St Raphael's School Blog

Hi, I’m Jeanette Archer and I’m the PE teacher and Sports Co-ordinator at St Raphael’s Catholic School. I was fortunate to have had a wonderful opportunity to represent Australia at the Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada in 1978 and in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1986. The event I competed in was the javelin, which is part of the Track & Field, or Athletics program of the Games

What did you have to do to get into the Commonwealth Games?

I had to practise (or train) very hard for 6 out of 7 days each week to improve my performance. My training consisted of doing much of throwing of the javelin to improve my technique – I probably have done tens of thousands of throws (if not more!) during my career. I also had to practise sprinting so I could be fast in my run-up of the javelin. Finally, I had to do much strength training, particularly weight training, so I could increase my overall body strength and power, to help me throw the javelin further and further.

Tell us about your Commonwealth Games experience?

It was a wonderful experience. Firstly, I got to compete against some of the best female throwers in the world at the time, which inspired me to do my best. Secondly, being a member of the Australian Athletics team, gave me an opportunity to be alongside and get to know some of the best athletes in Australia at the time e.g. Raelene Boyle, Glynis Nunn, Robert De Castella. Finally, the Commonwealth Games experience gave me an opportunity to travel across the world to countries I may not have visited otherwise. I feel very privileged and grateful for having had the opportunity to represent my country and the joy and pride it has given me.

What did you learn from this experience?

I’ve learnt much from my Commonwealth Games experiences. Most importantly, to be successful and continue to improve in any goal that you may set yourself in your life, you must keep working at it – it takes much hard work and training – it can take years of training to reach your goal. You will face setbacks in working towards your goal – you’ll have moments of failure even. When this happens, you need to be resilient and work through the adversity and ‘bounce back’.

How do you bring those principles to St Raphael’s Catholic School?

I believe the principle of being prepared to work hard to achieve your goals flows onto my job as a PE teacher. I strive to give my students learning opportunities to teach them to take responsibility for their own health and safety by being active and ‘moving their body’. Over my years at St Raphael’s, I’ve worked hard to give students various sporting experiences and opportunities to encourage them to be active in the present and hopefully in the future. I also believe that participating in sport can bring you much happiness and satisfaction – it not only keeps you healthy, which is very important, but it helps you learn how to work in a team. It is also a great opportunity to meet new people and form friendships.

What are the main dispositions you help St Raphael’s Catholic School learners to develop?

RESPONSIBILITY

I want our learners to learn to take responsibility for keeping their own bodies healthy by ‘moving their bodies’, not just as children, but as they grow into adulthood – be lifelong movers!

RESILIENCE

Learning new skills can be tricky – we don’t often ‘get it’ straight away. It is a matter of practising over and over again. In these situations, we need to be resilient and keep trying, because with practise, we will improve and reach the goals we set for ourselves.

COLLABORATIVE

When playing in a team, you definitely need to be collaborative – learning and working together, as you learn new skills. Sharing your ideas, listening to others’ ideas when working out a problem or coming up with a strategy you’ll use in your game. If you use your collaborative skills, you will certainly be a good team member.

Finally how can these dispositions help our learners into the future?

My hope is that St Raphael’s School learners will continue to use these learner dispositions into the future, as it will not only help them when playing sport, but it will assist them in living happy and successful lives.

Stay healthy and active.