Physical Education is essential to students’ academic, social and emotional development and is one of the Victorian Curriculum specialist areas taught to students at Doncaster Primary School. Students participate in a 1hour specialist physical education session each week with a PE teacher. Sessions are designed to develop students’ fundamental movement skills and game tactics, whilst also improving fitness and the ability to work as part of a team. Students are taught basic skills such as, catching, over and underarm throwing, skipping, running, one and two hand hitting and kicking.
Students in Prep to Level 2 complete a gymnastics program in the school gym which focuses on building fundamental skills, strength, coordination, and flexibility in a fun and engaging way. For Level 3/4 students, gymnastics is further developed to include fully qualified coaches who conduct a 7week program at school, culminating in 2 sessions offsite at a gymnastics centre.
From Level 3 onwards, students are taught more complex skills and strategies and begin to participate in more complex minor and major games such as soccer, netball, basketball, AFL football, tennis, badminton, frisbee, softball, T-Ball, rounders, volleyball and cricket. A variety of equipment is used during these sessions and we have access to a gymnasium, large grassed oval and synthetic turf basketball court.
During Term 3 students practise track and field events for our House Athletics carnival including; shot put, discus, high jump, long jump, triple jump as well as the various running distances including hurdles.
Bike Education is a program conducted for the Level 4 students. They learn road rules, traffic awareness, changing gears, straight line riding, tight turns, obstacles and more. The final sessions of the program enable students to demonstrate the skills developed by riding to and from the picturesque Ruffey Lake Park.
Students in Level 6 have the opportunity to participate in an Interschool Sport program with several schools in our local area, travelling to different locations and working as a team to represent our school in their chosen sport. They train for an additional one hour a week, accessing support from local coaches and secondary students.
Students across the school from Prep to Level 6 also participate in many sporting clinics conducted by coaches from the various sporting clubs in the area including AFL, basketball and hockey.
There are opportunities for those students who excel in swimming, cross country and athletics to pursue their sport at a district, division, regional and state level.