Pupils Page

5/6 Leadership Day 

Last Monday our Year 5/6 leaders travelled up the highway to St Mary's Primary School Echuca, to join with all the Northern Plains cluster schools in a Student Leadership Day. After our St Mary's students led everyone in prayer, they were engaged in a range of activities, building resilience, cooperation, leadership and learning.

James McQuillan: Paralympic Champion 

In our first session we had the  privilege to listen to James McQuillan, a Paralympian . In his early 20's he was an able bodied person. It was when he was playing football and during the competition, he ran into the pack and he hit someone's leg in an attempt to get the ball. It was lucky that he was studying physio at the time, so he had an idea of what had happened and knew not to move which could have saved his life.

He spent under a year in hospital and then he decided that he would be as independent as he could be. From there he had rebuilt his life to the best he could . He has also represented Australia becoming a paralympian in wheelchair rugby. He and his team won a bronze medal in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. We were all astonished by his story.

By Olivia

Neuroscience 

On our 2025 leadership day we learned about a profession called neuroscience. Our teacher was Mr. Simpson. In this time we discussed that the human body has multiple brains. And 100 billion brain cells. 

Mr. Simpson also talked about how the brain has a long term memory and a short term memory. A long term memory stores away all the information that we have learnt. But if we want to learn something, it takes time and after that time it is stored away in the back of your brain. The main message was that learning is hard, but by breaking it down into achievable steps, and lots of practice we will be able to learn more difficult things.

By Jenson

Wheelchair Basketball

When we first arrived we started by splitting into two teams. Then the (mock) ruthless trainer explained the rule... that there were no rules! Except to get to the opposing teams hoop and shoot. When we got started we figured out that it wasn’t as easy as it looked. You had to move as fast as the wind and grab the ball before you got crashed into. 

When you began you thought it was going to be a piece of cake but when you get started you need to do complicated manoeuvres to overcome the incoming opponents and dodge around them to get the ball to shoot it in while getting bumped away. It puts your body and mind to the limit all while playing a normal game of B ball!

By Fin

Sport Activities

For our last rotation we did different inflatable sport activities like, soccer, netball, basketball, cricket and footy. The first rotation we did was soccer which took teamwork and coordination to keep the ball in the boundary and to get the win. After that we competed in netball, in which we had to pass the ball through a hole then get a goal and finally run through these beams to get through to the other side to start again. Next we played basketball where you had to get a dunk and then you swapped around to the other side to get a bucket (it wasn’t that complicated). Then we played cricket where you could either bat, bowl or field. If you were batting you had to not get out, for bowling you had to get the batter out, and for fielding you had to run up a ramp to take a screamer. And finally, last but not least, we did footy where you would take a mark and then go up and take a kick through the goals. But that’s not all - then we went and got a big drink!

By Jordy