As the great Joe Madden once said 'If you focus on the process and not the outcome, you'll have better results' and that is exactly what the St Joseph's basketball teams did at the Interschool Basketball tournament on Thursday the 3rd of November.

Competing against schools within the Great Southern, some with far superior numbers or dedicated basketball academies can sometimes be a daunting prospect, especially for the younger age groups. The physical differences and maturity between a Year Seven and Year Ten student is usually a significant disadvantage but that didn't stop our four teams from working tirelessly throughout the day to gain some respectable results.

The Boys 'B' Division team (or development side) , coached by Mr Probert, was made up of Year Seven and Year Eight students, and they fought hard all day to secure two wins and three losses. They started with a great win over GSG as the other three teams cheered loudly from the sideline. The College was on the board. They then won their second game of the tournament before finding the last few games more of a challenge. It was great to see the boys listening intently as Coach Probert swung the rotations and taught the boys the fundamentals, which will be invaluable in future tournaments.

The Boys 'A' Division team finished with a 2-2 record, losing two one point thrillers in controversial circumstances. The first against eventual winners Denmark (coached by an ex Olympian) was a incredible game of basketball as Natale kept ex student and state player Evan D to a measly 6 points whilst Tyler and the two Max's went to work. An unfortunate foul (instead of possession) as the boys jumped on a loose ball in the dying seconds ended the contest and hopes of a GF appearance. The result was compounded by a shock one point loss against Bethel as a questionable foul in the dying seconds handed Bethel a trip to the charity stripe and the resulting two baskets, a one point loss. Despite the results Mr Ruck was a very proud coach as the boys gave everything all day and each played their role.

The Girls "B' Division team (development side) was coached by Mr Picard and also included a number of Year Seven and Year Eight students who found the going difficult against older opposition. Some of the players also were relatively new to basketball and their improvement throughout the day was also great to see, with Sasha's defending a highlight. The girls finished the day with a 1-3 win loss record, however, they never stopped trying and represented the College with great spirit. It will be great to see some of them coming through to the 'A' Division team in coming years.

Finally the Girls 'A' division team, coached by ex prefects Tayah and Bree also included four Year Seven students, an excellent achievement, and whilst the record of 1-3 wasn't flattering, the way they conducted themselves on the court was pleasing to see, not giving up at any stage throughout the day.. The addition of Antonia (her first game after injury), combined with solid contributions from Jessica and Torie (all Year Sevens students) and the rest of the side, whilst playing to the processes gave the PE team a high level of anticipation of what can be achieved in the coming years, should the girls continue to develop their basketball proficiencies.

A highly successful day (despite the results on the scoresheet), highlighted by a very well behaved squad who with growth and maturity can be a force to reckon with in coming years.

Thanks also to Mrs Ruck, Gab, Judson, Mark, Jade and John, along with all of the coaches for all of their efforts and time throughout the day and in the lead up to the tournament.

Mrs Keenan's Year Nine students are teaching the Year One students how to make Stop-Go Motion videos. Obviously, they are having a lot of fun, as you can see from the happy smiles on the Year One students' faces, as well as hearing the giggles coming from big and small kids in the Digi room on a Monday afternoon. Each week the Year Ones ask, "Are the big kids coming today"? When I say, "Yes," they cheer loudly. This is a joy to see and hear. The Year Nine students have been nothing but kind, caring and gentle teachers to their buddies.

Mrs Cavanagh

Our Uniform Shop is now available on Quick Cliq - www.quickcliq.com.au

You can now order uniforms online and collect from the School office, between 8am and 4pm, Monday to Friday during school term.

Please refer to order pickup notes when placing your order to determine when your order will be ready for collection.

School Uniform shop open hours are: Tuesday 8.15am - 9.30am and Wednesday 2.15pm - 4.00pm.

Are you ready for an adventure?

Go to www.sailleeuwin.com for more details

Threatening skies and sporadic drizzle on Tuesday did not dampen the spirits of the Junior School students as they enthusiastically celebrated the running of the St Joseph's Cup. The event was moved indoors after several patches of heavy drizzle and was well attended by parents for the first time since 2019.

The fancy hat parade preceded the Cup and whilst entrants were down, there were some very creative designs displayed by both staff and students alike. The running of the heats commenced with a large number of Year One jockeys, which led to some of the Year Six horses being a little over worked. After the heats and semi finals were run, five horses and their jockeys assembled for the final. In a matter of seconds, the frenetic final was over with Connor (Year One) and Jack (Year Six) crowned the St Joseph's Cup winners for 2022.

Thank you to all those students who participated in the event.

Your local Squadron is 705(City of Albany)SQN which is located at corner of Spencer and Serpentine Roads. We parade on a Wednesday evening from 5.45pm to 9.15 pm during the school term. We are looking for new recruits between the year they turn 13 and up to 16 years of age.

As well as undertaking a range of leadership training, cadets can undertake learning about aerospace, drone flying, adventure training, flying, camping, parades, firearms training, drum corps, promotional activities, visits and overnight stays at military bases.

Cadets can earn up to 10 WACE accreditation points through being a part of our organisation.

The cost is minimal and uniforms are supplied.

For more information visit How to Join | Australian Air Force Cadets (AAFC) or Phone 0422 780 092