Knox Division Girls Football Carnival

The Knox Division Girls Footy Carnival took place Thursday, 22 May at Kings Park in Upper Ferntree Gully. As of 2025, all primary school AFL competitions will be played under the new 9v9 format, as directed by AFL Victoria. As such, Park Ridge entered an A and B team into the event.

Our girls have been training since term 1 and I have been impressed by their willingness to learn and improve, particularly with the ability to tackle and be tackled. Overall, our A team finished in 8th place (out of 15), and the B team finished 4th (out of 9).

We also had two other major highlights of the day. Year 4 Student Hannah R won the Half Time Longest Kick Contest, and Taryn O won the MVP Medal for our pool of schools – great effort girls!

Division Cross Country

Last Wednesday was the Knox Division Cross Country Carnival at Kings Park. Park Ridge had 8 runners compete on the day which is an outstanding achievement in itself to make it through to this round of competition. All students should be extremely proud of their efforts for not only their performance on the day but also their positive mindset to give their personal best.

Congratulations to all students and good luck to those who finished in the top 12 and have qualified for the Regional Championships on Thursday, 12 June at Yarra Valley Racecourse.

Aleeyah L

Areet B

Sophia K

Lastly, a shout out to our school captain Savannah who finished 20th.

After the event on Wednesday afternoon I received a call from the PE teacher at another school. He wanted to inform me that in a conversation he had with one of his runners, she mentioned that she was struggling to breathe about half way through the race, and that there was a girl called Savannah from Park Ridge who encouraged her to keep going. The 2 girls, who had never met each other before the race, ran together to the finish line. The girl went on to say she doesn’t think she would have placed so well (21st) if it wasn’t for Savannah from Park Ridge. To say that this feedback made me proud would be an understatement. A huge pat on the back for our school leader, Sav, for a fantastic example of sportsmanship.

Junior Hoop Time

Monday was our Junior Hoop Time day. This year, we had 116 Year 3 and 4 students across 16 teams participate in the day. It was great to see so many students choose to participate in Hoop Time this year. I was so proud of the enthusiasm, sportsmanship and school spirit showed on the day. We had some outstanding results highlighted by our All Star Girls team winning the competition. One of our two Girls Future Stars teams (The Park Ridge Raiders) also won the day. Both of these teams have qualified for Regionals in term 4. I’d like to thank the parent helpers who offered to coach and score for teams. We also had 11 x Year 12 students from Rowville Secondary College come along as coaches who all did an outstanding job. Lastly, another aspect of Junior Hoop Time that always makes me incredibly proud to be the PE teacher of this wonderful school, is the overwhelming number of Year 6 students who offer to give up their lunch times to coach teams. All 16 teams had 2 or 3 Year 6 coaches helping them out with their skills and strategies in the weeks leading up to the event. Well done to all students, teachers and parents involved in another successful year of Hoop Time!

Year 5/6 Winter Sport

Over the last two Fridays, our Year 5 and 6 students have been busy representing PRPS in the Rowville District Winter Sports Championships. Students are placed in either AFL, Netball, Soccer, Teeball and Bowls teams and have been training each Friday since last term in preparation for the event. All students displayed a high standard of sportsmanship and should be proud of their efforts. Thank you once again to all parents who volunteered to help out with teams!

Matt Davey

PE and Sport Coordinator

Park Run News