So Many Students

A sea of faces. A hubbub of voices. Watchful staff. Treasured guests, some associated with the school for more than 50 years, stepping carefully to their seats, mouths agape at 1600 students - yes, that is our student roll today - crowding into the basketball courts for our long-awaited whole-school assembly for Founders' Day.

Of great delight to the younger students was the montage of photos, shown as we all arrived, highlighting life at DCC from the very beginning. Even for the older ones amongst us - did we really wear jeans like that? Have our hair like that?? 

Take a look at the pictures for yourself here on Flickr - maybe you're in there somewhere? 

If you click the icon that looks a bit like this near the top right of the screen you get a slide show to look at while you drink your coffee ...

This was the first time for many years that we have brought the whole school, Primary and Secondary, together for an assembly. Despite the size of the basketball courts, we weren't even sure how we'd manage it - how long would it take to get in? To get out? Would everybody do what we wanted them to do??

In the end it was a resounding success, and a fine rehearsal for what will be an even bigger Founders' Day event on Friday 14 February next year, as we dedicate a year of Jubilee celebrations to God's faithful care - Donvale will be 50 years old in 2025.

The time we spent together was rich, as students and staff alike heard stories of God's incredible faithfulness and provision throughout the generations. David Dawson passionately spoke about the vision of our founding families and their sincere desire and commitment in pursuing the dream God placed within their hearts. He empowered each individual to rise up and take the baton from those who had gone before, boldly stepping into the purpose to which God called them. What an incredibly stirring challenge for us all!

Here's a short video where students from our very early days reminisce about their time at Donvale: