Forward July 2017 | Page 34

PR E PA R ATORY S C HO OL Just keep Swimming The swimming program at Guildford Grammar Preparatory School started with a massive splash this year! In the first two weeks of Term 1, the Year 4-6 time trials were held in preparation for the Quarter Swimming Carnival in Week 3. At the same time, all students were invited to join the GGS Swim Club and swim two mornings a week under the coaching direction of Will and Kate (not the Royals!) from the Guildford and Kalamunda Districts Swimming Club. In addition, all students in Years 1-6 started their Physical Education swimming program during their in-class lessons, adding skills, competition and games to the mix. This left the Preparatory School pool with only small amounts of time when it wasn’t being used. Our Preparatory School students certainly had lots of opportunities to ‘just keep swimming.’ Our swimming carnivals were held in much cooler weather conditions this year. Usually the hot weather is a good reason to stay in the pool longer, but our Year 4-6 students swam their hearts out and finished quickly. Our Year 1-3 students concentrated on their technique and on smiling for the camera when they got out of the pool! After the fun and action in the pool at the carnivals, more students joined in the Swimming Club sessions on Wednesday and Friday mornings to get ready for the upcoming JPSSA Inter-school Carnival on Thursday 2 March, and the Hills Inter-school Swimming Carnival on Wednesday 22 March. Our student squads went into both carnivals with a strong commitment to dive well, swim straight and finish hard at the wall. Although we were outswum as a group by the other JPSSA schools, we performed strongly against local schools, St Anthony’s and Helena College, winning the Hills Inter- school Trophy for the second year in a row. We would like to thank Mr Brett Tongue and Mr Trevor Verran from the Guildford and Kalamunda Districts Swimming Club for their help and assistance in our Preparatory School swimming endeavours. Mr Daniel Griffiths Preparatory School Sportsmaster A club for everyone! Research shows that co-curricular activities in schools help students to not only learn new skills, but provide valuable social opportunities to make friends and build relationships. There were LOTS of opportunities for Preparatory School students in Term 2, with an incredibly diverse list of after-school clubs on offer for students to select from. The list included: • Spelling Club • Golf Program • Homework Club • Card/Game Club • NetSetGo • Hockey Squad Training • Danceletics • Chess Club • 1st Rugby Squad • Read to me Club • Push Hands Club • Yip Yip Circus – Have a go Circus • GGS Run Club • Pottery Club • Nick Corrigin Soccer School • Hook into Hockey • Painting and Water Colour Club • Tackle Walla Rugby • Dahlicious Drama Project • Creative Thinking Club • Acoustic Band Club • Tech Camps4kids - Coding • Astronomy Competition Our students are very fortunate to have so many fun and interesting clubs to choose from! 34