At the beginning of the second semester each year, the girls physical education class does an aerobic dance unit. They receive four class periods to work on their dance and after they’ve come up with their dance, they teach the rest of the class.

Physical education teacher Christine Preston likes this unit because the class learns another way to be physically active.

“Dancing gets your heart rate up and is a way for the girls to stay healthy,” Preston said.

Freshman Emily Feuerborn enjoys dance compared to other units like soccer, football, softball and volleyball because of how experimental they can be with their routines.

“Dancing gives you more freedom to do what you want,” Feuerborn said. “When you’re playing a game, you have to play by the rules.”

According to Preston, most of the girls really like the unit.

“The dance unit is more project-based because they are given multiple days to work on it and they have to present their finished product,” Preston said.

Being able to work with her friends and being creative with their dances is something freshman Emma Hookstra enjoys.

“Since we get to make up our dance, we can have our own style,” Hookstra said.

With all of the freedom the class gets on this project, Hookstra believes there can be some difficulties.

“It’s hard to get the dance moves to match the beat and hard to stay in unison with your partners,” Hookstra said.

In addition to staying fit, the dance unit provides other benefits to students, according to Preston.

“This unit is teaching them to be organized, coordinated and active,” Preston said. “It teaches them how to stand in front of an audience, how to perform and how to have energy.”