Sports club has been a program that we at Mernda Park Primary have created to further assist the students in Grade 4/5/6 continue to develop their skills in different sports, leadership, conflict resolution and extend the CARE values. This program is driven by student voice, where sports are suggested by our students who then learn and participate in the chosen sport for 3 weeks. At the commencement of each sport, teams or courts are mixed between Grades 4/5/6 with students who then learn to play, manage and work with a different group each week. Each lunchtime we have a CARE Captain that is nominated by the students for demonstrating the CARE values and Rights and Responsibilities behaviours including cheering on other’s success, using manners and treating other’s as equals. The CARE Captains have responsibilities to manage their teams or run a court depending on the sport. In addition to the participating students, it has provided an opportunity for our Grade 6 students to take on an umpire/referee role in some of our sports. These roles have been extremely valuable to our students who have reported enhancing their skills in Collaboration, Responsibility and Empathy which feature heavily in this program. The sports that students have chosen so far this term are Futsal (indoor soccer) and Downball. We have had such a positive response from students about this program and are looking forward to seeing where it goes and how it continues to develop across the year. Sports Club - Futsal
The first 3 weeks of sports club the 4,5,6’s involved played indoor soccer (Futsal). The year six’s umpired to gain experience and leadership skills. The games went for twenty minutes with subs every two. It was interesting as an umpire to see each team’s different perspectives on the game. At the end of every lunch the umpires awarded a CARE captain to a student that was displaying the CARE values on the day. The CARE captains received a sticker that made them captains for the next lunchtime. Their job was to organise their teams at the start of sports club and organise their teams subs. All teams were amazing, and seemed to have a lot of fun. I think everyone would agree that Sports Club has been really amazing. Thank you Susie, Rhece and Corinne for creating this amazing opportunity. Paige I enjoyed Futsal at Sports Club because it teaches people what it takes to be a leader. I also enjoyed making friends with people I wouldn't usually play with. There's two courts so there's more play time for everyone so you can play the full 20 minutes. There are teachers there so that students can organise and work through any problems in the stadium during lunch. I really enjoyed it. I’m better now at communicating confidently with different people. Lucas Sports Club - Downball We were gathered around Susie and Rhece at the beginning of the first day for the rules to be explained. Susie then separated us into 6 different groups to play in. The game was fun and ran smoothly because the rules were the original - barebones downball, no cherries, no JGI (Just got in Dunce)...no nothing. At the end of each day, a new CARE Captain was selected to keep watch over the players and nominate a new CARE captain for the next day. Every day we played fairly, supported each other and became much better in not just our sport, but with us as a whole. Everyone had fun and honestly I’m happy that I joined. In conclusion, this was the best Downball experience I’ve ever had! Mahad When the sports club first started I didn't go, but when the downball version came I instantly joined. Mahad and I had actually tried to make a downball tournament before, but Susie and Rhece showed us how to get it going and everyone wanted to play because they wanted to try out the downball tournament. When the downball sports club first launched, I saw a ton of people that wanted to play the downball. The first time I went, I was in court 5. We played for a few days and the rules were getting better and we were having so much fun and I got to be CARE captain. It has taught me a lot about my skills on and off the court. Johnathan As we got off the bus with excitement. We arrived at Greensborough Hockey Club, ready to play. We got our sticks and started practising, Our game began. Our fixture was Whittlesea, St Josphs, Mernda and St Mary’s. We won all our games except for St Mary’s. We came runners up but overall we had a brilliant day full of teamwork, enjoyment and new learning.
Briana Students from Year 5 & 6 went to the hockey gala to play other school teams across our district. Our first game was against Whittlesea. We have never played hockey before, but our first match went pretty well, scoring 1 goal. We really enjoyed learning the basic rules. Our second game was against St Josephs. We scored 1 goal and had a bit more strategy applied into the game this time. We had more spacing out and a lot more passing. The third team we played against was Mernda Primary. They put up a good fight by stopping us from scoring even one goal! Brayden did a great job trying his best and defended hard against a tough opponent! And last but not least we played St Mary’s Whittlesea. They put up a great game, but this time we had really specific positioning that was standing pretty good against them. We had an amazing time out there playing our best. Special thanks to Susie and Amanda for organising this event. It could not have happened without them. Eli The 5/6 Hockey Team travelled to Greensborough Hockey Club to play in a gala day district against 4 Bridge Inn North school teams. When we arrived we all were jumping with excitement. The girls first team we were playing was against Whittlesea. We had never played before, but had so much fun learning the basics of hockey. The game was fierce and in the end the game ended up being a tie. We had no time to waste, because our next game was around the corner waiting for us. For this game, the girls discussed and agreed on a game plan and positions. We won our first ever game! We were so pumped! Our defence, midfield and forward were ready to go for our game playing Mernda Primary. The game was super fast-paced and aggressive and we ended up with a massive win of 5-3. Our last game was against St Mary’s Whittlesea. It was fierce. We were tired, but never gave up. Unfortunately, we lost our last game but we were so proud of ourselves as we had finished Runners Up. At the ceremony we clapped and cheered for everyone who won a flag. Cristabella On a cool, awesome, Autumn day, some Yan Yean students went to the Hockey Gala day. We were so excited and nervous at the same time. We played against 4 other schools in our district at the Greensborough Hockey Club. There were four different turfs on which we could play on. In our first matches our teams played against Whittlesea Primary. It was amazing! The girl’s team came second in runners up. It was super fun for everyone, even when we didn’t win. Everyone had a great time learning and playing a new sport. Sloka District Cross Country - Wednesday the 18th of May
It was all clear skies, until the horn blew. Angry, grey, giants crowded the skies, as the competitors trudged on in the muddy, rainy, foggy bush track. After three kilometres of hard work and sweat, we managed to cross the finish line, just as rain clouds vacated the sky. This year we had the greatest number of students represent the MPPS team and we had beaten two major schools! Three of our competitors were successful in making it to the next round…DIVISION. Mahiru I looked around nervously at the other competitors. It was like competing against angry bulls. But the encouragement from my classmates, seemed to decrease the butterflies. “On the sound of the horn. 3,2,1, GO!” Everyone started flying across the field, but I stood back with my classmates, Holly, Romana, Ruby F and Helma. We all ran our individual races. The experience was amazing and we all did so well to run our own race and do ourselves proud. Samanvita Division Cross Country - Tuesday 31st May It was a windy, cloudy, chilly Tuesday morning. The MPPS team of 3 was ready to run. Isabella was up first, the under 9 girls, cold to the bone, at the start line ready for the horn to blow. HONK! They’re off! After 2 km of running, Isabella had a sensational finish. Now it was Jensen’s turn. He was at the start line ready to run his legs off. Despite illness, he ran his heart out and raced the best he could. The rain started to pour down as my race started. I was nervous, but ready to run. The end of the race was amazing, I out ran the person in front of me. With great success, the day finished on a high note for all of us. Matilda By DARING TO CARE, students will be participating, developing and improving in the following units for Term 2:
WINTER INTERSCHOOL SPORT TERM 2Students in Grade 5/6 will be participating and competing in the District competition in the Australian Rules Football, Netball and Soccer.
BRIDGE INN NORTH DISTRICT SPORTING EVENTSAs part of the Bridge Inn North District, we have Gala days and Carnival events that students will be selected for or nominate for to be a part of throughout the term. The dates and venues are as follows for Term 2:
With the sun glistening off each grass blade,
The students assembled from every grade, Buzzing excitement and energy everywhere, The colours of the rainbow spread here to there. The course was set, the obstacles ready, The runners line up, all cool and steady, The anticipation of families who watch on, Students all set and feeling strong. There goes the whistle and off they go, Dashing and darting, to and fro, Everyone doing their absolute best, And putting themselves to their own test. The finish line nears and the crowd roars, Adrenaline kicks in and confidence soars, The achievement of the challenge, painted as smiles on faces, Students beam with pride from putting themselves through their paces. An excellent day full of achievements galore, Which is more than we could have asked for, Mernda Park is beyond proud of all the efforts of everyone, And what a way to go out in Term 1! Susie ;) We have finished the Term with our Responsibility and Empathy values. Students have worked hard to recognise, discuss and consider why people need to be responsible and the consequences of our actions in games, activities and sports. With the main focus on the Ramon Lewis rights we all have a communal responsibility to allow others to learn everyday, students were able to explain a great deal of how their actions effected others including themselves. Empathy lessons enabled students to "step into someone else's shoes." Through an array of activities, students from Foundation to Grade 6 were able to display empathy in a variety of ways, while learning through movement and access with disability games, sport and recreational activities. The light bulb moments that these students experienced across these activities has been enormous for their personal and social learning throughout Physical Education. These CARE values have been vital in setting the standard and providing the framework for the rules for PE and Specialist programs. I have been blown away with the learning that has taken place across our DARE TO CARE Term 1 and our first term back to school in a while. So your next challenge...I DARE YOU TO CARE not only in PE, but wherever you go as you demonstrate COLLABORATION, ACHIEVEMENT, RESPONSIBILITY AND EMPATHY, the places that will take you.
Stay safe and happy holidays! Susie Mixed Tennis
In Term one, the Mernda Park Tennis team won the premiership. We are super proud of our tennis team this term. They put in the hard work and effort into reaching the set goal we had in our minds. It is the first premiership win that we have achieved in tennis in our school’s short history! Getting back to sport after these two years of lockdown gave us a boost in confidence, energy and excitement. Throughout the season, knowing that we had had some loses and some wins it was really hard to tell what was coming next. We are now heading into the Division Finals in Term 4 and…we cannot wait! Eli Quarrell & Johnathon Li Mixed Cricket Mixed Cricket was an electrifying season, packed with many plot-driven games. It was immensely exhilarating and every match had astonishing results. Every team played fairly, allowing us to enjoy an ideal and pleasurable tournament. As well as having an extraordinary season, we achieved runners up, winning all but one match. Thanks to everyone from MPPS that helped to make this tournament possible, all players that participated and played their best to endure a challenging season. We hope you all had as good a time as we did! Ruben Page & Hersh Patel Girls Cricket This term has been absolutely incredible. Before this year girls cricket had never won a game but this season our luck changed. Not only did we win all of our games except one, it was just so awesome to be back into sport again. It finally seems normal! All the girls were fired up and ready to win, finally being out of lockdown it was a boost of enthusiasm. Our competition was fierce and we finished the term equal first, meaning it came down to percentage. Although we didn't win outright, we are so thankful to have had such a fantastic season. We’d like to shout out the entire team and coaches for the amazing season full of games. We would also like to thank them for their hard work and dedication towards the sport. We appreciate all the schools that came together to play after this challenging two years and we are now looking forward to our new sports in Term 2. Paige Smith-Briggs & Cristabella Lekakis Collaboration and Achievement have been the main aims of our games this Term so far in PE at Mernda Park. We have identified qualities, characteristics, feelings and methods of collaborating and achieving success as individuals and within groups. Through different activities with and without equipment, students have worked on the importance of communication in sports and that achievement no matter how big or small can be taken in a positive direction. I have thoroughly enjoyed observing students in their elements, as they have returned to face to face learning. I look forward to seeing what we can ACHIEVE as we COLLABORATE our way through Responsibility and Empathy for the remainder of the term.
Stay safe and well. Susie The sun came up, the lights turned on and the speaker played my favourite song. I smelt the air and adjusted my hat, I cannot believe it...school's finally back! It's been way too long, some would say forever, but the thing is that we can do this together. At Mernda Park, we have always been, the most united force I have ever seen. Physical Education is so well treasured, that just how much we love it cannot be measured. We are starting Term 1 with CARE values a plenty, with games and activities, more than twenty. Collaboration, Achievement, Responsibility and Empathy combined, give us tools to grow and shine. To reach the potential that we have inside, as sports people and individuals that beam with pride. SO I DARE YOU TO SHOW ME THAT YOU CARE, BECAUSE YOU CAN BE THE BEST YOU ANYTIME, ANYWHERE. SUSIE ;) TERM 1 INTERSCHOOL SPORT CHANGES TO OUR DISTRICTAs a part of the Bridge Inn North District, a new structure was voted on at the end of 2021 to maximise the participation of our 5/6 Interschool Sport Program to replicate that of other districts in our region. So this year things have changed a little. This year sees us participating in three terms of Interschool Sport, increasing weekly participation, while still allowing for some stand alone Gala Days. So this is what 2022 will now look like: TERM 1: ISS: Hot Shots Tennis, T20 Cricket and Teeball GALA: Lawn Bowls DISTRICT: Swimming TERM 2: ISS: AFL, Soccer and Netball GALA: Hockey 7's and Girls AFL DISTRICT: Cross Country TERM 3: ISS: Softball, Basketball and Volleyball DISTRICT: Athletics We are very excited about the new structure and cannot wait to get our students started in our new 2022 season. INTERSCHOOL SPORT FIXTURE
DISTRICT & GALA EVENTS SCHEDULE
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