It was so cute to watch our younger tamariki charging up and down the basketball court. They may be young and little but they were playing to win. The looks of determination and concentration on their faces was terrific. I do get a great deal of joy out of watching the children develop skills over time and there will be a couple of talented players in this group, preparing for the future. Right now they were having fun and making the most of the talents and skills they have at their disposal.
The competition was fierce. There were a few "Hail Marys" as fulltime approached but in the end we lost the final by 2 points.
It is always wonderful to see parents supporting their tamariki. Pioneer Stadium is a great venue and the high school refs do a splendid job of managing the games. Special thanks to Dave Langrell who coaches and manages the team. It must be so frustrating to "shush" when the refs calls are not how you see them.
Whaea Charlotte spends a great deal of time organising opportunities for our tamariki to be able to play and compete in sports teams and events, outside of school hours. I think our parents can appreciate how much time she gives to support the children, especially after a very busy day at work.
Next year...
Oh my! Teaching young children to march in time is like herding cats. It was a huge challenge for the students at Cashmere High which they met with patience and good humour. They had a little performance opportunity at the end and some parents were able to attend at short notice.
It was lovely to have the collaboration with Cashmere High and to witness tuakana teina in action. Well done team.
I can still clearly recall the enthusiasm of past boards and community to get our pools back from the brink (the second time literally from the brink of the Wai Mokihi),and to reopen them so our children could learn to swim and be safe in the water. I was the sceptic because all I could see were the $$, the hard work, maintenance and person power needed to make this possible. We had had a series of vandalism incidents and break-ins, and some local ratbags, who didn't have keys, were using stand over tactics with our families. This year it has been fantastic thanks to the vigilance of the pool committee, keyholders, lots of cameras and our And yet here we are thanks to Nick, Rachel, Nicki, Justine and Aaron who are the current Pool Committee. The pool expertise has been given as a koha to the community and many times the chemicals and equipment have come as a gift or at greatly reduced costs. Between them, they have spent hundreds of hours to ensure that our pool remains open and functioning. The expertise of Nick and Aaron means that we have the highest levels of water quality, rivalling local council facilities. This creates a wee problem for the future because the pools have become so popular that we might have to place limits on the numbers of the tickets that we can sell in the season.
If you are willing to make a commitment and to pay forward some of the benefits that you have had from the school pool, then I know that the pool committee would love to hear from you. We are about giving back, and not just taking. Our school has been built on kindness, manaaki and whanaungatanga. Our school whanau and the generosity of our local community are at the heart of what we have built here at Te Ara Koropiko West Spreydon.
And so to the school swimming sports. We had a lovely day, parent helpers and supporters, clean water, shade , great organization, anticipation, Kaiako and kaiāwhina, and tamariki galore. Everyone who could had a go in at least one event.
Roy was a volunteer coach for an afternoon group who wanted to get hints on competitive strategies and improved stroke.
Congratulations to our champions and our "give-it-a goers." I look at some of those events from a scientific viewpoint sometimes and wonder, "Is that floating, or is that sinking.?"
It was a fantastic day and I go back to the original dream of past folk, who wanted commercial quality pools, where all children could learn to swim and where the community could spend many happy hours creating family memories.
Thank you everyone.
