| Shearwater, the Mullumbimby Steiner School |
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 Our Primary School netball team headed north to the regional competition in Tweed Heads last week. Despite being a new team, the 10 players displayed great team work, enthusiasm and maturity. All of the players enjoyed themselves and gave their best while representing the School - a great day all round.
Magnum Brotto PDHPE Teacher  Our new High School basketball teams (junior and senior) headed down to the regional competition in Coffs Harbour last week. Despite an early start and not much experience, both teams were up for the challenge, showing genuine enthusiasm and teamwork across all three games. All the players enjoyed themselves and gave their best while representing the School.
Many thanks to our basketball coach, Year 11 student Monica Brandolini, who was selected to be part of the NCIS basketball team. Well done Monica! Thanks also to Margaret Brandolini and Cameron Gough for all of their help on the day. Next week, the girl's Primary School netball team will also play in the regional competition, in Tweed Heads. We wish them luck and a great experience! Magnum Brotto PDHPE Teacher 
With six excited new Class 4 players swelling their ranks, the Shearwater chess team headed for the Term 1 NSW Northern Rivers Inter-School Chess Tournament at St Johns Woodlawn last week. With the tournament kicking off at 9.00am, our 17 keen intellectuals battled it out strategically until the clocks stopped at 2.00pm. The age-old game gave the students attending a great learning opportunity, taking in new strategies with the losses and fulfilling smiles with the wins. Congratulations to the team on a great day. Beau Devonshire During their PDHPE lessons last year, the now Year 10’s worked towards gaining their Bronze Medallion, an award that is the international benchmark for lifesavers and aims to build knowledge and skills in rescue, personal survival and emergency care. The Bronze Medallion award is a personal achievement that recognises your ability to perform aquatic rescues in a safe and efficient manner.
The Year 9 students last year learnt an understanding of the lifesaving principles embodied in the 4 components of water-rescue education - judgment, knowledge, skill and fitness. The students worked hard, swimming numerous laps, displaying a variety of skills and managing a rescue situation whilst also passing a theory component. Some students gained the Bronze Star which is an excellent preparation for success in Bronze Medallion at a later date. Participants develop problem-solving and decision-making skills individually and in partners. Candidates learn CPR and develop the lifesaving skills needed to be their own lifeguard. We were very proud of the enthusiasm and engagement of the class and congratulate those who gained the qualifications. Emma Sweeney High School Sports Coordinator
Twenty four students from across the school represented Shearwater at the NCIS Regional Swimming carnival at the Alstonville Aquatic Centre at the end of February. The students represented Shearwater in a happy and humble manner, enjoying the competitive buzz. If cheering for your school mates pool side was an event, we surely would have won gold!
A big congratulations to Year 7 student Mika Asherovitch and Oliver Pickering, from Year 9, who both qualified for the CIS State Swimming Championships to be held in Sydney next term. Mika qualified for the Girls 12-13 years 50m Breaststroke and Oliver for the Boys 15 years 50m Freestyle and 50m Backstroke. This is a great achievement and we wish them both well for their big adventure. Thanks to Nick, Magnum and Beau who helped out on the day, and to all the students who committed to participating and competed so cheerfully. Now it's time to pack away the goggles and lace up the runners, for the School's Cross Country carnival to be held at the end of the term. Emma Sweeney High School Sports Coordinator  Blue skies and a hot sun graced our swimming carnival on Tuesday February 12. The High School students started the day off with a splash and we had some great participation, especially from our younger students. Jack Russell won the inaugural doggy paddle while Oliver Pickering swam the fastest lap of the day with a slim 28 seconds for the 50m freestyle.
The Primary students arrived at the pool for the afternoon on a wave of enthusiasm. As the temperature increased, so did the participation level, with the Great Class Race luring many students into the pool. The effort in the pool was matched by those in the grandstand as the younger students eagerly cheered on their peers. A big thanks goes to the Year 11 PDHPE class and the Year 7 student volunteers who were fantastic time keepers, along with our wonderful parent helpers. You all did a very professional job and made the day run smoothly. Thanks also to all the staff who helped out with extra duties, including the maintenance crew who were there from start to finish to help set up and pack up all the gear, along with the PDHPE faculty. Thanks to Craig and his team at the Mullum Pool for having us and thanks to all the students for competing in a fun and friendly manner… even if they didn’t let the staff relay team win. Congratulations to all of the swimmers who qualified for the NCIS Regional Swimming Carnival in Alstonville this Thursday when a team of 35 Shearwaters will be competing against other independent school in the Northern Rivers for a chance to swim at the state titles. We look forward to seeing our students compete in some happy and healthy sporting competition. Stay tuned for further results. Emma Sweeney High School Sport Coordinator    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  What is a pirate's favourite letter?
R? You’d think so… but actually it’s the C! This term the Year 11 Marine Studies students have been working towards obtaining their boat licences, venturing out on the School boat with Nick, to tick off their practical hours. Last week, they sat their theory exam and all passed. This week, they headed down to the Roads and Maritime Centre in Ballina to finalise the paperwork and pick up their new licences. The Year 12s have worked hard to complete their Personal Interest Projects, which will be on display at the HSC Showcase at the beginning of next month. There was a wide variety of projects submitted, from cool colouring books to slick hydro foils, emotion art pieces, inspiring business ideas and much more. The students working towards their Advanced Dive certificate clocked up more diving hours last week with Gerard. Learning to navigate underwater along the bottom of the Tweed River, the students removed a large volume of fishing line in the process, a perfect segue into our next unit of Commercial and Recreational Fishing. The students are hooked. Emma Sweeney High School Sport Coordinator Congratulations Silver Diamonds, Athletics Champions 2018, you proved that when placed under pressure, you shine brightest! Shearwater's 2018 Carnival was a great day and those who attended competed in a happy and humble manner, with a total of 38 records broken on the day - a record of records. Matilda Vial from Class 5 equalled one and broke three individual records, as did Monica Brandolini in Year 10. Tali Sloane from Year 11 finished the day on a high note, smashing the school high jump record in front of a captivated crowd.
A big thank you to all the staff who helped out on the day. It’s a big day and can only happen with help from many people. Special thanks to the grounds crew who were there from start to finish. A big thank you also goes to the Year 11 student helpers, they did a great job, not only helping run many of the events but also participating and setting a great example for the younger students. Thanks to the sun for shining all day. Congratulations to the 45 students who qualified for the NCIS Regional Athletics Championships, held down in Coffs Harbour this week. Watch this space for more details! The results of the 2018 Shearwater Athletics Carnival were: 4th place: 2820: Breakers 3rd place: 3405: Nimbus 2nd place: 3460: Firestormers 1st PLACE: 3860: Silver Diamonds Emma Sweeney High School Sports Coordinator |
