Rye Park Primary School opened its doors to visitors last Wednesday as part of Education Week.
Parents, grandparents, relatives, friends and members of the Rye Park community turned up to see what students can achieve in a community-based school environment.
Following open classrooms, where visitors had the opportunity of seeing what classwork had been recently completed, a special assembly took place.
In line with an Olympics theme, students paraded in colourful costumes representing different nations of the world. Each student made a brief comment about what made a particular country special.
It was impressive to see public speaking skills on display by all ages.
The principal, Mrs Fahey, welcomed everyone and gave an update on school news.
Students then presented well-rehearsed music segments of dancing, singing and guitar-playing.
Visitors were also impressed with several professional presentations that students had created using their Apple iPads.
The presentations were displayed on a large screen in front of the audience.
The school library was the venue for the Book Fair where a wide variety of books were on display for parents to purchase.
At both morning recess and lunchtime, the library was very busy with parents and children browsing and deciding what to order.
The day concluded with the Olympics "Paper Plane Contest".
Teams of three to four students built paper planes and tested them prior to the commencement of the contest. After choosing the most successful plane, they then chose a "pilot".
Some parents and grandparents joined in to offer ideas and to coach.
Tommy Pearsall, a member of the Air League in Canberra, was the official measurer.
The competition was fiercely fought with only 10mm flying distance separating second from third place.
Mrs Fahey presented the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals and interviewed the winners in the style of a professional journalist, just like on television during the real Olympics.
Everyone enjoyed the day.
Parents contributed to a shared morning tea and members of the P&C provided a delicious BBQ lunch.
Clearly, Rye Park Public School gives students much more than just a standard education.
It is a credit to the staff, parents and community to see confident young people showing their talents and definitely enjoying their participation in this dynamic rural school.
