Year 5

On the 28th of February, week 5, Term 1, all the year 5/6 students went to Aquatics at Port Noarlunga Beach.

Firstly we got into our groups, met our instructors and put on our wetsuits, this proved to be more challenging than we originally thought. Our day was broken up into 4 sessions with 3 small breaks for eating. Then we went down to the beach to begin our day. 

Some things we did in the first session included, playing in the water,  swimming around with life jackets on, we used our flotation devices and going over some simple safety instructions. We worked on how to signal people when you are stuck in the sea and then how to save those who are. We used different items such as boards, pool noodles or rings. Some we used reach strategies and some we used throw strategies. Then we had our recess break. 

After recess, we went back down to the water and did snorkelling. We swam around the jetty and walked on the moss rocks. We went near a small, shallow reef and discovered what lives around it, then we saw some really big and fascinating sea animals- crabs, fish and sea snails. Then we had our lunch break.

After lunch, we went down to a different part of the beach and drew some rips in the sand. Then we went bodyboarding. We caught some awesome waves and really enjoyed our time! Then we had another break.

After our last break for the day, we went surfing. We practised sitting on the board, lying on the board and by the end, we were standing on the board too! We also played some games and did some races. 

We had a fun day and learned a lot. We learnt things that we can use to help others and ourselves. We learnt that teamwork is important for water safety too.

That was the end of aquatics. It went by so fast!
The bus came to pick us up at about 4 o’clock and we got back to the school by 4:30.

Written by Alexis and Eva from room 29.

Year 6

On the 28th of February, week 5, Term 1 the year 6s went to Aquatics. We had 3 different activities per group (5 or 6 people per group). The Activities were bodyboarding, snorkelling, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding, and surfing. 

We found our instructors and put on our wetsuits. If your group was doing snorkelling we would also get a snorkelling mask and flippers. If we did snorkelling we did it near the Jetty so we didn’t have to walk too far. If your group was kayaking or stand up paddle boarding you needed to walk down to the river and put on special reef shoes and life jackets when you got there.

We had 1 activity for 2 hours then we had recess. At recess, we reapplied sunscreen and ate our snacks. After recess, we went back to the water and did our second activity. If you were doing surfing or bodyboarding you would have to walk along the beach really far to catch the better waves. It was about a 20-minute walk one way but it was worth it to get the waves.

After that activity, we had our lunch by this time everyone was extremely hungry and starting to feel tired. While we ate lunch, teachers came around instructing us to apply more sunscreen. We had all of our bags underneath a deck but it was getting really sandy so during our lunch break we moved all of our stuff up to the higher deck.

After lunch, we had our last activity with our group. We were having lots of fun but after that last activity, we were all exhausted. After our last activity, we got all of our bags and hopped on the bus ready to head home after a long day of fun.😃

Written by Malaika and Ted from room 29.

Some of our favourite parts of Aquatics

Kyara: I liked the Kayaking and Surfing the best
Asha: Body-boarding was my favourite activity.
Kobi, Cooper & Eddie: I enjoyed surfing the most.
Lillie: I enjoyed trying new things with friends while having fun.
Evy: Snorkeling was my favourite because I tried something new with my friends.