STUDENT  LEARNING

Grade 3/4 Swimming

In Week 2 and Week 3, Year 3/4 students participated in a five-day swimming program at Shayne Reece Ballarat. Students paddled and kicked like olympic swimmers and enjoyed the lessons that focussed on both water safety and personal aquatic skills. The Year 3/4 teachers are so proud of how organised the students have been for swimming. The independence they showed at the pool, getting themselves ready for swimming and then ready for school again is to be commended. It was a valuable and fun experience for all our students! Enjoy reading some reflections below-

My favourite part of swimming lessons was falling out of the boat backwards in a life jacket. After I fell out, I had to swim back to safety. I found our safety day challenging when I had to swim in my clothes. I felt very heavy. Evelyn 3/4A

I enjoyed using flippers to do the butterfly stroke. It surprised me how simple it was. I felt like I was as quick as a flying fish. James 3/4E

I had a lot of fun swimming with my friends at Shayne Reese. I liked learning new things like survival backstroke. A challenge for me was doing the breast-stroke kick from one end of the pool to the other. Phoebe 3/4C

I learned how to save my friends with a pool noodle, I had to lie on my stomach and pull them fast. Being in the boat also was so fun, you had to sit on the edge and pull them in to save them from drowning. Jaymes 3/4D

A challenge for me was doing a tread and skull, I had to move my legs and arms at the same time to stay on top of the water. Something that was new to me was swimming through the rapids. My teacher and my group used boards to splash, I felt like a fish stuck in the waves. Eva 3/4F

I liked swimming in my clothes because it was very nice to have a different lesson with my teacher. I thought it was fun to try and stay above the water. Twisting and sliding into the water was also super fun, especially in my shorts and t-shirt. Oliver 3/4D

My favourite part was swimming breaststroke because I was able to do it really well. I liked to watch my teacher showing us how to do new things like treading and sculling, it was hard. Pippa 3/4F

‘I learned how to do the backstroke. It was so much fun to learn a different way to swim. 

The next day, the teacher made us fill bottles with water, tip them out and turn them into a floating device to save my friends. I also enjoyed treading water in my clothes, I felt so heavy.’ River 3/4E