THROUGHOUT term four of the school year, Sergeant Mick Maguire from Innisfail PCYC brought the Blue EDGE Program to Innisfail State School, along with Police Liaison Officer (PLO) Michael Sands.
The Blue EDGE (Educate, Develop, Grow, Empower) program, seeks to enhance students’ engagement with the education system, improve their physical abilities, and receive guidance from mentors that focus on transitioning from junior to secondary school, teamwork, character development, and healthy lifestyle choices.
The program was a resounding success, with active participation from both students and mentors over eight weeks.
Various sporting activities were on offer, including World Cup soccer, ultimate frisbee, dodgeball, and exercise challenges that allowed students the opportunity to put their skills to the test.
The exercise sessions were fair and friendly, and emphasised teamwork, sportsmanship, and discipline.
The students demonstrated great enthusiasm and displayed impressive teamwork throughout the activities.
Students were provided with a nourishing breakfast while a mentor spoke on various issues and subjects to enhance their personal growth, healthy lifestyle choices, and the importance of academic engagement.
Mentors played a vital role in providing information, motivation, and support to the students throughout the program.
The mentors’ dedication and commitment to the students was evident during Blue EDGE through their involvement in sports activities and motivational speeches.
Several outstanding achievements were witnessed during the program with students exhibiting exceptional sportsmanship, teamwork, and perseverance.
Many achieved personal bests and displayed excellent talent across a number of sporting activities.
The mentorship component of the event highlighted the strong bonds formed between mentors and students, ultimately leading to improved academic engagement and personal development.
During the eight-week program, the year six class won the school’s attendance trophy six times.
As a reward for their hard work, Blue EDGE treated the students to a fun-filled day at Cairns Central where they attended the movies to see Head Space, an animation about an alien invasion, and were treated to popcorn, ice cream and a drink.
Afterwards, students visited Rebel Sports, where they were allowed to pick any runners of their choice.
The day finished with lunch in the food court and some much-needed naps from students and PLOs.
Overall, the day was filled with a lot of smiling faces, new shoes, and many compliments from other shoppers about the students’ wonderful behaviour.
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