Senior School News
Year 7 Art Activity, Lake Burrendong 2021
Mr A Orme-Smith
During the annual Year 7 Camp at Lake Burrendong Sport and Recreation facility, some students elected to take part in a Visual Arts workshop. The beautiful location made Landscape an obvious focus. Three girls and seven boys opted to have a later dinner and instead headed down to the edge of the lake to commence the activity.
Standing amongst the trees above the high water mark, we took in the landscape by closing our eyes! Absorbing the sounds of leaves crunching underfoot, the hint of a breeze, the smells of the gum trees and native pines, we considered the sense of place. We imagined how the landscape had changed over time, what it was like hundreds of years ago, and what it might be like in the future.
Having done this, we opened our eyes to enjoy the visual bounty of the view. The green riparian land stretched to the water, silver in its reflection of the distant sky. Ridges of native bushland receded in deepening shades of blue to the horizon of hills. All of this was framed by ironbark trees.
Having considered these aspects, we collected a few leaves, sand and charcoal from an old campfire and headed back to the camp where tables had been set up with some art supplies. The process involved painting a number of sheets with colours inspired by what we had seen, with the paint applied to suggest the textures of the landscape. While these dried we created rubbings from the leaves and twigs to add elements from the landscape. Strips were then torn from the painted paper and arranged to convey receding space.
Charcoal drawing over the top suggested the framing tree trunks and monoprints of leaves provided a final layer.
The aim of the process was to create an artwork that introduced these students to the meditative joys of art, where the process of creation is born from immersive reflection and a sense of place.
Duke of Edinburgh
Liam Callaghan
DUKE OF EDINBURGH ADVENTEROUS JOURNEY
KOSCIUSZKO NATIONAL PARK, 28-31 MARCH
The Bronze and Silver Duke of Edinburgh participants travelled to Kosciuszko National Park to complete their adventurous journey component of their award. The journey consisted of three days hiking through the alpine environment of Kosciuszko National Park.
Day 1 consisted of an 12km exploration into the unique flora and fauna of the area and accounting for the changes in environment in respect to altitude. Day 2, the Dukies travelled to Charlottes Pass and hiked the Main Range Track a 23km loop that takes you to the top of Australia. The weather was amazing, and students were able to explore the alpine lakes and account for glacial erosional process that have shaped the environment millions of year ago. Day 3 comprised of a short walk at Dead Horse Gap and they completed some skills on navigation and campcraft. It was a wonderful way to finish the term, all participants displayed excellent teamwork and resilience.
DUKE OF EDINBURGH ADVENTEROUS JOURNEY
GOLD EXPEDITION GREAT NORTH WALK, 13 – 18 APRIL
Fraser Molloy, Catie Crisp, Angel Newham, Griffin Robinson and Katie Tink participated in the Outward Bound, Thornley to Wondabyne expedition. The hike travelled through Kuringai-Chase National Park. The section travelled is a section of the Great North Walk. Over the 6 days and 5 nights the group travelled 74 km. Highlights of the hike included lookouts throughout the National Park, swimming in creeks and bays and spending time around a fire cooking at night.
Debating in Dubbo
Justina Holland
Despite all debates being close, we were unable to record a win across the three teams, however, as George Hogg (Year 8) proudly stated, each team came second. The Principal at Macquarie Anglican Grammar publicly congratulated our students on their friendliness and manners.
