A WAVE of students saturated Sunshine Coast beaches last week for Caloundra Surfabout 2007.
But this was no ordinary surf competition.
It raised more than $1000 for three different charities and was created to give kids an in-depth learning experience.
Missing three days of school for the event was easily justified!
Like wax to a surfboard, Our Lady of the Rosary Year 5 teachers Michael Poncini and Bernie Pearson, were crucial to the day’s success.
Mr Poncini said they first ran Surfabout in 2005 as a way of incorporating literature, numeracy and technology into a real life situation.
“It all started because we wanted to make education more real,” he said.
“The kids write letters to local businesses asking them to donate small prizes for the winners and then they follow up with a thank you letter.
“They are taught to write media releases and newspaper articles… and there is a media tent on the day where the kids can take photos and conduct interviews with contestants.
“The numeracy side involves running the food stalls and learning how to tabulate scores.
“In the next few years we will add a musical, artistic, and poetic dimension to Surfabout via its website so kids can put their surf-related work online.
“Surfing has a real culture about it, it’s not just a sport.”
Our Lady of the Rosary Year 5 student Ryan Forman, who came third out of 100 in his individual event, seemed to gain ethical insight from the day too.
“It’s not just about winning it’s about having fun in the water and doing your best,” he said.
“Our team came last in the relay but we didn’t give up and we tried out hardest.
“We’re very lucky to have teachers who like surfing enough to organise this competition for us kids who like to surf.”
Surfabout has an individual and team event for two age groups – 12 and under, and 10 and under.
Selected charities for this year were Caloundra RSL’s Little Diggers, Opportunity International, and the Sisters of St Joseph’s Peruvian mission.
