Last week, 11 of our elite Shearwater chess players attended their final interschool chess tournament for 2018, at St Joseph's Primary School in Alstonville. With over six different schools and various age divisions competing, our students showed great talent and exceptional manners in what turned out to be another fantastic social event. Their energy and effort resulted in some fantastic achievements, evidence of their continuous cycle of strategic learning. 
Beau Devonshire

Term 3 was very busy for sports at Shearwater. We sent representatives from our school to the North Coast Independent Schools (NCIS) regional athletics and, for the first time, we entered the NCIS tennis and netball competitions. 
 
The athletics carnival was held at Coffs Harbour and the tennis and netball competitions were held in Grafton during some very wet weather. It was wonderful to see the student’s enthusiasm and dedication as they represented the school at these events. 
 
Participants in the regional Athletics carnival had a very successful day with four students continuing on to represent our school at the Combined Independent Schools (CIS) state athletics carnival in Sydney - Elvis Wallace, Matilda Vial, Wyana Pietramale-Sewell and Ezra Pitman-Blackley.
 
At this event, Matilda came 1st in the 200m, with a time of 28.60s, and 1st in the long jump, with a distance of 4.28m. She also came in 2nd in the 100m, with a time of 13.76s. Ezra came 4th in the shot put, with a distance of 11.24m; Elvis came in 21st in the high jump, at 1.20 metres, and Wyana achieved 23rd place in the long jump, with a distance of 3.56m. 

We would like to congratulate all student participants in these events with a special mention to Matilda who has been selected for the CIS team and will continue on to the next level of competition.

It was a joy to take so many energetic and engaged students to an inter-school sporting event. Big thanks to Emma, Sonia and Rhys for helping out on the day and all the parents that came along to offer their support. 
 
Magnum Brotto
PDHPE 

Congratulations to Year 9 student Lucy Alati who was named Queensland State Medium Dressage Champion when she competed for Shearwater at the recent inter-school equestrian championships held at Caboolture. The event attracts hundreds of competitors, who must have achieved two qualifying scores at two separate events, and is held over five days. Due to Shearwater's proximity to the border, Lucy is able to compete in the Queensland competition, rather than travelling  to Sydney.
Last year Lucy was the National Inter-school Novice Champion. This year, she jumped up two levels and competed in the Medium level dressage. Lucy was awarded an embroidered rug and a perpetual trophy which will have her name and the school’s name on it. She was given the opportunity to compete at the national titles in Victoria. But unfortunately the event clashes with the Year 9 camp to the Northern Territory next month. Well done Lucy!

Congratulations to Class 3 students Oliver Heath and Finley Pichler (pictured above) who won the Australian Schools Marbles Championships held recently in Brunswick Heads. Oliver then went on to win the Junior Australian Marble Championships. Oliver and Finley were the youngest competitors in the event, along with Liminal Casidy, also Class 3, who came second in the individual event. Well done to all the Shearwater participants!

Congratulations to Class 6 student Shalev Haver (pictured above) and Class 5 student Pleiades Kerry, both of whom were selected to represent the Far North Coast region in the soccer State Championships in Coffs Harbour over the Queen’s birthday long weekend. Both teams came out on top - marking the first time that the Far North Coast has won this championship - a fantastic effort.

​It was a fresh autumn Friday at Pop Dennison Park in Ballina last week, as students from across the region laced up their runners for the NCIS Regional Cross Country Carnival. 
Shearwater had 41 runners represent the school in a happy and humble manner. It was a great day, and all competitors should be proud of their efforts of qualifying for the regional team. The students cheered each other on with genuine enthusiasm, weaving a strong sense of belonging between the primary and secondary runners. Six students qualified for the state championships at the Eastern Creek Raceway in Sydney on the 14th June. What a fantastic achievement! We wish Sam Darbyshire, Wyana Pietramale-Sewell, Charlie Heath, Matilda Vial, Star Eichler and Rosa Tansely-Beckerman all the best for the next stage of the competition. 
Congratulations to all runners, it was a joy to take so many energetic and engaged students to an inter-school sporting event. Big thanks to Nick Thorne, Magnum Brotto and Beau Devonshire for helping out on the day and all the parents that came along to offer their support. 
Emma Sweeney
High School Sports Coordinator