Preparation began weeks earlier with pre-events, where students competed in the 200m, 400m, 800m, shot put, 1500m, 2km, and 3km. At this stage, Bradman had taken a narrow 6-point lead over Gould.

Sports captains Abbey, Charlotte, Seb, and Harry prepared speeches and even created an exceptional video for staff and students to demonstrate the long jump and vortex scoring system. I was especially impressed with how effective this was, as those events ran incredibly smoothly on the day!

After some roaring chants and close relays, students broke into their classes to compete in their Sports Day events. Throughout the day, new records were set, and old ones tumbled. Students got soaked during the ever-popular aqua hurdles and gauntlet, and also enjoyed a delicious bake sale and sausage sizzle!

Final Standings

1st – Gould (1236 points), 2nd – Bradman (1175 points), 3rd – Jackson (1048 points), 4th – Laver (958 points)

Captains Seb and Abbey accepted the trophy and gave an excellent speech, summarised here: “Thank you to the parents for coming to cheer on their teams and helping with the bake sale. Thank you to the teachers for encouraging and supporting the students and to the maintenance team for the awesome setup. Thank you to Mrs Robinson & Mr Raw for preparing the students and organising the day. Well done to all the other teams on their sportsmanship, effort, and hard work—you provided great competition! Finally, thank you to GOULD for working so hard and being such a wonderful team to lead! GO GOULD!”

Age Group Champions

U8 Boys – Lucas S & Yericko S, U8 Girls – Antonia P & Yuna O. U9 Boys – Liam J, Mav G & Jack R. U9 Girls – Emily M, Phoebe V & Ava H. U10 Boys – Leyton F, Benji G & Jakub G. U10 Girls – Sophie L, Arin O & Natalia S. U11 Boys – Josiah G, Jude G & Harry M. U11 Girls – Mila S & Sarah L. U12 Boys – Reuben D & Jayden K. U12 Girls – Rachel F & Elliana B.

Mrs Bek Robinson, Sports Coordinator Year 3-12

The highlight of the Year 5 camp at Narnu Farm would have to be the interaction with all the animals. The students loved getting into the pens and feeding them. They scattered grain for the deer and chickens, hid carrots for the pigs to hunt down, and bottle-fed the baby goats and calves. Some students even had luck finding eggs in the chicken coop! Many students were desperate to take home one of the cute, fuzzy guinea pigs after cuddling them.

Other activities included mud brick making, butter churning, a blacksmith demonstration, and damper making—all of which were a hit with everyone.

Boats and Buddies

Our excursion to the Maritime Museum gave students a taste of what life was like for the early South Australian settlers who pioneered our state, as well as the impact this had on the Indigenous population. There were plenty of interactive exhibits for them to explore and engage with.

Meeting their Reception Buddies and taking part in fun activities like the Teddy Bears’ Picnic has been a long-awaited special moment for many of the Year 5s, who still remember what it was like for them to meet their buddies many years ago. It has been wonderful to see the Reception students becoming more familiar and engaged with their Year 5 Buddies.

Wednesday’s pre-events, including the 1500m, long jump, and triple jump, ran smoothly, with eight records broken and Bradman taking a commanding lead.

The main event on Friday saw students flocking to Vickers Vimy Oval, proudly sporting their House colours. The annual Year 12 dress-up tradition did not disappoint, with Gould’s cheerleaders, Bradman’s Shrek cast, and the overall winner, Owen, as a Knight in Shining Armour.

Sports Prefects Aymee and Joshua opened the day with words of encouragement and prayer, followed by an impressive flash dance by Gould to set the tone for the day.

Prefect Reflections

Reflections from Sports Prefects Joshua R & Aymee J: “It was an awesome day with so many highlights, like the students beating the staff in the water games and relay. We’re so thankful to Mrs Robinson for all the hard work she put into the day—and for being a good sport when we dumped two buckets of water on her! A big highlight was the praise and worship session and the girls beating the boys at tug-of-war at lunchtime. Dressing up was a great way for the Year 12s to come together for our last Sports Day. Thank you to all the teachers, the maintenance team, and House Captains for their hard work, and to the parents who came to support us on the day!”

With the points hidden at lunch, teams hoped the 100m finals and relays would shake up the leaderboard, but when Mr Lock announced the results, it was clear—Bradman were the 2025 Sports Day Champions!

Final Standings: 1st – Bradman (1807 points), 2nd – Gould (1500 points), 3rd – Jackson (1492 points), 4th – Laver (1467 points)

Bradman Captains Jess & Archer reflected on the day: “We couldn’t be prouder of our team this year. Everyone put in a tremendous amount of effort, and it showed in the results. The pre-events on Wednesday gave us a strong start, and what really stood out was the dedication from every student. For the Year 12s, it was a great way to wrap up our Sports Day experience—dressing up and winning the day!”

Age Group Champions: U13 – Liam A & Eve W. U14 – Curtis T & Helena M. U15 – Daniel S & Anja J. U16 – Erin M, Grace W & Alex O.  Open – Ben S & Lauren F.

Mrs Bek Robinson – Sports Coordinator Year 3-12

As we funnelled into our seats, an energy filled the air—an electric atmosphere surrounded us. This enthusiasm did not fade. The hours ahead were filled with lively worship, challenging messages, and heartfelt prayer.

Grant Bouchard, one of our Faith and Fellowship prefects, shared from the book of Colossians. The passage calls Christians to pray for opportunities to spread the message of the Gospel through love, grace, and kindness towards others. This became a key theme for the day as we learnt how to effectively reflect Jesus’ character to our non-believing friends.

The frequent worship sessions provided powerful moments of energetic praise between events, as well as opportunities for quiet reflection. A Cedar student who attended highlighted the worship as an “opportunity for everyone to be strong in their faith.” Another added, “It was clear the Holy Spirit was there, changing young people’s lives!”

Encouragement and Application

A key part of the Not Ashamed experience is the workshops. Each student selects one of five sessions designed to address the challenges we face when sharing the Gospel. Personally, I had the privilege of taking part in the Tackling Tricky Questions seminar, hosted by our School Pastor, Jeremy Wright. The workshop was filled with teaching, discussion, and practical applications, encouraging us to find the deeper meaning behind the difficult questions we are asked about our faith. Other seminars explored how to start Gospel conversations, collaborate with youth groups, the overflowing Gospel, and running a Youth Alpha program. After the workshops, we ended the day with a powerful time of prayer, lifting up each school as they prepared to return to their campuses.

Not Ashamed is an event unique to Cedar College that encourages students across South Australia to be bold in their faith. The impact on those who attend cannot be understated, and the transformation in our school communities is clear. A shift in attitude towards one another is evident as we embrace our relationships with teachers and peers with love and respect.

It is through the shared prayers of both staff and students that the impact of Not Ashamed continues beyond the annual workshops, shaping our everyday school lives.

Matthew Priest – Year 11 student