In a small Victorian country town, just north of the Grampians, fifty primary school students are eagerly waiting to chat with the two-time Olympic triathlete Courtney Atkinson.
In a small Victorian country town, just north of the Grampians, fifty primary school students are eagerly waiting to chat with the two-time Olympic triathlete Courtney Atkinson.
The students from Horsham West Public School are participating in the Australian Olympic Committee’s (AOC) Chat to a Champ program. They will spend thirty minutes talking to Atkinson in a web video conference.
“The students are very much looking forward to meeting and talking with Courtney,” school teacher Ben Miatke said.
“Being from a small country town we try to engage our students by meeting interesting people using web video conferencing. Certainly an Olympian is very exciting.”
The students have prepared for the chat by developing a biography on Atkinson using the athlete profiles available on the AOC website – www.olympics.com.au
With a school motto of ‘onward and upward’ the students of Horsham West are currently looking at the importance of inspiration.
“The students are asking Courtney about what inspires him to train the way he does,” Miatke said. “All the students have written questions and as a group we have selected the best to put forward to him.”
The students will be seated in the Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) classroom and all will be able to participate and view the chat using the class’s interactive smartboard.
Also participating in the program this week are students from Forest Street Primary School, located just outside of Ballarat Victoria. They will chat with South Australian Becchara Palmer, who competed in Beach Volleyball at the 2012 Olympic Games.
Chat to a Champ facilitates the opportunity for primary school students across Australia to chat with their Olympian heroes. Olympians are able to convey the positive impact sport has had on their life.
By facilitating interaction between students and Olympians, Chat to a Champ introduces young people to web video communication in a safe, mediated and structured forum and facilitates ICT skills.
Each term, up to 18 primary schools have the opportunity to participate in Chat to a Champ. The program is fully funded by the AOC, which provides the required equipment to schools, including laptops, webcams and internet access.
Teachers can apply to participate in the program by completing the Chat to a Champ form on the AOC Website – olympics.com.au/education
