by Nicholas Duck
Trafalgar Primary School's sports program continues to go from strength to strength after taking home Primary School of the Year at the School Sports Victoria (SSV) Awards last month.

The win marks the second consecutive year the school has been recognised by SSV, having claimed the Outstanding School and Community Partnership award last year.
The school has largely found success thanks to its collaboration with local sporting clubs and community groups inviting them to deliver their expertise on their sport of choice.
In return, the school has looked to help boost their participation numbers with interested students.
Traditional sports like football, netball and cricket have sat in the curriculum alongside less mainstream activities like hip hop dance lessons, taekwondo and even NFL Flag.
Trafalgar Primary School sport and physical education teacher Rick White said the original idea was that the school could act as a "community hub."
"It was essentially just trying to build those relationships to make them stronger so we can support each other," he said.
"I think offering some of those less traditional sports, giving them some sporting avenues, has helped increase the number of students interested in sport instead of it just being physical contact winter sports."
The school's recognition this year came from building on the program, which kicked off in 2023.
Increased participation numbers in inter-school competitions has seen a bevy of success for Trafalgar Primary, with the trophy cabinet certainly a little more full than it used to be.
"It's more about the amount of kids we have participating as the first criteria, and the second one is the quality of our performances," Mr White said.
"That's essentially what we've done for the last two years post-COVID and we feel pretty good about it."
Travelling to the MCG for the ceremony, school officials - including the sports captains - got the chance to bask in their accomplishments.
Giving kids a chance to try all kinds of sports and pick the one that works best for them has been one of the highlights.
"I think that's one of the biggest perks of the program, we can offer kids such a variety that they can find their strengths and find some avenue towards physical activity and community sport where they feel like they belong," Mr White explained.
"To offer other opportunities where we're testing other skillsets and we're exposing them to that I think is a really positive thing."
Now looking to keep building on the program, including after-school offerings, Mr White said it had been a major team effort to get this far, with everyone from parents to staff donating their time.
"There's a lot of people who contribute to this and that's probably the thing that humbles me the most, just recognising those contributions."