Students get P.E. credits with a twist during summer Outdoor Education
Published July 9, 2026
Newport News Public Schools students kayaked through the cool morning air on their way back in to dock at Mariners’ Lake. Once back on land, their morning lessons continued with hiking at The Mariners’ Park and education stations conducted by its staffers.
This was just one typical day for the NNPS Outdoor Education program, which allows students to earn Health and Physical Education credits during a short summer course.
“If you want to actually be active during your P.E. class, then Outdoor Ed’s amazing for that,” said Grace Telfare, a rising tenth grader at Woodside High School. “I know a lot of people who are in it not even for the credit, but just because they like this kind of experience. So I think if you want to try that, you should.”
Outdoor Education I and Outdoor Education II are each three-week courses that run successively each June and July, replacing taking P.E. during the regular school year for the same credit. For a $30 fee, students attend Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. with transportation provided.
“Our summer P.E. class, Outdoor Education, reimagines Physical Education by taking students out of the traditional classroom and into local parks and outdoor environments,” said Jennifer Mulrine, NNPS instructional supervisor for Health and Physical Education.
“Students can earn P.E. credit through hands-on, standards-based activities, including canoeing, archery, biking, swimming and other fitness experiences designed to build skills, confidence and lifelong physical activity habits aligned with Virginia P.E. Standards of Learning.”
Christian Martin, a rising tenth grader at Heritage High School, wanted to free up a credit so that he can get ahead on his coursework and possibly take more Advanced Placement classes, he said. Martin described the outdoor experiences as very fun and said that learning to flip over a submerged canoe from underneath while standing in the water had been the best part so far.
Meeting new people to expand his circle with students and teachers he’d never met before was also a plus for him. Health and P.E. teachers from various grade levels teach the courses, with elementary school teachers Darcey Chiappazzi and Matthew Hill and Hassan Dubose from Point Option leading the first session this summer.
“If you don’t like doing regular sports with a ball, you get to do a lot of outdoor stuff and it can help prepare you if you want to go camping or something like that,” Martin said. “It’s definitely more fun, in my opinion. It’s also only 12 days, so it’s very short.”
He pointed out tables full of students talking and laughing during the lunch break, new friends made among students from all of the city’s high schools.
Outdoor Education is one of many NNPS summer offerings that include Camp ELEVATE, STEAM Camps, the Summer Institute for the Arts, Career Pathways Summer Internships and Driver Education.
Early in this summer’s session, Outdoor Education students were briefed about outdoor safety, fished at the Lee Hall Fishing Pier at Newport News Park, learned to tie knots and handle fishing rods and tackle, and went canoeing. At Jamestown Beach, they were taught parts of the canoe and how to safely maneuver it.
Telfare was able to take a larger number of academic classes last school year and this upcoming one by taking Outdoor Education, she said.
“It’s fast; it’s fun,” Telfare said. “For me, it’s like do I want to be inside the building doing P.E. for 18 weeks when I could just do it during the summer for 12 days? That’s going to help with my credits as well.
“I’m not going to lie, it’s a little stressful. I’ve been doing some stuff and it’s like whew, I’m actually unfit. I’m not that athletic. But I had fun, too.”
Students learned a variety of skills, she said.
“I did not know how to tie knots,” Telfare said. “I don’t know how to swim, so the little swim lessons that we did were fun. I did not know how to flip myself outside of the canoe, so I thought that was interesting. I got stuck for a second, but we got past that.”
She pointed to the student she was eating lunch next to at a table in the shade.
“I also met new people,” Telfare said. “She’s going to my high school; she’s going to be a freshman. So I think that was cool, just seeing all the different students here.”
Jacqueline Bateman, the lead Outdoor Education teacher this summer, knows all about getting acclimated to the outdoors. Before becoming a Health and P.E. teacher years ago, she said she was never outdoorsy or knew much about coaching.
Overcoming and facing her uncertainties, she quickly picked up all of the outdoor activities. Today Bateman is a veteran teacher and coach at Heritage High School.
“Doing this class has taught me way more experiences than anybody can imagine,” Bateman said, stretching out her arms to take in the natural surroundings. “Outdoor Ed is a whole different world. It taught me what this is like.”
