15 Jun 2017
I encourage parents and families to come along and enjoy the day of activity at the athletics carnival. Fingers crossed the weather will not ruin a fun filled day of planned activities again. An E-alert will be sent out if the carnival is cancelled due to weather. This E-alert will be sent out at 7:30 with an update of information. The school will leave it as late as possible before sending the E-alert to cancel the carnival as this creates many other challenges for our school, the Council ground, the first aid providers, the little A team that support the school and all of the parents and families who have organised their work and schedules to attend. The school cannot hold the carnival if the fields are deemed to be unsafe or are closed by Council. I appreciate everyone being patient in regards to this matter.
An important reminder for all students who have returned their notes for the 800m event. Competing students need to be at the fields no later than 8:15am. Late arrivals cannot be accepted for the race. The 800m races start at 8:30am but competitors must warm up and report to marshalling officials before the race.
Students not competing in the 800m arrive at school at the normal time. When the bell goes at 8:55am teachers will collect each class and mark the roll before walking down to the carnival. I encourage families to be organised and on time as students arriving after the classes have left will need to be signed in at the carnival. Students arriving late or families requiring students to leave early will either sign students in or out at the Carnival Marshalling table (near the first aid tent). All class rolls will be kept there for that purpose.
All races at the carnival are timed races. The carnival operates on students times not the places in the heats. Competitors need to be running to their best time, not a place in a heat.
This year the school will be using an electronic gate and timing system. This system has been very successful for the Lake Illawarra Little A's and a number of local schools. This system has been shown to our students at our Monday morning assembly with lots of explanation and images to support students. The critical point to reinforce with our competitors will be that once the runner is placed in a lane, the runner must stay in that lane at all times during the race. At the end of the race the runner must remain in the lane and return to the finish line (in their designated lane) so that the judging marshals can escort the competitors to the scoring table.
I remind families to pack drinks, fruit, snacks and lunch for the day. Students will need a hat and sunscreen. A big thank you to all of the staff and especially to Mrs O'Neill and Mr Kunkler for their organisation. The carnival is a huge team effort! I encourage parents and families to assist on the day, as this makes the day run that bit smoother.