Excitement is ramping up at St Augustine’s Parish School (SAPS) as a new skateboarding space begins to take shape.
Young enthusiasts at the Salisbury R-6 school are collaborating with Year 11 and 12 students at Thomas More College (TMC) to design and build ramps to extend their current equipment and help develop their skateboarding skills.
The cross-school collaboration was inspired after SAPS Year 5 teacher Dave Cottrell shared his passion for skateboarding with upper primary students from the school. It quickly became a hit and the school’s inaugural Skate Club was formed in 2022.
Every week, up to 20 students in two ability groups come together to learn new tricks and techniques.
“One of the highlights has been having several of the advanced riders be able to ‘drop in’ to the quarter pipe,” Mr Cottrell says.
“Watching them overcome their fears and experience unbridled joy is amazing.”
Last year, the students visited the Skatepark at Virginia Grove who sponsored the Skate Club, where they could fully test out all they had learned. Now the school is investing in more infrastructure.
“The visit to Virginia Grove showed we needed more equipment here to extend students’ skills,” principal Dan Cowan says.
“Knowing part of the Years 11 and 12 curriculum at TMC is to design and build things, I could see a good way of connecting with them.”
SAPS students created video clips and sent them to TMC, where design tech teacher Billy Blauhoefer-Clogg has since been supervising the design and construction of two ramps.
“So far, our Year 11 student Austin has begun construction of one of the skate ramps,” he says.
“Tom in Year 12 has come up with some designs and we have finalised which design he will create. We’re aiming to get Skate Club to come to TMC and check out some of the production process.”
For Skate Club members, the opportunities to test their limits both on and off the skate park has sparked their own emotional growth.
“We have seen one girl’s confidence grow and develop and she’s one of our student leaders this year,” Mr Cowan says.
“We’re not saying it’s just because of Skate Club but something changes within you when you try something difficult and scary and you overcome it. That permeates everything else that you do.”
Choosing a school is one of a parent's most important decisions. Your child will spend 13 years at school, so you’ll want to make the right choice for your child!
