Sport & Outdoor Education

SCSA Hockey Champions

The SCSA hockey girls set out on Friday the 23rd of June to play in several round robin matches of hockey against other schools. If I may say so myself all of the MSJ girls did such an amazing job from their display of hockey skills to their supportive sportsmanship, they should all be very proud of themselves! From the senior side, there were 3 matches and a grand final played. The seniors won all 3 of the matches and then competed in the grand final match against Kilbreda which concluded in MSJ taking the title of Division 1, 2017 champions for the second year in a row - what an achievement!! 

MSJ's Jessica Sinclair also won MVP in the final, well done Jess!

The juniors also had a day full of wins with all 3 matches won by MSJ and also taking out the championship title for the second year in a row as well! The grand final for the junior girls was a challenging one that had everyone on the edge of their seats but MSJ managed to get a thrilling goal right on the final whistle which is also such an excellent achievement! A big well done to all of the girls who played, you all demonstrated such great team spirit and the encouragement on and off the field should be commended for! A massive thank you to all of the staff (Ms Sofarnos, Ms Bowring, Mrs Gonzalez and Ms Hawkins) who made this day possible with all of their hard work and effort. GO MSJ!! 

Pierre De Coubertin Awards

On the 23rd of June I had the privilege along with Elyssar Dib (Yr12) and Sarah Magowan (Yr12) to go to the MCG to take part in the Pierre De Coubertin Olympic Academy. The Olympic Academy provides an unique opportunity for sport leaders to visit the National Sports Museum, learn about the ASPIRE Olympic values and transition through sport, enjoying a healthy, balanced lifestyle as well as meeting and interacting with Olympians. We had the chance to meet with seven Australian olympians, four of which were pervious athletes; Linley Frame (Swimming), Pam Ryan (Athletics), Trevor Vincent (Athletics), Belinda Hocking (Swimming) and three current Olympians who completed in the 2016 Rio Olympics; Ellia Green (Rugby), Jeff Riseley (Athletics) and Catherine Skinner (Trap Shooting).

This interaction allowed us to learn about the experiences of these athletes in sport and their amazing journeys in how they became olympians. I had the honour to accept the Pierre De Coubertin Award for MSJ as a sports leader and was presented with a certificate and badge for my representation of the ASPIRE Olympic values through sport. The Pierre De Coubertin Academy was an overall amazing experience and it was a privilege to be able to part take in the Academy. 

By Leah Bednar (Year 12)

Cross Country

On Tuesday, the 20th of June, 29 students travelled to Cherry Lake after school to participate in the College cross country competition. It was a great day to race and everyone was very enthusiastic and ready to get started. We ran along a 3.5km course around Cherry Lake and competed within juniors (Year 7 and 8) and intermediates (Year 9 and 10). The top four completion times for both junior and intermediate are as follows:

Junior

1st - Isabella Oraison in 16.25 minutes. 

2nd - Amelia Vivera in 17.13 minutes. 

3rd - Imogen Koropeckyj in 17.29 minutes. 

4th - Bethany McDonald in 17.55 minutes. 

Intermediate

1st - Emma Stankic in 14.19 minutes. 

2nd - Sarah Peart in 15.48 minutes. 

3rd - Pauline Rutaquio in 16.56 minutes. 

4th - Paula Rutaquio in 17.47 minutes. 

Overall, it was a great day with great performances by everyone. On behalf of all runners I would like to thank Ms Sofarnos, Ms Tagell, Ms Meurant, Ms Commadeur, Ms Baka and Ms Jolly for helping the afternoon run smoothly and for making the event fun for everybody. Congratulations to everyone that competed!

By Emma Stankic Year 10

Year 7 Netball

In the past few weeks, all the Year 7 students had the first round of their netball tournament.  Penola Lions lost their first game, but Penola Phoenix won their first match against Providence Powerpuffs with the scores of 6-2. Everyone in Penola was so glad that one team had made it through to the next round.

In the next round Penola Phoenix played against Kincumber Sapphires and won.  We trained really hard so we could do our best in the semi-finals against Solomon. This round was quite tricky and we had to play overtime. The final score was 3-2. We were so proud of ourselves when we heard that we had made it into the grand final.

In the grand final, we were up against the McCormack Avos. During recess we trained with Leah and Erin (Yr 12 Penola House Captains). For the first half, we were losing 5-2 but during the second half, we started to come back. It was a very close game but we ended up winning 8-7 in overtime. Overall, both teams did very well and we both showed great sportsmanship.

We were so glad that we could be apart of a great opportunity and we would like to thank Sarah and her helpers for organising this activity.

By Madison Kapulica and Phuong Nguyen (7 Penola)