HEALTH & PHYSICAL EDUCATION

It has already been a busy start to Term 4 but before we get there, I would like to take this opportunity to reflect on some of the other incredible activities and accomplishments of our students that occurred during the back end of Term 3.  

Starting off with a bang is our Year 10 Talented Sports Program students. They were recently treated to an incursion from the awe-inspiring Victorian Institute of Sport triathlete and aspiring Paralympian, Liam Twomey. Liam shared his journey from being diagnosed with an Ewing Sarcoma and having his right leg amputated at age 7, to battling hardship throughout his teenage years now currently competing on the world stage. Liam discussed the importance of resilience and gratitude, along with his training and diet in preparation for competition. We wish Liam all the best for the future and with his training towards Paris 2024. 

Here at Mooroolbark College we believe that all students should get the opportunity to experience things that they might not get the chance to do outside of school, regardless of if they’re part of an Outdoor Education class or camp. The annual Mooroolbark Snow Day is an event that has not run for a few years due to Covid and was a welcome return late September. Students and staff had an absolute ball of fun (minus the pun). Students showed incredible resilience throughout the day in learning a new skill and our intermediate/advanced skiers and boarders got to explore the mountain, whilst learning some new tricks. The students also demonstrated endeavour as they pushed through some unfavourable conditions and visibility on the day. I can’t wait to see it run again next year! A huge thankyou to Allie Grey-Smith and Matthew Bell for organising the day. I know the students appreciated it.  

In more recent events It was a great day for 16 of our students who competed at the Eastern Metropolitan Region athletics carnival. Special congratulations to Eva Johnson for placing 3rd in the U12-15 1500m walk. In addition, well done to our U16 Boys 4x100m relay team, who also placed 3rd. 

Since finishing up with the Peer Support Program in Semester 1 the Year 7 Health students have been working extremely hard in health to explore a range of new topics. Recently, 7G health students participated in a race against the clock to match like terms that they had been learning. The topics covered Bullying and the Dimensions of Health. Students worked in pairs to match the terms together as fast as they could and placed their times onto the board. The students displayed great resilience, even with the added time pressure.  

Continuing the Health path. Our Year 10 Health and Human Development students just begun exploring their final unit on Global Development. Students have been learning about the Pre-Requisites of health which are 9 concepts that are required in order to achieve optimal health. This week’s focus was ‘Shelter’. To cement student understanding, they were asked to create a lego figure that best represented what ‘adequate’ shelter looked like. Students worked in groups and had many creative ideas! Some even had a garden, outdoor BBQ area and a dining room with a tv! Some of these works will be displayed during our Night of Excellence. A brilliant effort by all.  

Stephanie Todd

Health and Physical Education Key Learning Head