Secondary Life

Year 8 Big Bash and The Hope Tour

Nerilee Rinkquest - Head of Junior Secondary

On 8 August, the Year 8s arrived back from sport to a building freshly decorated with fluoro bunting and balloons, ready for the Big Bash. Our senior school student leaders took time to plan and run this event, led by the Care and Wellbeing Team. 

Classrooms were set up with exciting activities to ensure all the Year 8s had a fun time hanging out with the older students and building their community. Indoor soccer, a disco, movie room and games room were all highlights. It was wonderful to see the conversations and connections made by the younger and older students and see the many creative outfits worn!

This event was closely followed by the Hope Tour on 10 August. This was a special event for Years 7, 8 and 9s. The crew from Unihill Church brought us the Hope Tour which included a Dance Troup (Kulture Break), a fabulous host, guest speaker and Chris Sebastian winner of The Voice 2020. Hope Tour travels to Secondary schools around Australia to spread a message of hope and resilience. 

The performance was inspiring and uplifting for not just our students but also for staff. We enjoyed amazing dance performances from Kulture Break and seeing our enthusiastic students doing Mexican waves in front of the crowd. We were joined at the end of the performance by Chris Sebastian, who sang for us and talked openly about his struggles and how he has overcome them. 

The guest speaker also had a powerful story about finding God and what is important in life. The quick-thinking host brought a beautiful time of prayer to the end of the assembly. A highlight for the students was Chris gracefully having photos taken with all the students and chatting to them afterwards. It was a great joy for the teachers to catch up with two past DCC students, Brittany and Josiah, who are now part of Hope Tour.

Community Events continue this week with our Year 9s involved in Service Week and the Year 7 movie event on Tuesday 12 September. (more to come next issue!)

Check Year 7 Schoolbox page for more information and the QR code to register.  

Science Week

Leanne Benson - Chemistry Teacher

Last week we celebrated National Science Week 2023 with a multitude of exciting events. The students began the week with a psychology taste test and biology challenge, enjoyed making pop rockets and magnetic motors while the staff indulged in a ‘sciencey’ morning tea.

On Thursday, the Year 7s and 8s experienced fire twirling, which attracted a large crowd of students. We thank Mr Gardiner for his amazing knowledge, enthusiasm, and heart for students. Students and staff participated in Science Kahoots covering all the sciences, and in classes many science jokes and memes were uncovered. 

The week ended with two events – Dr Chris Mulherin, Scientist and Theologian (past parent of DCC) spoke at a Q&A session where he engagingly answered student questions regarding “holding true to a Christian faith and being a scientist” in today’s postmodern world. 

In their Cell Program the Year 10s were able to ask Fiona Baxter, Vanessa Botha, Matthew Potter, Vaughan Barras and Chris Mulherin about their career pathways in science. We thank them for their time and energy spent encouraging our students to explore some career pathways.

We would like to thank all students and parents who were involved and the amazing Science staff who ran the events, particularly our amazing laboratory technician, Melanie Armitage – who prepared all the activities. 

Our aim of the 2023 National Science Week was to excite students and show how science can be thought provoking, challenging and fun!

Year 9 Rafting Camp

Ella de Haan - Outdoor Education Trainee

As part of the Year 9 Outdoor Education program several students visited Mitchell River, in beautiful East Gippsland, for a white-water rafting experience. Each group rafted, carrying all their gear, over two days to a couple of camping locations. On the water we rafted down a series of rapids, did lots of paddling and swimming, and had many pockets of learning about the history of the area and the movement of the river.  

On arriving at camp, students were responsible for setting up their own sleeping tarps, lighting a fire, cooking their dinner, and cleaning up. The location hosted a range of wildlife and blossoming wattles. 

The students spotted various species of birds and farm animals, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, water lizards and a platypus. Along the river there were multiple culturally significant areas in which students were able to learn and explore.  

This camp aimed to provide an exciting environment in which students were able to challenge themselves physically and emotionally. We saw students partner together both while paddling and around camp; forging new friendships as they relied upon one another.

Students displayed bravery, initiative, leadership and camaraderie.  

We are so thankful for the opportunity and challenge of this camp; for the way it pushes our students, allows them to grow in relationships, appreciate the environment around them and honour its creator.  

 Student Reflections:

 "I could appreciate the beautiful things, like views, more and (raft camp) made me reflect on my relationship with God since I wasn’t around screens 24/7’" 

Zoe Natsis 

"The Mitchell River was a very beautiful place. The mountains were breathtaking, and there were many birds flying around. It was quite cold there, but luckily it heated up during the day." 

                                                                                                                             Lisa Wildenboer 

"The whole rafting experience was fun, and I was able to relax and just enjoy it. The white water was so much fun because I loved it when we would go fast down the rapids and the strong current would carry us." 

                                                                                                                            Leanne Li Leong