Year 8 pop and lock for PDHPE Day
On Wednesday, our Year 8 students enjoyed an action-packed PDHPE Day focusing on healthy bodies and healthy minds, with aqua aerobics, hip hop, cardio, cooking and more.
PDHPE Day began with a talk by Evelyn Nguyen, a volunteer from the Black Dog Institute, who spoke to Year 8 about how she used mindfulness and gratitude when she first moved to Australia from Vietnam. She spoke to the students about the importance of mental health and wellbeing and building their mental 'fitness' to help them through the ups and downs of everyday life.
Energy levels were high in The Athenaeum Learn to Swim pool, with personal trainer Kathy Johnsun leading Year 8 through an action-packed aqua aerobics session. Anyone who thought aqua aerobics might be an easy option quickly discovered that putting the human body in direct opposition to the water’s natural resistance is hard work. Kathy took the students through their paces, giving them a great cardiovascular workout without risk of stress injuries as their bodies were totally supported by the water. And it was lots of fun too, so it was a big tick for aqua aerobics from Year 8!
Up in the Small Gym, it was all about Jay Z and Dr Dre as Hip Hop instructor, An Nguyen introduced Year 8 to the intricacies of Hip Hop, striking the right balance between technique and enjoyment. It was an opportunity to let go of all their inhibitions and just dance. Even the most reluctant dancers were popping and locking, before integrating all the moves into a cool piece of choreography.
Meanwhile in the Cardio Gym, personal trainer Steve Kelly made burpees seem like fun… an oxymoron, we know. At the start of the session, some students didn’t even know how to spell burpee, much less execute one. But thanks to Steve, they were soon experts. For the uninitiated, a burpee is a single move that combines a squat thrust, a push-up and a jump. It is unequivocally the least amount of fun you will ever have in your life. Burpees are exhausting and excruciating, but perhaps the best test of basic fitness around, giving you the benefits of an explosive movement that gets your heart rate up but also hits your hamstrings, glutes, lats, and core. Steve cleverly tricked Year 8 into doing lots of burpees by setting them a series of challenges and playing a fun card game with them. Before they knew it, they’d all done loads of them.
Steve also highlighted the importance of bone health in young women. He explained that going to the gym regularly is not just for female bodybuilders, but is a great habit to get into for young women to prevent the onset of osteoporosis. Plus, working out is great for the endorphins too - healthy bones, healthy body and healthy mind! A win, win, win all round!
Over in the Food Tech kitchen, Ms Camilleri was whipping up bliss balls and shakes. As she explained, you need food to fuel your exercise and bliss balls are a great way of having protein before a workout. Year 8 watched as she made a batch before making their own, using rolled oats, chia seeds, dates, honey, apricots, choc chips and cocoa powder. Best of all, they got to sample a batch Ms Camilleri had made earlier.
In the Independent Theatre, Psychologist Irene Kalogeropoulos led a session entitled Classy Connections, with a focus on the importance of communication. With young people using a slew of apps and online platforms to communicate, Irene had lots of great advice on how to successfully navigate the online world, whether it was via group chat, social media, email or School learning platforms. As she said, while the online world can have great social benefits for young people, there are downsides. As Irene pointed out, one of the things that gets lost when there is a screen between people is empathy. She worked through a series of online scenarios with Year 8, throwing the conversation back to them and asking how different comments or feedback might make the other person feel. It was a great way to reinforce the etiquette of social media, encouraging them to enjoy the positive effects of social connection rather than be drawn into endless negative comparisons with others.
The day culminated with a motivational talk from former Socceroo, Paul Wade on how to be the best version of yourself. Paul was the Captain of the Socceroos from 1990 to 1996. He faced many challenges and triumphs over that time, while dealing with his own personal struggle with epilepsy. He gave Year 8 a unique insight into the world of professional sport, and the mindset and values that helped him to succeed. He highlighted the importance of making positive life choices and finding a healthy balance in their lives.
Bravo PDHPE Department and a huge thank you to Ms Minifie, whose organisation behind the scenes was outstanding. Our Year 8 students learnt a lot about the importance of physical fitness and mental health and wellbeing. And they all had great fun too.