World Games Day

 World Games Day Event 

Written by Thomas, Elysia, Zack & Josh – Year 9 

 

On Tuesday 6^th July, Winston ran a ‘World Games Day’ event for Year 5 students from two local primary schools, Beaufort and Hermitage. Year 10 Winston students were able to volunteer to help, giving them an opportunity to develop leadership and management skills which they will be able to use in the future. Due to COVID restrictions, logistics had to be thoughtfully planned out to ensure the students from different schools did not mix. The day seemed to be inspired by the Olympics, with activities being in 15-minute slots and each group being given a country to represent. There was also a closing ceremony at the end of the day!

 

Not all the activities were completely sports focused. The day also gave the Year 5 students an opportunity to experience some of the music we do here at Winston. Some Year 9 students ran a bucket drumming session. This allowed the students to gain a sense of rhythm, let them enjoy something that they wouldn’t normally do in their primary school, and let them see what they could do here at Winston. There were other activities that built the Year 5s’ confidence and helped them make friends with people in their group. This was done through activities such as dodgeball, 3D rugby and the assault course. The Year 10 students were there to lead and encourage in each activity.

 One of the sports activities was cricket, focusing on batting and bowling. The groups were split up so that the students got a chance to bat and to bowl. The Year 10s leading the activity were there making sure that the Year 5s were having fun and to support them in their cricket skills.

 

Another activity they were doing was dodgeball in the AstroTurf cage. They were split into two teams, and they all got to take part, meaning everyone was involved at once. The Year 10s were again there to support, making sure everyone was being responsible and playing fair while always having fun. On the field, there was a teamwork-based station, with a range of activities to help them build up their collaboration skills like communication, compromising and listening. 

 

It was fantastic to see World Games Day running again as 2019 was the last time we were able to host it at Winston due to Covid. The Year 5s that came along all looked like they had a great day and were getting stuck in! The teachers from the primary schools were excited to come along for World Games Day because they said that the students have not had the opportunity for a day like this in a long time! The Year 10s said that they enjoyed the day because it gave them the opportunity to lead a group of younger students, something that they hadn’t done before. Some of the skills they thought the Year 5s were able to develop throughout the day were communication and strategy. Overall, it was a very successful and enjoyable day for both the Year 10s and the Year 5s because they were both able to develop new skills from the day.

 

Here we are as a team of sports journalists, writing up our account of the day!

The PE Department were thoroughly impressed by the Yr9 & 10 leaders and proud of what they accomplished. The Winston leaders were able to successfully deliver 4 hours of activities to 150 Yr5's without any intervention from a member of staff. This exemplifies the quality of their leadership and energy levels to make their last session as good as their first. The Winston leaders also showed great pastoral skills to deal with any other issues that were presented to them. Overall, it was great to see all students enjoying the event and leaving Winston with smiles on their faces.

Feedback from Hermitage: "Just wanted to say a huge thank you to you and your team for a fantastic day today. It was really well organised and the Year 9 & 10 children did a really great job of leading the activities and looking after the children. Looking forward to next year"