As I sit here and reflect on the year that was, I am beyond words for the resilience and energy that our MPPS students have demonstrated on their return to school in this last term of 2021.  From a Physical Education perspective, my aim is to not only educate our students in skills and sport, but create a passion for moving and generating positive experiences in these sessions.  On return to Term 4 we have had a Prep to Grade 6 game focus  - concentrating on target, invasion, net/wall and striking/fielding games.  All students have continued to learn, develop and demonstrate our CARE values of Collaboration, Achievement, Responsibility and Empathy through our PE program and how they easily link to games, activities and sports. The culture we continue to build through our PE and sporting programs at Mernda Park gives me the greatest sense of pride in our students, staff and community.  Thank you for all of your commitment to your students at home and on return and I wish you a safe and happy holidays, recharging for what promises to be an amazing 2022!  Stay safe and well...Susie.

What an amazing attendance for our Football Fitness Session to celebrate our last week of Remote Learning for Term 3!  An amazing session, with all students and staff dressed in their team colours and performing some football fitness activities to get their morning moving!  Thank you so much to all families and staff that attended, you are appreciated!  The Specialist Team and myself are very grateful for all of your support throughout this challenging time.  We cannot wait to see your faces in person again.  Stay safe, smile often and laugh loads.
​Susie ;)  

A message from ACHPER our Health & Physical Education advocates to promote the value of health and physical education in schools and achieve Victoria’s education goals.  As an acknowledgement for our Week 8 LC Movement Challenge, we received a certificate for registering and taking part in our remote learning PE program. Sensational effort superstars!

Thank you so much for joining us this year for National HPE Day. We know how challenging it has been for schools, sporting associations and centres in and out of lockdown and with the persistent uncertainty caused by COVID. Taking the time on 1st September to celebrate the importance of Health and Physical Education with us is massively appreciated and we hope you can join us again in 2022. 
 GO MPPS!

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On our first Friday of the term, Mernda Park Primary turned out in their Green & Gold in celebration of our athletes competing in Tokyo.  Staff and students did an exceptional job to represent in their colours and participated in some lunch time sporting activities run by our Grade 6 student leaders.  In PE lessons, students competed in some mini olympic events with medal ceremonies after each event.  A fantastic, first, fun Friday back at MPPS for Term 3 and a fabulous way to start back after remote learning.  Awesome effort Superstars!

The end of Term brought some much needed excitement to the grade 5/6 students as they boarded a bus and headed off to Alexandra Adventure Resort, and what an amazing adventure it was…
 
It was amazing to arrive at camp, explore and become familiar with the facilities and to also meet the friendly, helpful camp crew.
 
The weather smiled on us and we got to participate in a plethora of outdoor activities including the giant swing, the high ropes, create stacking, archery, rock climbing and the flying fox just to name a few.
 
Thanks Alexandra Adventure Resort we were challenged by the activities and left exhausted but with so many happy memories.
  
“On the 23rd of June the adventure started for the grade 5/6s. The food was delicious. You could see all of Alexandra Adventure Resort from the top of the giant swing. The high ropes were 18m high. It was so cool and I wish we could go again.”- By Matilda 

We are already in Week 4 of Term 2 and what a term it has been so far!  Our Winter Interschool Sport Teams have started their season in the sports of Netball, Soccer and AFL.  In PE we have been focusing on movement sequences through Dance, Athletics and Gymnastics.  Our Athletics team will be selected from these lessons and we look forward ​to that event in Term 3.  Our 5/6 students performed very well at the Hockey 7's District Gala event at Greensborough Hockey Club.  With some very knowledgeable umpires and an amazing level of energy, our hockey teams took to the field with great attitudes and learning experiences of the day.  With a Girls AFL Gala and European Handball Gala still to go in the coming weeks, this term is far from over! Finally, this week we have had Walk Safely to School Day with lots of families and students ditching their wheels for shoes in taking part in 30 minutes of walking around our beautiful school community.  Thank you to everyone that took part, your support is much appreciated.  Keep up the awesome efforts Superstars! 

Eager, excited and enthusiastic.  The largest MPPS team that we have ever fielded arrived at Bundoora Park with a high level of anticipation for their races ahead.  Our team consisted of the top 8 runners in their age groups, which saw some first time runners, returning runners and our Grade 6 students competing in what may be their last district cross country.  All competing students dug deep and made Mernda Park proud as they all finished their races with smiles and sprints!  Congratulations to all competitors who represented the school brilliantly and ran their best race on the day.  Superstars!

Amazing Autumn has hit and here at Mernda Park we are well underway into Term 2...and what a Term it is going to be in PE!  From dazzling dancing to jumping gymnasts, students will be covering Dance, Gymnastics, Swimming, Athletics, Ball Handling and Indigenous Games.  Students will be working on sequencing movement skills from Grades 1-6 across different sports and activities. Preps will be completing their PE at Kingswim with a 7 week Swimming Program and Perpetual Motor Program at school focusing on basic fundamental movement skills and physical literacy.  It's amazing to be back at it in Term 2 and I am looking forward to watching the improvement and development of students across their units.  Here's to a Terrific Term Two...Susie.

Students smiling, positive play, encouraging empathy and mastering mindfulness has been the name of our GEM game this Term for Physical Education at Mernda Park. Through their activities, games and lessons, students have been taught, understood and explained what the values of Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness can do to assist them as Super Sportspeople.  Interschool Sport saw us fiercely compete in Teeball, Hot Shots Tennis and T20 Cricket.  Our Grade 5/6 students represented with pride on Lawn Bowls on the carpeted greens of Whittlesea.  Swimming was sensational with our largest team to represent Mernda Park in it's short history.  All swimmers did an amazing job to do the school proud.  Matilda Simcox was outstanding as she progressed to Division and then Regional level in her event.  A sizzling start to the summer season, term one done and dusted, a proud PE teacher at marvellous MPPS!

Amidst a brilliant beginning and a rapid lockdown, the enthusiasm and energy of our Mernda Park students in PE has not waivered.  Term 1 has been learning about what it means to be GEMS - Grateful, Empathetic, Mindful, Sportspeople.  So far we have covered Gratitude and Empathy - working on skills of being thankful and putting ourselves in other people's positions or shoes.  Students are continuing to develop their physical skills and well being aspect of their learning journey also.  A sizzling start to the Term everyone!

WE'RE BACK!!! What an sensational start to the year to reconnect with all of our students, staff and families at MPPS.  I am beyond excited for the year to begin and our Physical Education program to roll out.  This term we will be working on becoming GEMS in and outside of our PE classes.  The acronym GEMS focuses on the values of Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness while revisiting our Mernda Park Sportsperson  values of teamwork, attitude, respect and positivity.  We strive to teach our students the value of physical activity and the benefits on our health and well being as individuals and a community.  WELCOME TO TERM 1! 
Stay safe and well, Susie   

After what has been a challenging year for Victoria, our students in Grade 5/6 have eagerly selected their sports to participate against the Bridge Inn North District in Hot Shots Tennis, Cricket and Teeball.  Looking forward to getting back into sporting competition, Mernda Park is looking to develop our student skills in leadership and collaboration through our sporting program.  Beginning next week, we are looking forward to getting back to it.  Below are dates for our Summer Sport Rounds:

In addition to our weekly sport, students will have the opportunity to participate in additional gala events in Lawn Bowls and Softball this term.  The details are as follows:

Our District Swimming Carnival at Watermarc Banyule will take place in a couple of weeks Monday 15th February.  Students along with their family's permission will be able to enter and attend their chosen stroke against the Bridge Inn North District schools. We wish our selected students all the best and will post results after the event.

​Leading on from our last two weeks of Term 2, students will be continuing to focus on health and physical activity and the benefits on our health and well being.  During this challenging time, health and well being is so important for everyone and creating active opportunities as a regular outlet becomes of vital significance.  Students will be completing a 5 week challenge which they will record in their Remote Learning Books.  The first is to complete a daily exercise bout of 15 minutes where you measure and record steps, distance or type of moving (walk, jog, run.) The second is to see how their body adjusts and improves to the same body weight circuit over 5 weeks improving and developing strength and endurance.  Each LC will have a PE Rubric that they will work through, incorporating aspects of health, nutrition, skills practise and movement challenges.  Morning Motivation will still be happening on Monday and Friday mornings, and I cannot wait to see your work and activities throughout the term.  Keep safe and stay safe! We are all in this together!

Wow! What a term!  With such a crazy ending, we really did enjoy a crazy beginning and middle of the term also throughout our Physical Education and Interschool Sports programs. As students worked through their START UP program in PE, it was fantastic to see them embrace the 7 concepts that we would like to uphold as sportspeople: Sports, Teamwork, Attitude, Respect, Trial &Error, Understanding and Positivity. Through the Bridge Inn North District Sports Program, Mernda Park completed their Summer season in all 4 sports with a new structure.  They learned, trained and competed weekly in Volleyball, Hot Shots, Cricket and Teeball. Our 5/6 teams participated in Fully Loaded Softball and Lawn Bowls at our Gala Events, where MPPS was extremely proud to win their first Premier pennant in Lawn Bowls competition. We had our first swimmer through to Division this year also, with Matilda Simcox finishing first in her Butterfly and Breastroke races.  Finally, we finished with our Colour Run where students participated in their favourite colours to complete a timed obstacle course for the most number of laps.  Sensational start to the year Superstars!  Stay safe and look forward to Term 2!
​Susie ;)     

Amidst the cloud and gloom, students at Mernda Park Primary illuminated the oval with colours of the rainbow.  Each Learning Community participated in the spirit of the morning by completing our "Oval Obstacles"  to complete their personal best laps in a set time.  All students displayed amazing attitudes, excellent efforts and marvellous motivation to challenge themselves on the morning.  A big thank you to all of our school community who came to support our students at the event. 
GO MPPS!