News and Events

State Cross Country

State Cross Country Championships were held on Thursday, 24th July at the Yarra Valley Racing Club. Kaniva College was represented by Year 5 student, Zoe Staehr, in the 9-10 Years Girls (2km) and Year 12 student, Laila Ansell, in the 17-20 Years Girls (3km). Zoe raced in the morning in a field of 97 competitors. She had trouble getting out at the start, as they were near the back and frustratingly had to jog on the spot before they could get moving. She found a great rhythm once she got going and ran really well. She came 62nd and had lots of fun! Laila raced in the afternoon and was very happy with the weather and track conditions, but found the hills quite windy. She ran an excellent time of 14.47 minutes, which placed her 53rd out of 70 runners. We are so proud of both Zoe and Laila on their amazing efforts. It is an immense effort to earn a place at the State level. Congratulations on your outstanding results. 

Dress Up As A Teacher Day

On Friday, 4th July our SRC held 'Dress Up As A Teacher Day' to celebrate the end of the school term and to raise money for the Smith Family. The students enthusiastically took part in this special day, as did many of our staff members, dressing up as other teachers and students! 

Thank you to everyone for going to such an effort to make this day a hit and for your very kind donations to such a worthy cause.

(see our Mrs Staehrs, Miss Gorrys and Mrs Bones below and check out the newsletter for more photos.)

Bonnie Gordon Wins Top Honours at the
Premier's VCE Awards

Congratulations to Bonnie Gordon, who has received top honours with a Premier’s VCE Award for her outstanding VCE results in 2024.

Bonnie, who was the Kaniva College 2024 Year 12 VCE VM Dux, was recognised as an Outstanding VCE Vocational Major Student. This places her among seven top-achieving VM students among Victoria.

315 of Victoria’s top performing students were recognised at this year’s Premier’s VCE Awards, including three international students, seven students who completed the VCE Vocational Major program with distinction, and 23 Top All-Round VCE High Achievers who achieved study scores of 46 or higher out of 50 in at least five VCE subjects.

The entire Kaniva College community is proud of Bonnie and would like to congratulate her on being the recipient of such a prestigious award.

To view the full Honour Roll and to read more about the Premier’s VCE Awards, visit: https://www.vic.gov.au/premiers-vce-awards

Jump Rope For Heart

This term Kaniva College has been taking part in Jump Rope for Heart, being organised by the Unit 3 Personal Development Studies (PDS) class. On Monday we held our ‘Jump Off’ event, with students from Prep to Year 6 taking part. After the Jump Off we
celebrated with a delicious BBQ lunch cooked by the PDS students.

At the start of the program we set a goal for our students to log 40 hours of skipping throughout the program, and this was achieved by most of our participants. It was
amazing to see so many students taking part in the program with such dedication and
enthusiasm.

Our students have done an amazing part on the fundraising aspect of the program,
exceeding the original school goal of $500 and then exceeding our revised goal of $1000.
Thanks to the generosity of donations we have raised $1147.75 for the Heart Foundation, plus additional funds from the BBQ sales.

Congratulations to our leading Fundraising Super Heroes and thanks again
for your support!

WWSSA Winter Lightning Premiership

On Thursday, 12th June, students from Years 4-6 participated in the WWSSA Winter Lightning Premiership, held at Nhill College. Students competed in three sports: Tee Ball, Netball and Football, with Year 9 students assisting on the day by coaching and umpiring.

Our Netball team won three games, drew one and lost one, narrowly missing out on a grand final by the smallest of margins. Aurora umpired every game for the day, and showed exemplary leadership, even lifting the spirits of the team by dancing with the players at the end of their final match. Mrs Dyer was impressed with everyone involved at the netball today.

Our Tee Ball team finished the day losing the semi final after winning two games and
having a draw in another. There were some big hitters on the day, as well as sharp fielding on the bases, which helped the team have a successful day. Maddi and Bridey showed their creativity by wearing bright pink shark mascot costumes, providing a
highlight for the day. Students were seen making sure to shake the hand of the opposition when each game finished.

Our Football team won their first three games of the day, while showing fantastic
sportsmanship and comradery on the field. Unfortunately they came just short in their final two games. However, they finished the day on a high, playing Nhill Lutheran College in a nail biting ‘friendly’ game in front of cheering students. The football team finished 4th overall for the day.

It was another memorable Lightning Premiership, with students arriving back at Kaniva College tired, but proud of their efforts. Thanks to Mr Fed for helping organise the day, and Mr V and Mrs Dyer for their support throughout the day.

Greater Western Region Cross Country

On Monday, ten students travelled to Albert Park, Warrnambool for the Greater Western Region Cross Country. As is always the case, the competition was of a very high
standard with all state schools in South-Western Victoria from Ballarat to the border
represented, including independent schools from Horsham, Ararat, Hamilton, Ballarat, Colac and Warrnambool.

While the rain held off until the last race of the day, the wind made the conditions
difficult for running, with a last-minute course change to keep clear of potential falling limbs.

There were some outstanding Kaniva performances on the day, with several personal best times, despite the hilly track and weather. The top 12 individuals in each event
  qualified for the State Finals, to be held at Yarra Valley Racecourse on
Thursday, 24th July.

Congratulations to Zoe on qualifying for State by finishing 11th, with only six seconds
separating 5th to 11th. Also well done to Laila, who entered the oval with 250m to go in 13th at the back of a group of seven runners, sprinting into 12th place and a State spot with less than 20m to go, finishing only three seconds from 8th place.

All of our students should be commended for giving their best on the day. Good luck to Zoe and Laila at the start of Term 3.

Thank you to Mr Staehr for his coordination of our students for this event and to all of the parents who took their children and cheered our students on.

Here are the results from the day:

Little Desert Cross Country

On Monday, 12th May, Kaniva College hosted the Primary West Wimmera Division Cross Country (WWSSA) and the Primary and Secondary Little Desert Division interschool Cross Country events. Our students were very strong competitors on the day and achieved some amazing results. The first six competitors in Little Desert Primary ,and the first eight competitors in Little Desert Secondary, will go on to the Greater Western Region Cross Country in Warrnambool on Monday, 26th May.

Special congratulations go to the junior students who won the West Wimmera Division Cross Country Championships, the senior students who won their age level pennants, the students who placed at the West Wimmera and Little Desert levels, and all of the students who qualified for Regionals.

We also want to say a huge thank you to Mr Staehr for his excellent coordination of this event, all of the staff members who played important roles on the day, and our parents and friends volunteers who prepped food, set up and helped out on the stall.

Official Results
WWSSA
9 & 10 Years Boys: 4th Billy Salt; 12th Jake Coad
9&10 Years Girls: 2nd Zoe Staehr; 3rd Annabel Carter; 4th Isla Lannin; 8th Marlie Dunstall
11 Years Boys: 3rd Otto Maddern
12 & 13 Years Boys (Primary): 1st Liam Hawker; 2nd Jackson Staehr
12 & 13 Years Girls (Primary): 1st Emily Dodson
WWSSA Bannerette: 1st Kaniva College

Little Desert
9 & 10 Years Boys: 16th Billy Salt; 34th Jake Coad
9&10 Years Girls: 2nd Zoe Staehr (Q); 7th Annabel Carter; 8th Isla Lannin;
15th Marlie Dunstall
11 Years Boys: 9th Otto Maddern
12 & 13 Years Boys (Primary): 5th Liam Hawker (Q); 7th Jackson Staehr
12 & 13 Years Girls (Primary): 7th Emily Dodson
12 & 13 Years Boys (Secondary): 5th Colby Champness (Q); 14th Parker Rabone
12 & 13 Years Girls (Secondary): 8th Matilda Tink (Q); 10th Delta Stimson; 11th Ivy McLaren
12 & 13 Years Girls (Secondary) Pennant: 2nd Kaniva College
14 Years Boys: 6th Baxter Meyer (Q); 8th Ollie Dowler (Q)
14 Years Girls: 4th Pippa Vivian (Q); 6th Mikayla Hall (Q); 8th Aurora Merrett (Q);
11th Bridey Hawker
14 Years Girls Pennant: 2nd Kaniva College
15 Years Boys: 1st Kobi Stimson (Q)
15 Years Girls: 10th Evie Hendy
16 Years Boys: 4th Jack Hall (Q); 6th Byron Merrett (Q); 10th Jack Dowler (Q)
16 Years Boys Pennant: 1st Kaniva College
16 Years Girls: 3rd Ruby Gordon (Q); 4th Zahra Stephens (Q)
17-20 Years Boys: 1st Xavier Stimson (Q)
17-20 Years Girls: 2nd Laila Ansell (Q); 5th Lucy Mulraney (Q)