Around the School

Old Orchard Sports Academy

In 2018 we kicked off the Old Orchard Sports Academy with 22 year 5/6 students who showed who showed a passion for sport. The students are require to attend a before school training session and an in school session once a week. Students will be exploring many aspects of being great sports people and how to maximise their sporting abilities.

This week the Sports Academy students were able to meet Kris McCarthy who was an Olympic and Commonwealth Games 1500m athlete. Kris had the students working hard on their running technique and spoke about the importance of running in most sports. If you can improve your running technique you can run faster while using less energy which can be a huge advantage in a majority of sports.

Kris had some key take home messages for the Sports Academy students. First of all that our running speed is determined by our arms and it’s important we have our arms bent at 90 degrees, shoulders relaxed and they are always going forwards and backwards not side to side. Secondly the students practiced their high knee when running to get the full power of their legs. Lastly Kris mentioned when contacting the ground with your foot it should hit the ground directly underneath your body not in front or behind.

All these points and more were extremely valuable and we look forward to the next sports academy before school lesson with Kris in a few weeks’ time. In the meantime I’m sure there will be many Sports Academy students practicing their running arms in front of the mirror!

RIDE TO SCHOOL DAY, 2018 – RIDE, WALK, WHEEL

Students, parents, teachers and the school community are encouraged to get on their bikes for National Ride2School Day which at Old Orchard Primary School will be held on Wednesday 21st March 2018.

Ride2School Day is a nationwide program delivered by Bicycle Network, designed to support schools to encourage, empower and enable more students to get physically active on their journey to school. The City of Whitehorse encourages all schools to participate to help build a healthy, active and sustainable culture in our community.

Something as simple as riding a bike can help get your students on track to a happier and healthier life. Students who ride or walk to school contribute to their minimum physical activity level of 60 minutes per day. They are also more focused and ready to learn compared to those who are driven.

Last year, 1172 schools participated and almost 390,000 students across Australia got behind the event and cycled to school for National Ride2School Day. As well as enhancing the health of kids, riding to school improves air quality, reduces our carbon footprint, and stops traffic congestion.

If some of your students live far from school, they can drive part of the way and ride or walk the rest of the distance. After showing it’s achievable, we encourage schools to keep up the momentum throughout the year. Families that have tried leaving the car behind on National Ride2School Day might set a routine of leaving the care behind once a month, once a week or every day.

We did quite well during Walk to School month last year.

In 2017, within the City of Whitehorse, we had a record participation rate of 29 schools with outstanding results.

Old Orchard placed 2nd out of these 29 schools.

Thanks to everyone for your participation during Walk to School Month last year.

Canteen Menu Term 1 2018

Weet-Bix 'Tryathlon'