From the Principal

It is often about this time in the Term when some of our senior students start to shift their thinking about sport and physical activity. How sport and academics complement each other is not necessarily well understood, with some students feeling the need to forgo, or at least postpone, their sporting pursuits when they decide to dedicate themselves to ‘more serious’ academic endeavour, only to find that the purported positive change fractures the long-established structure their academic studies have benefited from. 

Although counter-intuitive to many, maintaining a commitment to sport and physical activity generally enhances academic performance. Regular exercise has been shown to improve memory, concentration and cognitive function. The discipline required to balance both academics and sports also supports the development of valuable time management skills, while fostering qualities like perseverance, teamwork, and goal setting, which can positively influence the approach to academic studies and help build resilience when overcoming challenges. Not to mention the sheer joy and excitement that can result from competing with friends. 

It is with this in mind that the College is investigating a strength and conditioning program for interested Years 11 and 12 students as an addition to the range of team-based sporting opportunities on offer. To be launched in Term 2, the strength and conditioning program will provide our senior students with another opportunity to benefit from maintaining physical exercise during what is a very demanding time academically.

Finally, we also commend our Secondary School swimming team for securing second place at the ACC A-Division Swimming Carnival. I encourage you to read more about this outstanding result in the Secondary Sport section of our Newsletter, which also includes a flow chart detailing the broad sport offering available in the Secondary School. 

Daniel Mahon

Principal