Health & P.E.

Lara’s Table Tennis Achievements 

In the Metropolitan tournament, I played nine table tennis matches in one day and won all of them. It wasn’t easy, though, because I was actually behind in six of those matches.

Sometimes, it looked like I would lose, but I didn’t give up. I reminded myself to stay calm, focus on each point, and believe I could return. Little by little, I turned the games around. What I learned is that never giving up really makes a difference. Even when things seem impossible, if you keep trying and don’t lose hope, you can surprise yourself with what you can achieve. Table tennis taught me that lesson; I’ll carry it with me in everything I do. One of Table Tennis Australia's good initiatives is Ping Pong Play, a program that brings table tennis to schools and clubs through fun and inclusive activities. Its goal is to build confidence, teamwork, resilience, and leadership while giving participants opportunities to learn life skills through playing, umpiring, or coaching. 

Lara – Year 6

District Athletics

71 students from Years 3 to 6 competed at Bill Sewart Athletics Track on Wednesday 3rd September. The children trained well for all their events:  shot put, discus, long jump, triple jump, high jump, 100m, 200m, 800m, 1500m and circular relay. 

They proudly represented Essex Heights and supported their teammates throughout the day. All students should be extremely proud of their efforts and achievements. Congratulations to those children who received ribbons for placing 1st to 4th; they will represent the District at the Division event in Term 4, on Wednesday 8 October.

Sporting events like these wouldn’t run without the valuable help from our school community. A huge thanks to Rachel and Prachi who volunteered to assist, helping with the discus and high jump events. Thank you to Miss Boles for marshalling the students for their events, Miss Graham for handing out ribbons, and Miss Kemp for organising the students at the finish line while I was busy measuring boys’ discus. 

Congratulations to all the students. 

It was a terrific day! 

Monique Hocking

On Wednesday 3rd September many students went to represent Essex Heights in track and field events. We competed against Burwood East PS, Mount Scopus College, Jells Park PS, Mount Waverley PS and Wheelers Hill PS. It was such a wonderful opportunity for the Year 6 students seeing as it was our last athletics day for EHPS. We enjoyed competing in the high jump, triple jump, 100m, relay and discus.

On behalf of all the competitors we would like to say a massive thank you to all the teachers and parents who came to support. A big thank you to Ms Hocking and Miss Kemp for organising the event. 

Good luck to those people who are advancing to the Division event on the 8th October, seeing as they placed in the top four. 

Elena & Sophie C – Year 6

Senior Hoop Time Basketball – Winning Future Stars Girls’ Team

Selected Years 5 and 6 students participated in District Senior Hoop Time Basketball on Thursday 28 August, at Nunawading Basketball Stadium in Burwood East. 

On the 28th August we competed in the District Basketball Hoop Time. Our team consisted of eight players – Isabelle, Maggie, Mehar, Ella, Zanika, Tanisha, Jacqueline and Grace. Apart from our team, there were five others that represented our school. 

Our team played and won all four matches, each 20 minutes long. This meant we were in the finals where we had to play the Essex Heights Year 6 girls’ team. The match was intense with scores going up and down. In the first few minutes of the game, the opposing team took the lead, as most of our players were weary from the previous match. Thankfully scores started to get higher as our team’s desperation reached its peak, before long we were snatching, dribbling and shooting harder. Our coach supported and pumped us up as we played which greatly contributed to bringing our A-game. The last few minutes of the match were aggressive as the Year 6s were hot on our heels, only needing a few baskets to win. Eventually we won a close score of 11-8 against the Year 6s, who were highly skilled basketballers. 

Overall, the day was packed full of anticipation and excitement. Representing our school in basketball will forever be an unforgettable moment. We wouldn’t have been able to have this opportunity without Ms Hocking, Miss Kemp, Miss Boles, our coach Nathan, and all the parent volunteers who encouraged and kept score for our team. Thanks for giving us this incredible experience and we look forward to Hoop Time finals. 

Isabelle, Grace C & Maggie – Year 5

State Cross Country Presentation

We acknowledged Josh C’s outstanding achievements in four different levels of cross-country events, at Assembly. He was an important member of the school team that won back-to-back District events for which the school was awarded the Monash Heights District Shield. 

Josh has displayed amazing sportsmanship towards his fellow team mates and other competitors throughout all these events, and has been a valuable mentor for the younger students. 

We were extremely proud to present Josh with his sports frame, which will be hung in the foyer of the Stadium along with the previous State Champions. 

Monash Heights District – 1st place 

Monash Waverley Division – 1st place

Eastern Metropolitan Region – 8th / 93 

State Championships – 25th / 91 

Congratulations Josh on your fantastic efforts and you thoroughly deserve this recognition!