Junior School News & Sport

Junior School News

AUTHOR VISIT - JOHN LARKIN:  Thank you to the P&F who support the boys’ literacy by funding the incursions for an author visit for Year 5.  John Larkin will be visiting the school on five occasions in Terms 1 and 2.  For the first three visits in Term 1 the boys will have a full day with John and then on the other two occasions they will have a two-period session. 

Year 5 Gold will have their incursion on Friday.  This is an opportunity for a 5 Gold parent conversation on Friday evening.

THURSDAY SPORT:  Tomorrow we begin our normal Thursday sporting day which means that the boys will have two lessons and recess at school before heading off to Oxford Falls.  Your son needs to bring his lunch or organise an early pick up from the canteen.  Please ensure your son has a school hat!  Pick up will be as normal for those parents who collect their son from Oxford Falls.

CHINESE  LANTERN PARADE:  This Friday from 2.30 pm onwards we will be having a Chinese Lantern Parade in the Junior School which should be colourful and noisy.  This is to celebrate Chinese New Year. Another parent conversation starter.

FAMILY COMMENCEMENT MASS:  It was great to meet many parents at the family Commencement Mass last Saturday evening.  If you weren't able to attend the Mass then you may be able to support the P&F in their activities by attending the Cocktail Party on 6th April.

PARENT TEACHER INTERVIEWS:  Thank you to the parents and to the teachers for making the parent/teacher interview days a great success.  These interviews are of great benefit to your sons.

CAMPS:  Everything is in order for both Year 5 and Year 6 camps. You should have completed the medical/dietary online forms for your son(s). If you haven’t done so please complete the form ASAP. 

Some Dates to keep in your diary:

• 28th February to 2nd March – Year 6 Camp
• 7th March to 9th March – Year 5 Camp
• Saturday 17th March – Open Day
• Friday 6th April – P&F Cocktail Party

Thank you for your support.

Mr T Long - Head of Junior School

Junior School Sport

Thursday Sport: at Oxford Falls. Year 5 will complete their Cross-Country before their normal sport training for Basketball, Cricket, Softball and Tennis. Year 6 will complete normal summer sport training. Trials for the Armidale Rugby Tour take place at lunch (see below).  Pick-up is at 2.20pm in the carpark.

AFL, Football (Soccer) and Rugby - Winter Season:  Just to clarify…. in the Junior School we are able to cater for all boys who wish to play AFL, Rugby and Football for the College. As long as boys have elected to play for the school (via their sport choice form) and turn up to trial, they will be guaranteed a place in a team. Trials will begin in Week 9 of this term during Thursday Sport at Oxford Falls. We use external professional coaches to assist in grading our Rugby and Football players.

Rugby Tour: We will again be taking a Prep 1st XV Rugby Squad to Armidale for The Armidale School Rugby Carnival. This tour departs on 13th April and returns on 15th April. Selection trials for all Year 6 players who wish to attend will resume at Oxford Falls Sport this Thursday 22nd February. Boys require boots, mouthguard and any protective gear.

Football (Soccer) Tour: We have just had word that this Tournament will now be held in the Winter holidays. The tour will take place from 20th-22nd July in Tamworth, NSW. We will therefore delay trials for the squad and issue further information on the process and logistics as we have it.

Basketball:

Mr G Virgona - Junior School Sportsmaster

NSTA Tennis

Please refer to the Senior School Sports Section.

Mrs S Iwatani - NSTA Tennis Convenor

Softball

Report Round 2:  Our opponent for the game this week at St Ives was Grammar Black. Max Lenton was our captain and we fielded first. At the end of the first innings Grammar was ahead by six runs but we made a strong turnaround in the second innings. Jose Monk did some great batting to secure runs for our team. Jack Harrison, Benjamin Bromby, Matthew Yee and Benjamin Shoudra made home plate by patiently and aggressively reading the play. We held Grammar to two runs and were still in the game.

In the third innings we again dismissed the first two batsmen very quickly! We saw the window to close the gap but Grammar put on a strong effort to keep the innings going. Throughout the game Jordan Moore, Oliver Johnston and Xavier Dywer played consistently wherever they were placed on the field.

At the conclusion of the match Grammar remained ahead. They were fair players to contest and it was a fun game. The coach and players learned from the game and continue to build this season.

Thank you to Mrs Johnston for keeping score and Mr Yee for taking photos.

Mrs J Williams - Softball Convenor