Grafton school’s surprise visit from Australian tennis legend
St Mary’s Primary School students received a handful of surprises on Friday afternoon
Sport
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ST MARY’S Primary School in Grafton had a surprise visitor on Friday when Australian legend Todd Woodbridge dialled in during the Tennis NSW roadshow.
The Australian Open doubles champion and now Channel Nine sports broadcaster virtually interacted with St Mary’s kindergarten students who had received ANZ Hot Shots tennis racquets as part of Tennis NSW’ latest initiative.
St Mary’s was one of 239 lucky schools selected to participate in the virtual roadshow, with a total of over 800 schools receiving tennis gear across the country.
By December 2020, 170,000 racquets will have been delivered to schools since 2015, with the initiative aiming to introduce more kids to tennis.
With reports on declining levels of physical activity in children, the racquets will look to help get kids moving at school, home and in the community.
“There are so many skills that kids can develop at a young age by playing tennis, regardless of whether that’s on the court, in their backyard or even in their lounge room,” Australian tennis legend Todd Woodbridge said.
Tennis NSW CEO Lawrence Robertson said tennis was a great medium to get kids out of the house and enjoying themselves.
“The ANZ Racquet Roadshow is giving young kids across schools in NSW the opportunity to get active and lead a healthy lifestyle. Tennis is a sport that can be played for life, and educating these children from a young age on the benefits of playing sport and the opportunities it can give you is so important to us at Tennis NSW,” Robertson said.
“We’re really proud of our continued support of tennis at a grassroots level, encouraging Australians to get active and look after their wellbeing,” said Katherine Bray, Managing Director Retail at ANZ.
“Over the past five years this partnership with Tennis Australia has delivered racquets to thousands of communities across the country, helping young kids to get involved in community sports like tennis.”
Head of Marketing and PR at Tennis NSW Tayla Wilson was on hand to guide the kids through the exciting experience.
“It’s a great way to inspire the next generation of young tennis stars who have received brand new tennis racquets,” Wilson said.
“This is a great opportunity for the students who have received racquets to meet Todd and ask questions before they take the court with their new equipment.”
Maclean Public School
Congratulations to the 136 students who completed the 2020 Premiers Reading Challenge! I am sure many of the students will go on to earn themselves a gold, platinum and medallion award as they keep up with regular reading over the years to come.
Many students are now eager to complete the Maclean Public School Challenge as they are rewarded for reading 40, 60 and 80 books during the year.
Stage one students who borrow 60 books, and Stage two and three students who borrow 80 books during the year will be invited to an awesome end of year party in the library with Mrs Hoffman and Pancho. Remember that those who read succeed!
Book Week will be celebrated at Maclean Public School in Week 2 of Term 4 (October 19 to 23). The theme for 2020 is “Curious Creatures Wild Minds!” This is a fantastic theme to lend itself to an exciting dress up day at school on Thursday October 22, so let your imaginations go wild! More information about the organisation of the day will be shared as it draws closer.
The Book Fair will go ahead in Week 4 of Term 4 (November 2 to 5) and as well as having the physical set up of books to purchase, there will be an easy online option this year as well. Student’s will be given time during library lessons to view the books and write a “wish list”. This is the biggest fundraiser for the school library as we are able to purchase new books and resources for our school depending on how much we raise from the Book Fair. It is so important for us all to remember that a school library is not a cost but an investment. Perfect timing! Just in time for Christmas!
St. Joseph’s Primary School
Here we are, in the midst of the final week in Term 3! What a term it has been! The students and staff have settled back into the classroom environment and are enjoying the new learning spaces and the investigative work they bring. Spring has sprung and the opportunities to participate and enjoy our outside spaces in the sunshine are being taken full advantage of through play, meditation, reading and sport.
As we embark on the holidays and, in line with recent announcements in the media, we ask that you discuss cybersafety with your children. Set limits for internet use, place the computer in an open area, check age suitability of sites and make sure children know not to share their personal information. Just because their friends are using sites, doesn’t mean they have suitable content, and don’t give problematic videos a platform. The more we talk about these videos, the more the students will seek them out as they are curious about their content. Let’s keep our children safe and be smart online!
This Thursday is photo day! Although it too will look a little different this year, we are so grateful to be able to create these special memories as a cherished keepsake for years to come. Remember to smile!
Thursday is also the Sisters of Mercy Feast Day. The Sisters of Mercy were founded by Catherine McAuley in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland and have been present in Grafton since 1884. They are united with each other through the enduring inspiration of Catherine McAuley (the namesake of McAuley Catholic College) and their name is a reminder that God can be Mercy for others through them. They do many remarkable works within the community including education, the care of the sick in their homes and in hospitals, the care of the aged and of orphans, and other forms of social service. A quote by Catherine McAuley is “we should be shining lamps, giving light to all around us”. May we too be shining lights. Catherine McAuley, pray for us.
Friday is a Staff Development Day and, therefore, a pupil free day. We take this opportunity to wish all families a safe, happy and relaxing holiday. The first day of Term 4 for students is Tuesday, 13 October, as Monday is also a Staff Development Day and therefore pupil free. We look forward to welcoming the students back on the Tuesday, and hearing all about their wonderful holidays.
Every child is an artist
This very fitting and true saying is by the famous artist, Pablo Picasso. Here at St Joseph’s, we are all artists. As we have continued our journey around the world with art this term, our final week for Term 3 has brought us to the Netherlands. Here we studied the techniques and works of the famous Dutch painter, Piet Mondrian. He is best known for his abstract paintings. Abstract paintings do not show recognisable things such as people, landscapes or objects, but instead use colours, shapes and textures to achieve their effect.
School athletics carnival
Last Wednesday was our Athletics Carnival. Although we did miss our spectators, the students made up for their absence by cheering and chanting in their houses with such enthusiasm. It was fabulous to see the great display of sportsmanship and encouragement. Well done! A special thank you to Mrs Daniels who organised a meticulously, smooth running carnival and her Year 6 helpers who assisted in the preparation by using their maths lessons to measure and mark the print and long distance running events. The students also used a map of the school to mark out where the events will be held. Great effort!
South Grafton Public School
South Grafton Public School students successful in the DEC Game Changer Challenge
Congratulations to all of our wonderful primary students who received their silver badge at last weeks special assembly. We had 32 students achieve this excellent level.
Each student received a silver badge, silver certificate, school bumper sticker and a very special individual photo to take home to their families to recognise their individual outstanding achievements. Following this assembly all of these students enjoyed a delicious morning tea.
Congratulations to all our infants students who participated in last weeks infants athletics carnival. This was a fantastic day for our students.
This week our primary campus will be holding a modified athletics carnival on Wednesday and Thursday to support our primary students. Field events will be held on the primary campus and running races on the infants campus.
Students who are successful will receive their normal ribbons and individual champions will also be recognised as per normal.
Our PPP online Facebook activities have been very successful. Thank you to all the parents who have messaged a picture of their child participating. Preschoolers, keep an eye out for a certificate recognising your fabulous work. Parents if you missed this weeks or any week you can scroll back on our news feed to find the activity. Our final online activity for this term will be posted this week. The NSW DEC guidelines are continually being evaluated and at this stage we will be preparing our first online activity for the second week of Term 4 - Tuesday 20th October. If guidelines have changed and we are allowed to implement our normal PPP program we will ensure all of our parents receive this communication very early next term.
If you are aware of families who maybe enrolling their child in Kindergarten next year please encourage them to complete an enrolment form which is now available online or contact the infants office for more information or assistance.
Congratulations to students in 5/6ER and Miss Emily Ryan who were successful in the Department of Education’s Game Changer Challenge. Students were grouped in teams of 5 and had to come up with a solution to a 21st century problem. This year’s problem was: “How might we use technology to bring everyone in our community closer together”. Three out of our six teams have been selected to represent the North Coast regions at the semi-finals in Term 4. There are four hundred and twenty students in 84 teams from all corners of NSW participating in the Game Changer Challenge 2020 semi finals. Our three teams will be participating in the North Coast regions semi finals which will be held in Coffs Harbour on Wednesday November 11.
Listed below are the teams we will be competing against:
‘Burringbar Brain Benders’ - Burringbar Public School
‘CHPS Innovators’ - Crescent Head Public School
‘Community Laps’ - South Grafton Public School
‘Connect to Community App’ - Murwillumbah High School
‘Game Changer Gang’ - Wyrallah Road Public School
‘Mullaway Game Changers’ - Mullaway Primary School
‘Planet Home Inc.’ - Murwillumbah High School
‘South Grafton Five’ - South Grafton Public School
‘South Explorers’ - South Grafton Public School
‘Team Tregeagle’ - Tregeagle Public School
‘The Narrangatangs’ - Narranga Public School
‘Thunder Blitz’ - Alstonville Public School
This is a fantastic achievement by our school and we wish our students and Miss Ryan all the very best.
Over the past year the infants campus have been recycling. Thanks to Mr Duroux and Mrs M for sorting and collecting our money as we have been able to buy some fantastic new equipment for our playground and to use on our sports day.
Have a great week from South Grafton Public School.
Yamba Public School
Traffic Survey
Last week 2RJ conducted a ‘traffic survey’ for maths outside the front gate of our school on Angourie Road. The number of cars, buses, bikes and other vehicles were counted. A lot of buses and vans waved at the students.
Maclean High School
Year 12 Primary Industries – Quad Bike and side-by-side Course
By Shannon Moran (Yr 12 Primary Industries Student)
Last Thursday and Friday my class, Year 12 Primary Industries completed a Quad and side-by-side course at Trenyr TAFE at Junction Hill.
We travelled to Trenyr Tafe to get qualified to drive Quads and Side by Sides as part of our Primary Industries Course. During the two day course we had to complete multiple theory and practical Tests.
Mark, our Tafe teacher showed us videos about Quad safety and how to handle quads correctly. We then completed our knowledge tests which were all about Work, Health and Safety when operating Side by Sides and Quads. We all had to do pre start checks on all vehicles before we were allowed to even drive them. Once we had checked the vehicles we where given our PPE (helmets, gloves, goggles, and hi viz vest) and suited up to get on the vehicles and have some fun while learning. We first got taught how to load and unload the vehicles on and off a trailer and also on the back of the ute. We also had to show that we could strap the vehicles down safely for travel. Once we got on the vehicles an obstacle course was set up. We had to go in and out cones and eventually we were shown how to correctly and safely turn the vehicle with some speed. Once we got the hang of the course a few obstacles got put in that we could come across in the bush or when using the vehicles on the farm. We had to drive over logs, rocks, and show that we could drive in steep terrain and across hills. We all got to swap around in the vehicles so we could drive each vehicle and show that we have the ability to operate each vehicle. The next day we had to complete our theory work for the Side by Sides and then got to get back on the Vehicles. Once we got suited up again in our PPE we started the practical test off by reversing though cones like we did the day before. Then Mark had to test our braking and reaction times while travelling at speed. He got us to drive fast at him and he would randomly give you instructions whether to brake or what direction he wanted you to turn, sometimes he would do 2 instructions during the same time. This showed us how to deal with obstacles that you need to react to straight away in real life when operating them at work or at your farm. We also had to show that we could do hill starts without rolling back on a steep hill. After we got the hang of that we then had to back onto a trailer with the side-by-side and than reverse though cones with the trailer on and then back into the shed to put away. This was a great practical as some of us had never backed a trailer or reversed though cones with one on. Hands down this was one of the best times during my school time and I think I speak for all of the other students as well when I say that. It was such an amazing experience and was very helpful as both vehicles can be very dangerous, so it was great to learn about the safety and how to operate them correctly. I recommend anyone doing Primary Industries or wanted to once they become seniors, if you get the chance to do this course, to do it. At the end of the course you will receive a licence for both vehicles which may help you getting a job in Agriculture or it may help you if you have these vehicles at home. Even if you don’t want a job in Agriculture or have these vehicle it was so much fun and interesting to learn about. I promise you, you will have the best time of your life. The best excursion ever.
Maclean High School Leaders for 2021
Elections have been held at Maclean High School to determine the incoming student leadership team for 2021. An amazing group of seven articulate young people nominated for these coveted roles and delivered high quality speeches to staff and students at a special assembly earlier this month. Anxiety and excitement have been the general feeling among these students during the voting period as they waited to find out who the successful candidates were.
On Tuesday September 15 at a whole school presentation the 2021 Captains and Vice Captains were announced. The school Captains for 2021 are Zali Bourke and Sean McFarlane. The Vice Captains for 2021 are Paris Brailsford, Sophie Strange and Kori Eaton. They were presented with their blazers by the outgoing School Captains, Katherine Behn and Riley Duncombe and Vice Captains, Taylor Johnson, Celaeste Treasure and Ethan Davis. Mr Greg Court, Principal and Mr Ben Patch, Year 11 Advisor, presented the students with their badges.
We are sure they will be wonderful ambassadors for our school and wish them an exciting year ahead.
Originally published as Grafton school’s surprise visit from Australian tennis legend
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