Junior School Sport
Girls are encouraged to be physically active in order to develop both fine and gross motor skills. Participation in games and outdoor pursuits becomes a joy and a healthy lifestyle habit. Our PDHPE program focuses on self-management skills, interpersonal skills and movement skills.
Saturday sport
The hugely popular IPSHA Saturday sport program is open for girls from Year 3 onwards. The hugely popular IPSHA Saturday sport program is open for girls from Year 3 onwards. New sports options are offered each term, and are listed in the table below.
Weekly training for Saturday games is held on the Junior School campus between 3.20 – 4.30 pm on the following days:
Years 3 and 4: Thursday
Year 5: Wednesday
Year 6: Monday
| Years 3 and 4 | Year 5 | Year 6 | |
| Term 1 | Football, flippa ball (Year 4 only) | Water polo/flippa ball, football | Water polo/flippa ball, football |
| Term 2 | Minkey, netball | Minkey, netball | Hockey, netball |
| Term 3 | AFL, touch football | AFL, touch football | AFL, touch football |
| Term 4 | Basketball, cricket, tennis | Basketball, cricket, tennis | Basketball, cricket, tennis |
IPSHA sport
Abbotsleigh is part of the Independent Primary School Heads’ of Australia (IPSHA), which organises carnivals, major sports and Saturday competitions for students in Years 3-6. The program promotes skill development, team spirit and engagement.
IPSHA carnivals are held throughout the year for athletics, cross country, gymnastics, swimming and diving. Girls may then be selected to compete at NSW Combined Independent Schools (CIS), NSW State Championships (NSWPSSA) and School Sport Australia Nationals (SSA) levels.
As part of the representative sport pathway, girls may trial for representative teams in AFL, softball, tennis, hockey, cricket, netball, basketball, golf and touch football through IPSHA, CIS and PSSA.
Kindergarten and Year 1 sport
In Term 4, all girls in Kindergarten and Year 1 have the opportunity to participate in our football development program. This is held on Friday afternoons on the Junior School campus from 3-4 pm.
Saturday sport for Year 2
Our ‘friendly’ Saturday sport program is offered to Year 2 girls in Semester 2 (Terms 3 and 4). They introduce girls to new sports and prepare them for IPSHA Saturday sport competition as well as helping them develop overall skills and a love of sport while having fun along the way. We offer netball and cricket in Term 3 and football and minkey in Term 4. These sessions are held on the Junior School campus from 8-9.30 am.
Other sporting opportunities
From interschool swimming and diving carnivals, to snowsports, equestrian, artistic gymnastics and mountain bike events, each year our girls have a range of opportunities to participate in a variety of additional sporting activities.
PDHPE curriculum
Our PDHPE specialist teachers focus on the development of the whole child with experiential learning opportunities.
Scootering and skating along the pathways at school, playing on the play equipment during break times, to bike, surf and tennis education are just a few of the activities on offer during the day.
