Our special sports culture At Dio Junior School we are incredibly proud of our young sports girls on a number of fronts and it’s not all to do with their results.
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ur values are aligned with Sport New Zealand as we focus on participation, fun and development, and push back on early specialisation, over-training and an over-emphasis on winning. At the Junior School our mantra is sports for all in a fun, supportive, fair and organised environment. Our participation rates have been very high this season. We just love the enthusiasm our girls have shown for their winter sports. We offered a range of options including netball, hockey, futsal, flippa ball, ski racing and playball for our younger girls. The schedule enabled the girls to play more than one major sport code. We are very proud of the way the girls developed through the season from a technical standpoint, while in their team sports learning about spatial awareness and the finer points of attacking and defending. We’ve also loved seeing the fun factor in action, supported by our families.
WINTER SEASON SPORTS
Emeralds Year 5 netball team
Year 6 hockey trials
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DIO TODAY
Twelve netball teams and 12 hockey teams from Years 1 to 6 participated in the Auckland Netball and Auckland Hockey leagues respectively. Meanwhile five flippa ball teams from Years 3 to 6 and three futsal teams from Years 1 to 6 also competed during the winter months. To top this all off, we sent three ski racing teams, comprised of girls from Years 3 to 6, to the NIPS Ski Championships at Mt Ruapehu. On the sports turf, courts, slopes and in the pool, we’ve seen some characterbuilding moments, examples of resilience, commitment, determination and good sportsmanship. We’ve seen friendships grow. Some of our results have been fantastic but more importantly, we’ve observed some superb development over the course of the season. The girls have had so much fun playing their chosen sport and at the same time, they’ve enhanced their health and well-being and brought our community together. It’s been a joy to watch the girls in action this winter.
