Key learning areas

Personal Development Health and Physical Education

Kinma recognises physical education as an important aspect of a child's development. It not only helps a child reach an optimum health level but also requires active social skills.

Kinma focuses upon the enjoyment that comes from playing sports. This enjoyment is facilitated by developing specific fine and gross motor skills such as locomotion, ball control, throwing, tracking and trapping, kicking etc within each child.

Sporting activities

For as each child's level of competency develops, so does their active participation in social sporting games. Paramount to this success is the focus on participation rather than competition. The children are encouraged to participate in team games which require cooperation, team work and good sporting behaviour.

The teachers recognise and cater for the variations in interests and needs for each child. Therefore a variety of sporting activities are taught. These follow "Aussie Sports" wherein sports have been modified for the specific needs of children.

These modified games enable children to experience adult games, but at a level more accessible to them. The rules of these games are often learnt via a peer tutoring system between the older and younger students.

Kinma also recognises that some children may like to focus upon a specific sport so as to further enhance their competencies. This starts with the children's interests. Some chosen sports in the past have included basketball, long distance running, soccer and gymnastics.

Physical development

Children are encouraged to perceive physical education within its wider context. This involves health education and as the children get older, personal development. Central to this is utilisation of the surrounding natural environment. The children often go bushwalking, orienteering, rock climbing and observe the natural environment.

Over their time at Kinma, children participate in several camps, starting with overnight stays at school and progressing to lengthier stays in various locations.

The inclusion of camps and bush-related activities is quite unique to Kinma's physical educational programme in that it provides challenges for the children as well as widening their understanding of a healthy and active lifestyle.