institutional heads advocate for resumption of sports activities that support students fitness while maintaining safety precautionshealthy body for healthy mindwith schools reopening physical education classes and sports activities should be resumed the lockdown period has made us all indolent we see our children getting obese lethargic gloomy and dull the only reason for this is the lack of physical activity for such a prolonged period in the new normal we need more physical and mental strength so as to combat the daytoday challenges therefore sports activities are a must for our children to help them face the postpandemic situation more energetically it will also help them to focus on their academic skills and promote holistic development as it has been rightly said that a healthy body leads to a healthy mindpallavi upadhyaya principal delhi public school rajnagar extension ghaziabadsports will boost learning with schools gradually reopening in a staggered manner it is of utmost importance that school leaders give sports and physical education the same priority as academics schools are the ideal place for a child to play as it provides safe play spaces moreover due to the lockdown there has been no distinction between school time and playtime many experts have emphasised on the physical emotional and mental wellbeing of children especially during lockdown the who recommends a minimum of 60 minutes of reasonably rigorous playtime every day for a growing child along with physical and mental health benefits sports and nutrition are two elements that can boost a childs immunity it can also be a critical tool in blurring the line between curricular and extracurricular activities while providing children the confidence to select their preferred pathways across the sciences arts and vocational programmes krish iyengar business head sportz village schoolsrestructured sports curriculum needed sports plays an important role in a students growth and development in school life also being a part of the curriculum it brings discipline to life and teaches the value of dedication and patience once schools gradually restart with students attending physically we must definitely plan for physical activities that support their fitness while maintaining covid precautions the activities and sports to start with must be critically designed that allow gradual increase of exercises as the students are returning to the new normal after a long gap the ones that are contactless and can be done with physical distancing rules such as yoga and meditation can be started a restructured sports curriculum in a phased manner will support the schools while ensuring the safety of the students anjali bowen principal ryan international school kandivali mumbaican battle weight issues exercise helps to combat many health conditions so important during this time of the pandemic keeping a healthy weight is also important we have seen our students grow over this year of online learning not only upwards but also outwards i fear many of our children will return to school battling weight issues but exercise is not just about healthy bodies it has been proven to improve