Cranbourne Campus News

Athletics Carnival

The Athletics Carnival is so much more than the opportunity to choose our College Athletics team to compete with surrounding schools. It is one of the days when we are able to demonstrate the importance of a healthy body as well as a healthy mind. Through our actions we demonstrate the ROCKS of our College - especially Respect for our fellow competitors; Organisation of cheers, event entry, signups and collaboration as a House to ensure all events have representation, and of course Kindness and Safety underpins the way that we conduct ourselves each day in all our interactions with staff and students.  Furthermore during the carnivals, as students await events cheering in the stands, they are having those incidental conversations and further strengthening their bonds to their House, to their School and most importantly to each other. For many of our students these community building activities are pivotal to them having that sense of belonging and a connection that they may very well call upon when things get tough in life, as they invariably will at some time. This is why we place so much effort on making it an inclusive event that is compulsory for all students. 

I can only begin to imagine what our Olympians are feeling at the moment as they wait and see whether they will have the opportunity to compete in Japan following the postponement from 2020. This year our Cranbourne Athletics carnival has gone through something of a similar experience with a recent postponement of the event at Casey Fields that led to a change of venue to Knox and the concern from some that it may not have gone ahead. Alas, some agile planning from Sports Manager Mr Murphy, a mountain of admin support chasing permissions and quickly assembling lists and rolls from our wonderful administration staff Leesa, Cherie and Carol and an attitude from staff and students that the ‘show will go ahead’, meant that our runners had a chance to run and our throwers and jumpers were able to shine. So I am supremely grateful to the staff who stood out in, what was a reasonably cold day, soldiering on to ensure that your sons and daughters had that chance to have a go at high jump, test their ability to hurl a discuss and get that feeling of steaming down the track in pursuit of the finish line tape. The Cranbourne Athletics Carnival 2021 was run and won and those results will be published in due course but the real test was a test of resolve and resilience of staff and students to be able to bring this year’s carnival together. Congratulations and thank you goes to Mr Murphy and the sports department for their planning, to all staff who attended on the day for the roles they played marshalling and measuring, to House Leaders for the organisational prowess and especially to our House Captains who brought passion and energy to the Athletics Carnival. There will have been some bumps in the day and a slight drizzle but it was a great day all the same.

Tips and tricks for the last 6 months

On Tuesday evening our Year 12 students and their parents and guardians were invited to be involved in some presentations and workshops from key experts at the College who supplied some tips, tricks and advice to support both parents and students in their last 6 months of secondary school. Six years ago these same parents would have nervously walked their young person into the grounds of St. Peter's College ready to embark upon secondary school and so it was only fitting that this evening toward the end of the secondary school journey, begin with a period of mingling and chatting over a coffee and some refreshments. Following an acknowledgment of country and prayer Mr Black welcomed the audience of 70 reminding them that by being there they were in fact demonstrating to their young person their interest in continuing to learn how they can help as supporters (NB: I appreciate that some parents could not make the evening and that this is not a reflection on the support they show their young person). 

The first set of tips  focused on the 7 types of rest taken from the work of Dr Saundra Dalton Smith, the importance of all pulling in the one direction using the analogy of a strands in a rope and the third was around the mindset that is required to be honest with yourself in ‘Getting out of BED to pick up the OAR’, from the work of Brendan Spillane. We then heard a breakdown of the difference between stress and anxiety and how to maintain optimum levels for peak performance and what is needed to put yourself in the position to be your best. From here parents and students had a chance to choose from a suite of smaller interactive workshops from experts such as Michael Dalley on surviving VCE, Chris O’Hara of transitioning out of VCAL, Louise Mansfield on how the brain works and how you can maximise memory, Mel Dillon on all things Careers and transitioning into the various pathways of University, TAFE and work and our College Counsellors Lana Patten, Nadia Picinali and Sara Cardenas were there offering support and an ear to parents and students with more specific challenge.

Some of the comments made as people left were ‘That was great - much of that relates to me in my workplace’; ‘we really appreciate that extra chance to come and speak to you who are the experts about school and who know best about what this looks like’ and ‘to be honest, I got more out of tonight than I thought I would now we need to just take some of those tips away and implement them (speaking to her son)’

The evening was designed to move away from a traditional information evening and to target what is needed in these final 6 months and importantly to reconnect with some of the experts who will be there to support the parents and young people as the tension mounts and the nervousness of what lies ahead in 2022 starts to take a hold. This is certainly an initiative that will find its place into the calendar for 2022.

Mr Jeremy Wright

Deputy Principal - Head of Cranbourne Campus