Primary Happenings
Art: Year 2 Excursion NGV
Zoe Hardy, Primary Art Teacher
What a beautiful day it was for our Year 4 excursion to THE LUME Melbourne! With the sun shining brightly, our students set off excited to immerse themselves in the world of art - and what an experience it turned out to be!
Students surprised themselves by enjoying “real art” so well! Seeing pieces on a screen is one thing, but it never quite compares to being able to see light play on real objects and truly observe the size, depth and texture. It was a privilege to witness their delighting. One piece, a 60m long ceiling made of stained glass, could only be enjoyed because God made the sun shine on the other side! It was a good reminder that without Him, there is much we can not enjoy!
We’ve been humbled in class by Hokusai’s claim that he couldn’t make “good” art until his 60’s, and this experience encouraged us to keep persevering in wondering, honing our skills and reflecting on the ideas presented to us by others.
Students took pleasure considering the variety of mediums which artists choose to learn about, manipulate and master so that they could share their perceptions or values to their audiences.
We are grateful for the experience, thank you!
Production Performance Groups
Jude Shields, Head of Senior Primary
Rehearsals for Alice in Wonderland Jr have officially begun in Senior Primary, with all students from Years 3-6 getting involved. On Tuesday afternoons, our performing groups are diving into learning their songs and choreography, while our non-performing groups are busily creating makeup designs, painting sets, making props and generating digital media to bring the production to life. Our main cast and character choir have already been hard at work and it’s fantastic to now have the whole Senior Primary cohort on board, as this is truly a team effort.
The story of Alice in Wonderland celebrates curiosity, exploring new ideas and letting our imaginations soar. As our students are preparing for the production and developing their talents, they are also growing in confidence and discovering more about themselves. They are possibly even pondering questions like, “Who am I?”- just like Alice. Students are learning to see the world, and their place in it, through the eyes of the One who made us.
We are excited to present our production of Alice in Wonderland Jr to our DCC community in Week 8 of Term 3.
Young Thinkers Symposium
Ali Coffey, Head of Learning and Curriculum (Primary)
‘ Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.’ 1 Timothy 4:12
Timothy writes these words for those who are new in their faith as well as those young in age; an encouragement demonstrated by some of our Primary and Secondary students who presented at our recent Young Christian Thinkers Symposium.
This event, organised by Christian Education National (CEN), began in March with a ‘Catalyst Colloquium’, which brought together groups of students from different Christian schools to hear (online) 3 speakers present on what it means to be followers of Christ today, focusing on three areas of contemporary life:
- Creativity and the Arts
- Artificial Intelligence and Transhumanism
- Health and Wellbeing
Our student teams were asked to provide a response that connects directly or indirectly to one of these themes.
A few busy months, much thinking and discussion, and lots of creative planning time later, our three groups were ready to present. With just 10 minutes to share their critical or creative response to the theme of following Jesus today, our DCC students were incredible in the wisdom, critical thinking and faith-filled insight they presented to their audience.
Primary Group 1, consisting of Ezra Russ, Esther Reichman, Maisie Coffey and Nate Spence, focused on the use of our talents to honour God. The team presented this by exploring the metaphor of light in order to address the barriers and benefits of letting our light shine for Jesus, in today’s world.
Primary Group 2, consisting of Elizabeth Michael, Harper Yek, Wayne You and Xavier Khoo, centred their presentation around the question: Does the user or the maker of technology decide how to use it for good? They wanted to explore in both Scripture and in history how we all have a responsibility to create and use technology for His kingdom, from digital platforms to the simplest pen.
It was an enjoyable day and an example of how our students are bursting with ideas and passion to serve Jesus.
