Sports
SCHOOL SPORTS
The Tauranga Waldorf School encourages sporting participation and competition as a means of acknowledging others’ strengths in bringing the best out of ourselves. Physical activity enhances the students’ ability to cooperate and communicate within a group setting where enjoyment in physical health is valued and where life-long friends can be established. Children from Year 4 (Class 3) are invited and encouraged to join a school sports team. The College of Teachers supports this process and recommends that a child choose only one per season.
Special Character
The School reflects its ‘special character’ into the co-curricular sport with a vision for each Year.
Year 4: ‘Unity’ in each team. Learning to form a team, learning basic skills & to play well together.
Year 5 & 6: ‘Unity’ in each team. To develop a stronger sense of team, meaning of commitment, importance of practice, finding & sharing of strengths & building on weaknesses. Beginning of team strategies.
Intermediate: ‘Unity’ Stepping up for some, sharing of strengths.
Those that aspire to leadership roles are encouraged to help with a junior team in the form of umpiring, co-coaching or supporting individual players to upskill.
The variety of sport offered ensures the children are able to find a sport that invites that appeals. Team sport is played with other school teams outside of school hours with practices either at lunchtime or after school.
The summer sports (Term 1 & 4) offered currently are Cricket, Volleyball , Touch Rugby, Flippaball and Waterpolo.
The winter sports (Term 2 & 3) are Hockey, Netball and Basketball.
The teams have both a coach and manager who are parent volunteers and are supported by a Sports Coordinator who you can email at sports@waldorftga.nz. We now have very good support from Sport BOP who offer regular ‘coach the coaches’ and player sessions for most codes. Parents therefore do not necessarily need to have played or be well skilled in a given sport to take on a coaching role, but rather offer enthusiasm and willingness to learn.
Due to sport being extra-curricular there is a fee for each season. This is dependant on the individual sporting association fees set. Fees are expected to be fully paid at the beginning of the season.
Our school continues to develop teams with a strong sense of unity and worth, reflecting the rich curriculum they receive throughout their time at our Waldorf school.
Ancient Greek Olympics
A school tradition that has now been in place for many years involves sending our Year 6 class to Hawkes Bay for the annual re-enactment of competition in the “Ancient Greek Olympics”. Up to eight Steiner Schools and as many as three hundred students congregate to attend this most spectacular occasion, training for three days in the ancient disciplines of running (marathon and dash), throwing (javelin and discus), wrestling and jumping (standing long jump) and then competing for Olympic glory in the Olympic Games themselves. The years have shown that both boys and girls compete evenly and experience equal success at this age, a major reason for the continued success of the games.
Former students from the Hastings Rudolf Steiner School (Taikura), and world champion rowers, the Ever-Swindell twins, have been present at the medal ceremony to present the six champions with their wreaths. At the “Olympic Games”, the true spirit of competition can be seen as fellow students encourage one another to ever greater personal attainment to earn their city state, be it Athens or Delphi, Olympic glory.
Outdoor Education
Each class from Year 3 to Year 8 attends an annual Education Outside the Classroom camp to places as proximal as Otawa Lodge in the Otawa Hills to locations as distant as Lake Waikaremoana in the Urewera National Park or Skiing at Turoa and Whakapapa in the Tongariro National Park. Outdoor education opportunities range through Optimist and Sunburst sailing, bushcraft, rafting, hiking, Canadian Canoeing, mountain biking and camping. The school curriculum offers a wide range of movement possibilities including Bothmer Gymnastics, block Eurythmy lessons, dance, swimming, games and annual school-wide raft days, triathlons and cross country events.
