Caswell Street
Peak Hill NSW 2869
Telephone 02 6869 1304 Fax No: 02 6869 1776
Education District: Dubbo
School Sport Area: Western
School Sport Zone: Narraf

SCHOOL DESCRIPTION

Peak Hill Central School serves a rural community of approximately 1400 people in the Central West of New South Wales. With a secondary school population of 280 it aims to provide a quality educational environment in which every student regularly achieves ‘Success Through Effort’. The school is the hub for the Western Access Program, which delivers senior school programs to students in six other smaller central schools, using telematic technology. The school is well known for its students welfare, behaviour management and Aboriginal education programs. The school offers a wide range of sporting activities to all students, with students regularly achieving success at district and state levels. In 2001, the U17 Rugby League team were Western Area champions; the Girls Open Soccer team were Western Area runners up; the Boys Open Touch team were Western Area semi-finalists and the Open Rugby League team reached round four of the University Shield. The U16 Boys relay team were Western Area champions in 2000. The mixed Touch teams were winners of the State Central Schools knockout in 1999 and 2000 with the Boys and Girls Touch teams and U16 Netball teams being finalists. The Girls Touch team reached the final sixteen in the 1999 Combined High Schools Competition. Twenty students in 1999/2000 represented the school at Western Area level.

SPORTS ORGANISATION

Sports Program

Contact John van der Reyden, the Sport Coordinator, or John Hutchinson, Principal.

The Sport Coordinator has made available a large number of proformas that are of value to any Sports Coordinator but especially those who are new to the position. Please contact John for details.

The school conducts a Wednesday afternoon sports program for Years 3-12 with Friday as alternate Wet Weather sport day. Sports offered to students include:

Cricket, Baseball, Basketball, Bowls, Bushwalking, Golf, Kanga Cricket, Life Saving, Netball, Netta, Rugby League, Soccer, Softball, Squash, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Tabloid Sports, T-Ball, Touch, Triathlon, Volley Squash, Volleyball and Water Polo.

Students

The Sports Coordinator allocates primary students to a sport. Secondary students are allocated to a sport and at various stages during the year may select a sport for that week or a set number of weeks. Students may be placed in the same sport depending on the success of the representative teams. For this reason some activities are in a Training / House Sport format and others a House Sport / Sport Options format. Some sporting activities are conducted across Years 5-8.

Sport is compulsory in Term 1 and 2 for Year 12 and optional Term 3, but most still do sport. Sports excursions are expensive, starting at $6.00 for travel to the nearest school, at Parkes 50 km away. Many regular sporting excursions involve journeys of three to four hours.

Staff

All staff, except for the executive, is involved in sport and are often rotated. In general the primary staff stay with Years 3-6 unless a staff member has expertise in a Secondary Sport or there is a need for a male staff to provide a model to primary students. Executive staff members are involved in the school carnivals and some coach school teams.

Staff members rarely attend outside training, as the Dept. of Sport and Recreation courses are expensive. Staff is provided with skills programs, such as Aussie Sport, Milo Kanga and Milo Active Youth.

OTHER SPORT INVOLVEMENT

Knockouts and Gala Days

Secondary students enter Combined High Schools Knockouts in Rugby League (both University Shield & Buckley Shield), Touch, Soccer, Netball (G), Cricket (G), Softball (G), Squash (B). In addition, teams enter Combined High Schools Central Schools Knockouts in Touch (B, G & Mixed), Cricket (B), Netball (G), Small Schools Cricket and U15 Soccer; Western Area U17 Rugby League; Years 11/12 Sevens; and Country Rugby Centrals League U13 and U16 competitions.

Primary students enter district Cricket, Kanga Cricket, Netball, Soccer, Softball, Touch, Tennis,

T Ball, NSW Cricket Super 8’s and the Central Schools Carnival.

In 2000, the following percentages of students were involved in knockout style competitions - Yr 12 100%, Yr 11 88%, Yr 10 68%, Yr 9 82%, Yr 8 67%, Yr 7 52% and approximately 40% of secondary staff. Two head teachers coach touch, softball and squash. Most of the primary staff is involved with coaching and managing teams. Training takes place at lunchtimes and sometimes during sport.

Other Student Participation

Students from Years 11-12 PDHPE and Sport Lifestyle and Recreation, coach primary sports teams, and Year 11 students run the Central Schools Swimming Carnival.

Years 9-10 students conduct the Primary District Cross Country and officiate at the Primary Summer Sports Day as umpires and scorers. The school conducts a school and community Triathlon in December. The competition is based on having a go; with the more taking part the more fun.

Community Involvement

There is community involvement in some sport afternoons, eg Athletics Coaching. Community members are involved with Athletics, Cricket, Soccer, Softball, Swimming and Touch competitions and carnivals. Sports Association Development Officers have provided support in such areas as Cricket, Rugby League, Rugby Union and Soccer.

The school now conducts Western Area Rugby League Trials because there are four badged referees in Peak Hill, the school is central in the Area and the local grounds provide good facilities.

SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM

All staff members support the program. It provides skill development for Years 3-12 by utilising teacher skills across the school. As the primary department is staffed by female teachers, the program allows primary boys access to male role models during sport. The sports program is needs based and some sports, such as Netball, Soccer and Touch, are conducted across Years 5 to 8.

The school is very active in representative sport. Four-a-side competitions are run at recess and lunchtimes. Sporting equipment is left out at recess and lunchtimes for students to use. As a result, sport becomes a healthy habit and students want to do it.

Having a team uniform – short, top and socks - is important and the sports budget and parent associations assist in purchasing them.

Although the school has very limited grounds, it has ready access to council Cricket, Soccer, Rugby League, Netball, Swimming and Athletics facilities, as well as private Golf, Bowls, Squash and Gymnastics facilities, and a Cross Country training track. As a result there are no transport issues and minimal cost to students.