Physical Education
	Physical Education at Birch Wathen Lenox empowers students with the knowledge of how to conduct a healthy and active lifestyle. BWL's student athletes display a passion for various sports, both during PE classes and through interscholastic competitions, while honing their skills of sportsmanship, teamwork, and physical fitness. The Physical Education department ensures that the course of each student's athletic development receives the attention and encouragement it deserves. A modern gymnasium, complete with bleacher seating, is complemented by the use of other venues outside of School, allowing all BWL students to play sports almost every day. Locations beyond the gymnasium and playroof atop the School include Central Park, Randall's Island, Sokol Gymnasium, Basketball City, Asphalt Green, Riverbank State Park and Lasker Ice Rink, along with the many schools to which student athletes travel for New York State Independent School Athletic League competitions. Students in Kindergarten through Grade Five participate in coeducational physical education four times a week. By Grade Four, students attend mandatory swim classes at Asphalt Green and in Grade Five can compete inter- scholastically in sports such as tennis, basketball and soccer. Teams and clubs offered for Grades Five through Twelve include basketball, cheerleading, cross-country, golf, ice hockey, soccer, skiing, softball, swimming, tennis, track & field, lacrosse, cycling and volleyball. Team sports are structured to accommodate every age and skill level, including teams comprised solely of students in Grades Five-Six and Grades Seven-Eight in addition to the Junior Varsity and Varsity teams open to Middle and Upper School students. In Middle School, the Physical Education department continues its commitment to helping students achieve a sound mind and body. The spectrum of team sports, for both boys and girls, is expanded. Health instruction, taught separately by gender, is another component of the Physical Education department for Grades Six through Eight. Always at an age-appropriate level, BWL's proactive approach to supporting the health of students and their families includes informative classes on growth and development; body systems; social, emotional and mental health; nutrition; exercise and fitness; substance abuse; and diseases and disorders. During Upper School, BWL students take physical education classes each week with the substitution of study hall periods during seasons in which they play Varsity team sports. Students in Grades Nine through Twelve pursue their athletic passions and ultimate goals with seriousness, yet they use enthusiasm and spirit to rise to their greatest potential. The Birch Wathen Lenox School is proud of its athletic department, and impressed by the strong self-esteem and achievements of its student athletes, who continually demonstrate relentless determination and stellar sportsmanship in their approach to physical fitness.

	The Following Sports Are Offered to Middle School Students
	FALL • Fifth & Sixth Grade Intramural Soccer • Fifth & Sixth Grade Intramural Volleyball • Seventh & Eighth Grade Soccer • Boys Seventh & Eighth Grade Cross Country • Girls Seventh & Eighth Grade Cross Country • Girls Seventh & Eighth Grade Volleyball     WINTER • Boys Fifth & Sixth Grade Intramural Basketball • Girls Fifth & Sixth Grade Intramural Basketball • Girls Seventh & Eighth Grade Basketball • Boys Seventh & Eighth Grade Basketball • Girls Seventh and Eighth Grade Swim Team • Boys Seventh and Eighth Grade Swim Team • Seventh and Eighth Grade Squash      SPRING • Fifth & Sixth Grade Tennis Club • Seventh & Eighth Grade Tennis Club • Girls Seventh & Eighth Grade Track and Field • Boys Seventh & Eighth Grade Track and Field • Boys Six through Nine Grade Club Lacrosse

	The Following Sports Are Offered to High School Students
	FALL • Varsity Soccer • Girls Junior Varsity Volleyball • Girls Varsity Volleyball • Boys Varsity Cross Country • Girls Varsity Cross Country     WINTER • Girls Varsity Basketball • Boys Varsity Basketball • Boys Junior Varsity Basketball • Boys Varsity Swim Team • Girls Varsity Swim Team • Varsity Ice Hockey • Varsity Squash      SPRING • Boys Varsity Track and Field • Girls Varsity Track and Field • Varsity Golf • Boys Varsity Tennis • Girls Varsity Tennis • Boys Varsity Baseball • Girls Varsity Softball • Boys Badminton Club • Girls Badminton Club • Boys Ninth Grade Lacrosse