Health & Physical Education

Communicating with the Specialist Team

We look forward to partnering with you in 2024, and welcome your input:

Justin Scicluna (Health & Physical Education) justin.scicluna@education.vic.gov.au 

What a busy few weeks we have had in the Health & Physical Education Curriculum!

                                                                2024 House Captains 

House Captain Wrap

It has been a great term! Our school has competed in Cross-Country, Winter School Sports and our Hooptime tryouts. Lots of people got through to Division Cross-Country and then Regional Cross-Country. Our school was amazing in our Winter School Sports. There was AFL, Soccer, Netball, Volleystars and T-ball. Recently, USPS finished our 5/6 Hooptime tryouts. We are very excited to be competing against other schools on the 26th of August. Have a great holiday everyone and see you in Term Three.     

Curriculum Update

Foundation:  

Over the past few weeks, the Foundation students have predominately focused on developing their striking skills, using a variety of equipment such as T-Ball bats, Pool Noodles and Cricket bats. 

The students practised striking a ball from a station target which is where both the T-Ball and Cricket bat came into play. Both types of strikes involved a different technique with their stance and follow through. The students did a fantastic job adapting to the different styles and achieved some great success throughout these lessons.

The students then moved to striking a target in motion which is where the pool noodles came into play. The students were required to use the pool noodles to execute a sweep strike (similar to that of a push-pass in hockey) and pass the ball to their direct partner. As the lesson progressed so did the confidence of everyone in the class.

Year One/Two: 

Over the past few weeks, the Level 1 and 2 students have predominately focused on developing and refining their striking skills, using a variety of equipment such as T-Ball bats, Pool Noodles, Hockey Sticks and Cricket bats. 

The students practised striking a ball from a station target which is where both the T-Ball and Cricket bat came into play. Both types of strikes involved a different technique with their stance and follow through. The students did a fantastic job adapting to the different styles and achieved some great success throughout these lessons.

The students then moved to striking a target in motion which is where the pool noodles came into play. The students were required to use the pool noodles to execute a sweep strike (similar to that of a push-pass in hockey) and pass the ball to their direct partner. As the lesson progressed so did the confidence of everyone in the class.

The Level two students practise striking a hockey puck using the push pass technique. They completed this task with a partner and had some mini challenges to complete such as 10 asses back and forth without a mistake. 

To conclude the term, the Level Two students participated in a minigolf tournament which was setup in the gym and consisted of nine holes all with a different obstacle to overcome.

Year Three/Four: 

Over the last few weeks, the Level 34 students begun a unit on striking with the predominate sport focus being Hockey. We have conducted the lessons in the gym with the idea of building the students confidence with the skills involved with the game, before allowing them to apply them to a game of Indoor Hockey. The skills that we focused on were push passing, controlling the puck and shooting for goal. It was great to watch the student's level of confidence grow with time spent on the skills. The skill development was evident as they translated terrifically into the match play. The other pleasing aspect of these lessons was the teamwork and mateship on display. All the students were coming together and working positively together. 

Year Five/Six: 

Over the last few weeks, the Level 56 students have continued to participate in their electives.

Racquet, Whack it and Catch it: Students in this elective have participated in two sports thus far, Badminton and Thunder Hockey. Both sports had a big focus on striking an object with also understanding the importance of striking control and power. Students were also required to work with other members of the class to achieve a collective goal. 

Ball Sports: Students in this elective have participated in two sports thus far, Volleyball and Indoor Soccer. 

During the Volleyball lesson the students focused on the core skills, setting, digging, serving and spiking. After spending some time on these components, the students had the opportunity to apply them to a game of volleyball. It was great to see the student's skillset develop through the lesson whilst working with other students in their allocated teams.

During the Indoor Soccer lesson students worked on their kicking and dribbling techniques before applying them to a match. We decided to run a World Cup type tournament when each team selected a country to represent before playing against each other at least once. The teamwork on display was terrific to watch and continued to grow as the lesson progressed.

Strength and Conditioning: The students in this elective participated in two different lessons. The first lesson was a screening lesson which enabled the students to identify some of the strengths and areas for improvement. They had thirty minutes to complete as many repetitions of the five allocated exercises as possible e.g. push-ups and squats. The students will use these figures and re-test themselves.

The second lesson saw the students work with a partner and complete a "You go, I go" workout. The students had one minute to complete as many repetitions of the exercise before resting and allowing their partner to then do the same. There were fourteen different exercises that the students had to complete. 

Division & Region Cross-Country

On Tuesday 4th of June, fifteen students from across our Level 3-6 cohorts represented our school at the Division Cross-Country Event. To reach this stage is an outstanding achievement in itself and as a school we are proud of each and every one of you. All of the students ran their hearts out on the day in what is a challenging course. Congratulations to the nine students who have progressed to the Region Event on Thursday 13th June, we wish you all the best of luck.

Region Cross- Country

On Thursday 13th June, nine USPS students represented our school at the Region Cross-Country carnival at Yarra Valley Racecourse. It is an outstanding achievement to reach this stage alone and we could not be any more proud of these students. They were up against some tough competition on the day but each runner gave their absolute best. 

Level 56 District Winter Sport

On Friday 7th June our Level 56 students represented our school at the District Winter Sport Carnival. A massive congratulations must go out to all of the students for their wonderful team spirit they displayed. As a school we pride ourselves on traits such as these and as a community we couldn't be prouder of the students. We had teams compete in the T-Ball, Netball, Volleystars, AFL and Soccer tournaments. There were some amazing results to come out of the day with all teams giving their absolute best. Congratulations to the AFL team who were crowned District Champions and will now go on to the Division Carnival in Term Three. 

Thank you to all the staff and families who supported and volunteered for a role on the day. These events are not possible without this support. 

Upcoming Events

Tuesday 29th July – Level 56 Division AFL Carnival