Specialists - PE (Katherine & Miss Wood)

Simulated Open Water Program

On Thursday, December 11th, all students from F-6 will be participating in the Ballarat Aquatic Centre Simulated Open Water Program. This is a fantastic opportunity for our children.

The timetable for the day is different to their normal weekly swimming sessions with classes going at the following times:

Session One - 9:45am-11:00am - Year 5/6 students

Session Two - 11:00am-12:15pm - Year 3/4 students

Session Three - 12:15pm-1:30pm - Year 1/2 students (not M5)

Session Four - 1:30pm-2:45pm - Foundation students plus M5

Here is some information from the BALC regarding the Simulated Open Water Program:

Our Simulated Open Water Program allows the students the opportunity to participate in a circuit type program whilst considering potential risks they may experience in different aquatic environments. In this case students will rotate through 5 stations whilst working in small teams. 

Please note this is not a traditional swimming lesson learning strokes but a great program for students where we can challenge their knowledge and understanding whilst considering their skill set. 

The program has 12 different stations of which the students can partake in 5 stations.  

The 12 stations are as follows:

Hypothermia boy/girl, Water Walk (experiences the different temperatures of each water space) and what impact this may have in open water,  storyboards, Moving in water (sculling and rotation), aquatic signs in the community, Floating and rescues with non traditional items, Weed beds and weed tunnels, Rough water, Lifejackets and overturned boat scenarios, Underwater swimming and Boogie boards.

Our Nations Drowning Statistics have just been released and for the last 12 months we have had a staggering 357 people lose their lives to drowning. This is the highest number we have had since data has been collected. Whilst we teach people how to swim, we need to do more, and the Open Water Program sits perfectly here. 

This program will be a fantastic addition to your Swimming & Water Safety program.