By Cyntia Santos – Staff Reporter

There has been an alternative physical education class at Jonathan Law since 2011 which is designed for the “non-athlete.”

This class is called Physical Education 2B. This year there are three full sections of the course.

“The class has a non-intimidating atmosphere which is usually made up of mostly females, but we have had males in the class,” physical education teacher Ms. Paolini said. “You’d be surprised with how much of a workout these students get in a short class time.”

Instead of taking the regular required gym course, this class focuses more on fitness than athletic ability.

“I loved it,” Law Class of 2015 graduate Kelsey Kopazna said. “For someone who is very into fitness, it was a great way for me to stay fit in a real workout during school.”

Paolini said that there is a percentage of students that do not always enjoy the organized team sports in P.E. class. This class gives them a chance to be exposed to fitness training on all levels like, weight lifting, yoga, plyometrics, cardiovascular training, and many others.

“I liked it because we could use whatever equipment we wanted, and I prefer working out over sports,” junior Samantha Viscount said.

Students must take  P.E. 1 before they can take this class. That way, all students are exposed to team sports during their freshman year.

“I think that P.E. 2B is a fun way to take gym because it’s not like a regular gym class which would have you do hockey and soccer as activities,” junior Abigail Williamson said. “You get to experience yoga and other fun activities.”

In this P.E. course, students are still required to do the Connecticut Physical Fitness Assessment, which includes the mile, the pacer, the sit and reach, push-ups, and curl-ups, and still take the final exiting exam.

“We did Zumba, yoga and pilates which were all so much fun and a good break from academic classes,” said Kopazna. “It was so cool to learn all new yoga poses and exercises rather than the usual sports in a standard gym class.”

This class has stepped away from the traditional sports in a regular P.E. class. It focuses more on overall fitness levels and gives students an opportunity to perform lifetime fitness activities in a non-competitive environment.

“I would definitely take it,” senior Alyssa Paladino said. “And if you don’t like doing the sports in gym, it’s less competitive and more laid back.”

The sections focused on this year can change in future years depending on enrollment.