PE & Sport: Information & Update – by Nadeen PE Department
It has been a busy period for PE & Sport here at Nadeen. In recent weeks, we have hosted the Parents Football Festival, the Senior School U14 Badminton tournament, participated in Round 2 of 24N’s Junior Schools Football Tournament (JSF), and competed in the Primary Sports League U11 Boys & Girls Futsal competitions. Meanwhile, in school, we have been learning lots of new concepts & refining our skills in many sports in Term 3.
Physical Education Round-Up
In Early Years, the children have continued to develop their confidence in the water, alongside beginning to improve their kicking technique when swimming on their fronts. On a weekly basis, even day-to-day, their water confidence is growing tremendously, and their independence is fantastic to see. In their second lesson of the week, Reception began their Gymnastics unit, and we have been looking at how we can create different shapes with our body, both independently and with a partner.
Years 1 & 2 are now into their third term of swimming and are recapping and continuing to refine their freestyle technique. All of our Year 1 & 2 children have made fantastic progress during their swimming lessons and it’s great to see everyone display their water confidence in every lesson. Learning how to submerge underwater, and beginning to learn about diving offers a lot of challenges to the children, however their bravery and resilience are heartwarming to see. In their regular PE lesson, Year 1&2 have also started their gymnastics unit, and have been looking at the importance of tension and core strength in both individual and partner balances, as well as an introduction to different rolls such as the pencil roll, forward roll & tuck roll.
Year 3 to Year 6 have restarted their swimming lessons this term and have been improving their backstroke technique. The students have shown a fantastic appetite to learn in swimming and their energy and enthusiasm are fantastic to see. Years 3 & 4 have started with indoor hockey and have been learning the key principles of the game, dribbling, passing and shooting before attempting to apply them in competitive situations. Years 5 & 6 have started a net-games unit with a series of Badminton lessons, where the students have been learning the key skills needed in matchplay.
In KS3, the students have been playing Volleyball. Within this unit, the students have been learning about tactics, key skills and developing their game awareness. Following this, the students will be moving onto a Health Related Fitness (HRF) unit. In the Fitness unit, the students will be introduced to content which features in the IGCSE syllabus, such as principles of training & different concepts of training.
It has been a pleasing start to Term 3 in Curriculum PE and we are looking forward to seeing the students continue their development in the subject.
“Being in the swimming pool has been fantastic. It’s been great to be in the water and I enjoy learning about how to improve my swimming technique“
– by Simone, Year 6
Under 14 Badminton Tournament
On the 24th of April, Nadeen School hosted the first-ever Senior School Sports League (SSSL) badminton tournament for children in years 7, 8 & 9. The format allowed schools to bring 2 boys singles players, 2 girls singles players, a boys doubles team and a girls doubles team to compete in the tournament. The afternoon proved to be a fantastic showcase of talented badminton players, all displaying the skills they have refined over the years and also provided an opportunity for independence and sportsmanship, as matches were all successfully refereed and scored by the students themselves. In the boys singles, Ali and Caelan put in fantastic performances, considering their relative inexperience to the game of badminton, and were unlucky not to qualify for the semifinals. In the girls singles, Fatima, predominantly a tennis player, played extremely well and just missed out on the semifinals, however Laya went undefeated and made her way to the final. In an extremely close final, where both players had match points, Laya just missed out on the gold, but came away with an incredibly respectable silver medal. In the boys doubles, Rien and Gustavo were involved in a number of incredibly tight matches, but both grew into the tournament and improved immensely as the tournament went on, managing to win enough games to secure the bronze medal as a duo. In the girls doubles, Eylul and Nikki played fantastically throughout, and remained undefeated across the tournament, earning themselves the gold medal. We are incredibly proud of how all of the students performed, they are each a credit to the school.
Nadeen Parents Football Festival
On Saturday 27th April, we held the Nadeen Parents Football Festival for the first time here at our Dilmunia campus. It was a fun-filled, exciting morning, where our Nadeen community was given the opportunity to participate in different football activities which tested their skills. Meanwhile, our academy partner 24N, installed their inflatable pitches in the Sports Hall, where the students were able to play small-mini matches in the cooling AC. The ‘main event’ of the morning was the Parents vs Staff Football match. Following last year’s penalty shootout win, the parents were eager to retain the bragging rights. After 45 minutes of games, and some stellar performances from some of our staff, the staff walked away as winners. However, if it wasn’t for Harry (7.2), who was playing for the staff team after winning the time-trial challenge, the result may have been different. A cool, calm & composed finish secured the victory for the staff. At the final whistle, it was great to see parents & staff alike embracing and shaking hands after a long morning in the sun. Well done to all who played & thank you to everyone for supporting the event!
Girls Junior Schools Football Tournament (JSF)
On Sunday, May 5th, the vibrant energy of competition filled our state-of-the-art sports hall as we proudly hosted the Girls Junior Schools Football Tournament (JSF). This thrilling event showcased the dedication and talent of young athletes from Nadeen and four other schools, as they battled it out in an exhilarating indoor football showdown.
Divided into two teams, Nadeen 1 and Nadeen 2, our squads demonstrated remarkable teamwork and skill throughout the tournament. In the initial group stage, both teams faced formidable opponents, engaging in a series of spirited seven-minute matches. Nadeen 2 kicked off with an impressive performance, netting four goals, with standout player Leticia showcasing her prowess on the field. Meanwhile, Nadeen 1 capitalised on numerous opportunities, with Ava and Kendah adding to the scoreboard.
Despite fierce competition, Nadeen 1 showcased resilience and determination, narrowly missing out on victory in the subsequent bracket stage. However, their remarkable attempt at a comeback in a nail-biting match highlighted their growth and maturity as a team, with Kendah, Ava, and captain Nadia delivering stellar performances.
In a gripping semi-final showdown, Nadeen 2 emerged victorious, thanks to the heroic efforts of goalkeeper Carlotta, whose outstanding saves secured a spot in the final. Though they fought valiantly in the championship match, Nadeen 2 ultimately claimed a well-deserved second place, adding another prestigious trophy to our collection.
As the tournament drew to a close, we celebrated the collective achievements of our Girls Football squad. Every player demonstrated remarkable progress and dedication throughout the season, embodying the spirit of sportsmanship and camaraderie. We are immensely proud of our athletes and look forward to witnessing their continued success on and off the field. A huge thank you to the 24N coaching team who organised, helped host and set up the inflatable pitches for the afternoon.
Primary Sports League U11 Futsal – Boys Tournament & Girls Tournament
On Tuesday 7th May, our U11 Girls participated in the annual Primary Sports League Futsal Tournament. We entered two teams, Nadeen Green & Nadeen White. After a highly competitive group stage, Nadeen Green made it through the semi-finals, however, Nadeen White just missed out on the latter stages after being knocked out in a 3-way penalty shootout, such was the close nature of the competition. Nadeen Green dominated the possession and play, however a spirited performance from the opposition goalkeeper took the game to penalties. For the second time in the tournament, a Nadeen team were knocked out on penalties! After a rousing team talk from Mr. Chris & Mr. David, the girls were ready for their 3rd-4th playoff. This time around, the girls were on the winning side of a penalty shootout, bringing home a bronze medal. It has been a highly successful year for the U11 girls, having won gold in the PSL Football, 4th place in the regional BSME competition, and now a bronze medal in the Futsal. Well done girls!
It was the boys’ turn next. Our 20-man squad has been working hard throughout the year, and in some ways has deserved more success. In their final tournament of the year, the boys were split into 3 separate teams, Nadeen City, Nadeen United & Nadeen Athletic. Once again, the tournament was highly competitive, and Nadeen City & Nadeen United successfully qualified for the semi-finals. Nadeen United, who had been the stand-out team in the groups, peppered the opposition goal, but to no avail, and had to settle for the 3rd & 4th play off. Meanwhile, Nadeen City, who hadn’t quite got into top gear, turned on the style and comfortably won their semi-final, 2-0. With both teams competing for medals, the Nadeen supporters had the difficult task of trying to follow both games at the same time. Nadeen United continued their good play and secured bronze following a 1-0 win. Over on pitch 1, Nadeen City saved their best performance for the final. A persistent high-press tactic and some exquisite finishing from them, in particular Jason (6.1), saw them collect gold following a comprehensive 5-0 win.
“The boys have been fantastic throughout the year. They have demonstrated superb commitment to training and have improved greatly. It is amazing for them to be rewarded with a gold medal!“
– by Mr. Matt, Head of PE
