Junior School sport

JUNIOR SCHOOL @HOME SPORTS OPTIONS DURING LOCKDOWN

Adaptability, positivity and resilience were all clearly evident when our juniors went into @Home lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are so proud of the way our girls responded to being @Home, finding new ways to learn, move and keep fit and healthy.

Mrs Deb Watson, PE teacher, delivering a morning fitness session during lockdown.

@HOME FITNESS EVERY DAY

Our resourceful PE teacher, Mrs Deb Watson, delivered @Home fitness every morning for our junior girls, providing a range of sessions including Tabata, Jump Jam, Qi Gong, running, dance and more. Her daily sessions were uplifting and inspirational for both our girls and staff.

@HOME DIO20 JUNIOR FITNESS PROGRAMME

Our very own DIO Gym Manager and Personal Trainer, Bella Bloomfield, put together a special Fitness Workout Video, DIO20, for our Years 5 and 6 girls. She also developed a fun Alphabet Fitness Game for our Junior Years 3 to 6 girls. There was no shortage of options for our girls to engage in and keep moving!

Above: Dio senior netballer Lauren Batchelor provided some @Home video sessions for our junior netballers.

@HOME SPORTS – SKILLS-BASED SESSIONS

Although our winter sports programme was on hold during lockdown, we managed to find new ways to offer skills-based @Home sessions for our girls. These included @Home netball, @Home hockey, @Home flippa ball (land-based), @Home play ball and @Home dance sessions. We loved how enthusiastic the girls were and enjoyed the videos and photos they shared with us.

Hollie Lawson (Year 6) getting into her @Home Hockey session in the garage.

Isabella Coleman (Year 6) doing her @Home netball session in the driveway.

JUNIOR SCHOOL SPORT RETURNSPOST-LOCKDOWN

After many weeks of isolation, our girls were truly elated to be back at School and engaging in their favourite sports again. We were able to manage a staggered return to Sports @School, starting with Years 5 and 6 futsal; netball and hockey trials and team trainings; and later we included the Years 3 and 4 girls in these codes.

The Auckland Hockey League commenced on Saturday 20 June and our junior Years 3-6 teams were out in force, full of excitement and enthusiasm. Trainings got underway on Tuesdays after school. Our head hockey coach, Will Stables, ex U-21 Wellington men’s hockey captain, was delighted to support our coaches and start delivering our junior hockey development curriculum. While the Auckland Netball Junior League did not recommence until the beginning of Term 3, we decided to run our very own DIO Community Netball here at the Junior School for our Years 5 and 6 girls. With almost 60 netballers, there was certainly the critical mass to run our own internal programme. Our Years 3 and 4 girls were very lucky, they enjoyed lunchtime netball sessions with our head Junior netball coach, super star and ex-Silver Fern, Courtney Tairi.

We were able to field 4 Years 3-6 teams in Term 2 in the Auckland Futsal League as games recommenced on Saturdays.

Although our flippa ball and mini polo girls couldn’t train in our pool as it was closed for repairs in Term 2, they still managed to compete in the Epsom Flippa Ball League, which recommenced on Sundays. In retrospect, during the lockdown our girls truly missed the fun and social interaction that sport offers. When the junior sports programme started up again in Term 2, there was a mixture of relief, gratitude and celebration. It was truly joyous to see our girls, happy and excited, out on the turf and courts again.

Main image: Year 6 Hockey Trials in Term 2 after lockdown. There really was gold at the bottom of this rainbow. Above: Dani Gray, Northern Mystics, coaching some of our Year 6 netballers.