Active Sports Program

Illawarra Mercury

Tuesday February 21, 2006

Courtney Trenwith

STUDENTS at Corrimal East Public School get to practise their running, throwing and hitting as much as their reading, writing and arithmetic. Well, almost.

The school has a very strong sports program that encourages students to participate in just about any activity available. Four times a week students participate in a fitness program designed to increase the heart rate by rotating between activities including walking, skipping, aerobics and games.

During sport, students in Kindergarten to Year 2 develop motor skills, while Years 3 to 6 students focus on team games.

Once-a-term gala days are also a tradition at Corrimal East, as well as athletics, swimming and cross-country carnivals. Students in Years 2 and 3 can learn to swim through a swimming program and those who enjoy dancing can participate in the South Coast Dance Festival and Southern Stars.

At the end of each year, the students can also experience some of the less mainstream sports, such as fishing, bike riding, tenpin bowling, tennis, swimming and bushwalking.

"We're a really sporty school, we've done well over the years," relieving principal Ina Melkerts Smith said. "We're really good competition for everybody else. We have a lot of kids that go to district trials and area carnivals and state competitions. Part of that is the kids' natural ability but also because of the programs we have here at school."

The school is lucky to have large grounds to allow students room to practise running a 2-3km cross-country event.

There is also a tennis court, which is in constant use by students taking lessons from a qualified instructor before and after school and sometimes even during lunch.

Ms Melkerts Smith said it was important to get kids active. "We strongly believe that a healthy mind and healthy body makes a healthy child," she said. "We're not only sport-minded, we've also got a healthy school canteen which works hard to provide healthy nutritious meals for the kids."

Sport also fostered other skills in children that they might not get from the classroom.

"It's good for the children to learn how to work together as a team, have good sportsmanship and be tolerant of other children's abilities," Ms Melkerts Smith said. "We have a strong belief in full participation so when we go to these gala days, everybody goes. And everybody is put into a team whether they're they best player or a player that needs to develop their skills more."

Corrimal East Public

Established: 1952.

Address: Duff Parade, East Corrimal.

Phone: 4284 4582.

Fax: 4285 2715.

Email: corrimale-p.school@det.nsw. edu.au.

Principal: Graeme Akhurst (on leave)

Relieving principal: Ina Melkerts Smith

Assistant principals: Kim Pepper, Diane Taylor (relieving) and Bradley Chapman (relieving)

Number of students: 314

Number of teachers: 20

© 2006 Illawarra Mercury

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