast forward to now – our classrooms are virtual, we’re delivering the HPE curriculum to students remotely and coming up with new and innovative ways to do so.

Victorian teachers of HPE, we salute you! We’ve seen an incredible coming together of the HPE community to share resources and experiences including teaching-from-home highs and lows. You are adapting so well to maintain and prioritise your students’ learning. Bravo!

Now more than ever, ACHPER’s role is vitally important. It is crucial for the HPE profession to have a 'voice' at both federal and state government levels to ensure the areas of physical education and health don't become a minority. The more people and teachers on board will strengthen our voice and enable us to stay relevant by contributing to broader conversations and ensuring HPE stays on the agenda for our students and future generations.

Like many, ACHPER Victoria faces challenging times during COVID-19 restrictions. For the time being we are unable to hold face-to-face events which directly impacts our income. If you are not yet a member of ACHPER, or your membership has lapsed, now is a great time to consider joining or renewing with your professional association. Membership is $140 annually and entitles you to a growing range of benefits such as:

• Discounts and preferred access to all our professional learning events, plus special member-only events and ‘first-look’ previews
• Discounts on all resources developed by ACHPER for F-10 and VCE teachers
• Networking and community building opportunities, and;
• An invaluable opportunity to share your voice through our advocacy and representation

So, if you have been supported by ACHPER Victoria and value the resources you are receiving via our channels and are in a position to do so, please consider showing your support via membership. Our promise to you is we will continue to support the delivery of quality HPE for enhanced student outcomes by standing side by side with you; the teachers who are crucially important for this priority learning area.

We also recognise there may be individuals experiencing financial hardship at this time. If this is you, feel free to contact us to discuss alternative payment arrangements on a case-by-case basis.

HPE teachers are an amazing bunch! You’re doing a fantastic job to provide continuity of teaching and learning for your students in these exceptional times. We know you've got this and we're here to support you along the way.

Please click here to become an ACHPER member today and join our active and vibrant professional HPE community. If you have further questions or need advice on delivering HPE at Home, check out our resources or get in touch