by John Murrihy

School Cross Country - Tuesday 7 May

Our whole school cross country event will be held in Week 2 of Term 2, on Tuesday 7th May. The event will begin just after 11am (after morning tea) and will run until approximately 12:50pm (lunchtime).

Students will gather out on the courts just after morning tea, and the race schedule is as follows: Year 6 girls; Year 6 boys; Year 5 girls; Year 5 boys; Year 4 girls, Year 4 boys; Year 3 girls; Year 3 boys; Year 2 girls; Year 2 boys; Year 1 girls; Year 1 boys.

As cross country is part of our PE and Sports programme, we expect all students to participate in this event.

Senior students will run alongside younger students (Year 3 and below) to help and encourage them.

 Year 1 and 2 students will run 500m (1 lap of the course), Year 3 and 4 students will run 1km (2 laps) and Year 5 and 6 students will run 1.5 km (3 laps of the course). The cross country course this year will again follow the bike track loop, which is very handily 500m long.

We will use the results of this event to select our teams for the Junior Invitational Cross Country (Year 1-3) being held in Week 7 of Term 2 (Tuesday 11th June) and the Northern Zone Cross Country (Year 4-6) being held in Week 6 Term 2 (Thursday 6th June). Year 4-6 students who place first, second or third will represent Amesbury at Northern Zone, and Year 1-3 students who place in the top 5 will be able to represent the school at Junior Invitational.

Students are encouraged to bring sports clothes that are comfortable and practical for running in, along with sensible sneakers or running shoes. If students prefer to run barefoot, that is also fine. If students prefer not to change their clothes, they are welcome to run in their school uniform. We do ask that students wear their uniform to school. They will be given time to change into running clothes before the cross country begins.

Spectators are warmly encouraged - it's always good to have rowdy cheerleaders on the side! The students really lift up their pace when they see or hear people on the sideline.

If you have any questions about the cross country event please contact Georgia: georgia@amesbury.school.nz.

Warm regards,

The Amesbury team