Specialists News

Sport/Phys Ed News 

National Hockey Championships – Ava D

Congratulations to Ava D, who has earned an outstanding selection in the Under 12 Girls Victorian Hockey Team, representing Victoria at the National Hockey Championships in Newcastle, NSW, this week.

Selection in a Victorian state team is a tremendous achievement and a testament to Ava’s talent, dedication and commitment to her sport. Competing at a national level is a significant milestone, and Ava will take on the challenge of representing her state across six games throughout the week.

We are incredibly proud of Ava and congratulate her on this remarkable accomplishment. We wish her and the entire Victorian team every success at the Championships.

A full report on Ava’s experience and achievements at the National Championships will feature in our next newsletter.

Division Cricket Champions!

Congratulations to our Senior Girls Cricket team who won the Sandhurst Division Tournament on Friday. 

The girls played outstanding cricket throughout the day, winning all three of their round-robin matches convincingly against St Therese’s, Quarry Hill Primary School, and St Joseph’s. Their strong form continued into the grand final, where they faced the very talented St Francis team. Bowling first, the girls were able to restrict St Francis to 97 runs. A strong batting performance in return saw our girls secure a convincing 17 run victory to claim the Division Championship.

As Division Champions, the team has now qualified for the Regional Finals in Swan Hill on 13 November. We wish them every success as they continue their journey.

The Senior Boys team also enjoyed a successful day competing in the highly competitive Division 1 competition. The boys were extremely competitive across all four games and celebrated a fantastic win against Kennington PS. It was wonderful to see their skills, teamwork and confidence continue to develop throughout the day. With most of the team made up of Grade 5 students, the experience provided a valuable opportunity to develop their skills and build confidence ahead of next year’s competition.

I would also like to thank Ben DeAraugo for his time, effort and commitment in coaching the boys throughout the day.

I would like to congratulate all of the students for the sportsmanship and skill that they displayed throughout the day. It was a pleasure to take such a well behaved a dedicated group of players. 

State Track & Field Championships

We wish Sonny R and Max H the very best as they compete at the State Track & Field Championships at Lakeside Stadium in Melbourne today.

Sonny will compete in the 11 Years Boys 100m and 200m, while Max will take on the 12 Years Boys hurdles.

Qualifying to compete at a state championship is a significant achievement, reflecting the hard work, determination and commitment required to reach this level of competition. Both boys should be incredibly proud of earning the opportunity to compete against some of the best young athletes in the state.

We congratulate Sonny and Max on reaching this important milestone and wish them every success as they represent our school on the state stage.

We look forward to sharing a full report on their performances and achievements in our next newsletter.

Division Hot Shots Team Tennis Tournament

Congratulations to our Senior Girls and Senior Boys Hot Shots tennis teams, who represented our school at the Sandhurst Division Hot Shots Team Tennis Competition held at the Bendigo Tennis Complex on 16 October.

Our Senior Girls team enjoyed an outstanding day, winning five matches and drawing one of their seven matches in the highly competitive Division One competition. Their only loss came against Girton, the eventual top-ranked team. This impressive performance saw our girls finish second overall, earning them a well-deserved place in the Loddon Mallee (LM) Regional Final. The final will take place in Swan Hill on Wednesday 11 November. We wish the girls the very best of luck as they take on this next challenge! A special thank you to Bree Whittle for supporting and encouraging the team throughout the day.

Our Senior Boys team also achieved an excellent result in the strong Division One competition. They won two of their three round-robin matches to finish second in their pool before facing tough opposition from Girton and Victory Christian College in the crossover finals. The boys finished fourth overall, an outstanding achievement given the high standard of competition and the fact that most team members do not regularly play competitive tennis. Their efforts, determination and willingness to compete were fantastic to see.

I would like to congratulate all students involved on their efforts and the way they represented our school. Both teams demonstrated excellent tennis skills, teamwork, determination and sportsmanship throughout the day. They should all be extremely proud of their achievements and the way they conducted themselves. Well done to everyone involved!

Swimming Program

Our Swimming Program will be held during this term at the Peter Krenz Leisure Centre, Eaglehawk on the following dates:

GROUP 1   - Week 8      

 GROUP 2 - Week 9

 The students will complete five sessions with a fully qualified Austswim teacher from the Leisure Centre. Each session will be of 40 minutes duration. As this program forms part of the Health and Physical Education curriculum, it is important for all students to attend and take part in the lessons. 

The cost of the Program is $23.00 per student. The school has been able to secure both ‘Swimming & Water Safety (SRP)’ a ‘Sporting Schools’ grants again this year which has helped to reduce the cost significantly. Further information about our Swimming Program (including payment/consent) has now been placed on Compass.

In order to place students in swimming groups appropriate to their level, all NEW students to Spring Gully PS in 2026 (including all Prep students) will receive a skill competence assessment checklist. We ask parents/carers to complete, as accurately as they can, this form and return it to school as soon as possible so that we can start to organise the groups. Students who completed the swimming program in 2025 do not need to complete this form as they have already been placed in a group based on this year’s results. All students will be assessed by the instructors during the first lesson and placed accordingly.

Auslan News

This week, all classes from P-6 have been learning about HOLM + NMF: Handshape, Orientation, Location, Movement, and Non-Manual Functions. As Auslan is a visual language, HOLM + NMF is an important part of Auslan grammar. All signs in Auslan incorporate the parts of HOLM + NMF. Each class has been learning HOLM+NMF by matching the definitions to pictures. The G5-6s are making HOLM + NMF cubes from a net to teach people what the letters mean.

Grades P-4 have also continued learning about Handshapes used in Auslan signs. There are 38 major Handshapes used in Auslan. Handshapes are important as they help us to sign more accurately. Every Auslan sign uses one or more handshapes!

Grade Preps have been practising their Auslan Fingerspelling Alphabet A-Z, introducing themselves and fingerspelling their names. They have also been learning the Handshapes from Set 1: Hook, Flat, Spread/Five, Point, Good, and Claw/Ball. 

Grade 1-2s have been learning to form the Handshapes in Set 4: Fist, Bent Gun/Laugh, I-L-Y/Love, Eight, Small and Write. Students have also begun revising and building upon the signs for their new topic ‘About Me/Describing Myself.’

Grade 3-6s have been learning to form the Handshapes in Set 6: Eleven/Bird, One Hand Letter d/Make up, Bent Flat/Room, Animal, Two, Spoon, Open Spoon/Rabbit, Closed/Wash.

The Grade 3-4 students have also begun learning the signs for their new topic ‘Professions:’ Doctor, Nurse, Firefighter, Vet, Builder, Electrician/Plumber, Chef/Cook/Baker, Business person, Farmer, Police Officer, Scientist, Artist, Sports person, Sailor, Pilot, and Interpreter.

Ms Riordan