Last Wednesday a group of 29 Year 7 students joined Mr Walpole, Ms Davies, Ms McCullagh and Ms Boemo at the GSV Year 7 Sport Expo Day, held at Monash University. This day has been longstanding on the GSV calendar, and although it has not run since 2019 due to the pandemic, and even though the torrential rains of last week tried to hold it off again, it was great to be there with exploring the many sporting opportunities on offer for students on the day.
Students from OLMC joined with other Year 7 students from Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar, St Margaret’s, Presbyterian Ladies' College, and Shelford Girls’ Grammar, all of which are schools we competed against in both weekly and carnival sports. These groups then had four rotations experiencing quite a diverse range of sports - many of which were presented by representative players from domestic and state level teams. Some of the sports on offer currently feature in our schools sporting calendar - softball, tennis, hockey, volleyball, AFL, aerobics and cricket. Whilst other sports experienced were quite new to us, including - Ultimate Frizbee, Lacrosse, Goalball, Spikeball, Rugby, Touch footy, Squash, Taekwondo, Lawn Bowls and even Fencing.
It was great to see the Year 7 students branching out not only giving the different sports a go, but also connecting with peers from OLMC and other Year 7 students in the GSV Community. With Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar being there the same day as us, some primary school connections also reunited. For those of us who have already travelled the Secondary school journey, we are well aware that school life is more than just what happens in the classroom. I would like to encourage all students in the OLMC community to take up opportunities that may come their way, to try out a new skill and embrace the personal growth that comes from sometimes stepping outside their comfort zone.
Included below are some statements and reflections from a few of the students who attended on the day.
‘It was great to try some new sports’
Liv (7LSA)
‘The sport expo was an amazing way for me to get to know not only my partner from OLMC, but also others in my group. During one of the sessions, I discovered a hidden talent of mine, lawn bowls.’ Grace (7CCR)
‘I think that branching out and having a go at some different sports we may have never heard of or played before was a great experience. I enjoyed learning about the sports and overall it was a fun day that I would recommend everyone give it a go and have a great time.’
Emma (7DBU)
‘I thought it was interesting to participate in the different sports that GSV had to offer. I really enjoyed the opportunity to try different sports that we wouldn't do at school.’
Allie (7CCR)
I enjoyed going to the sport expo because it was a fun way to connect with friends from OLMC as well as meet new people in activity groups.
Lucy (7DBU)