Echuca East Primary School staged its annual mini-Olympics on Wednesday, August 16.
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The event saw students from Prep through to Year 2 take on an array of different sporting activities.
Physical education teacher Ben Holmfield watched as the students excelled in a variety of challenges, much to the delight of the many parents in attendance.
“I’m proud of all the students today, the little ones to the big ones,” Mr Holmfield said.
“This is our mini-Olympics and we have this every year. It’s something that all the Preps and Grade 2s really look forward to.”
The students were well prepared for the spectacle, which saw them take on athletic events such as long jump, high jump and sprints.
“They’ve been in serious training for about six weeks and today it all comes together,” Mr Holmfield said.
“Our senior students from grades 5 and 6 help run the day and they do a fabulous job encouraging the kids and keeping them going through all 15 events.”
Mr Holmfield has been a teacher at the school for the past two decades.
“As the school’s PE teacher, I ensure all the students have a thorough introduction into all the sport across the whole school,” Mr Holmfield said.
“There’s plenty going on at recess and lunchtime. We’re lucky enough to have trainees who run sports at recess and lunchtime for them and they also get an hour of PE and an hour of level sports, so they get heaps.
“The students have two hours a week on the timetable, but every day there’s things going on during the 40-minute lunch and recess.
“We’ve got plenty of trainees and support staff. So there’s a lot of activities that are going on throughout their lunchtime and recess breaks.
“The parents are always offering to help and do things around the school and we have seen by today that they were all here supporting the school. Put simply, the parents are fantastic.”
Year 1 student Isla enjoyed the chance to compete.
“I like gymnastics and long jump, because I’m very fast and I like jumping,” Isla said.
“My favourite subjects in school are PE and mathematics.”
Year 2 student Aarush also had a few thoughts on the annual sporting event.
“I loved the obstacle course because it’s fun and we had to crawl through different obstacles,” Aarush said.
Principal Lindy Burke said the mini-Olympics was an important day on the Echuca East calendar.
“It’s been a magnificent day with our Prep, Grade 1 and Grade 2 students. We do this every year and the weather is absolutely perfect for today’s sporting carnival,” Mrs Burke said.
“What’s lovely about it as well as our Grade 6 kids actually step up and they help lead the event. So that leadership ability shines through. They’re great role models for our younger students.”
While the school embraces a strong sporting culture, other qualities are celebrated at the tightly-knit school community.
“Events like these are all about the kids, it’s about participation, encouragement — our message, but more importantly, about being there for each other and doing their best,” Mrs Burke said.
“The students have been involved in lots of different activities and it’s just great to see that perseverance, the kindness, encouragement of our kids, which makes us proud.”
Grade 2 student Gus was one of the best performing athletes on the day.
“My favourite was the long jump as I got the highest score,” Gus said.
Gus and Aarush shared a special message about their school.
“Echuca East is the best school,” the pair said.