Primary Life

It has been a busy couple of weeks in the Primary School, with Year 4, 5 and 6 staff and students enjoying their various camps at some of Victoria’s most beautiful locations.

Camps are an important part of our outdoor learning program, providing opportunities for students to experience different experiences, challenge themselves and foster independence as they live away from home for a few days with their peers. With our current focus on “Friendships”, the camps are the perfect training ground for our students to action some of their learning by implementing some of the strategies we have introduced, as they learn to navigate and negotiate the realities of relationships within these settings. 

It has been a delight to listen to reflections from staff, who have all shared enthusiastic recounts of the time spent with students at camp. I congratulate the students for being courageous, fun-loving and resilient, and thank the staff for the incredible work they put into each of the camp experiences, enabling them to be such a success! I’m sure you will enjoy reading these reflections from the Year 4 and Year 6 campers.

Year 4 Camp Reflections

Pete Evans - Year 4 Classroom Teacher

Beautiful sunshine, energising activities, incredible camp site, around 100 boundlessly energetic Year 4 students, staff and parent helpers, ‘press and go’ coffee machine ... what more could you ask for?! 

The shrieks of laughter and joy resonated for three straight days and nights. We were blessed with closer friendships, worship and adventure. Camp Adanac was truly one of the absolute highlights of 2023. 

Ahhhh and Ooooo Year 6 Camp

Sulari Nielson - Year 6 Camp Coordinator

Blue skies, sunshine and beautiful weather! What an incredible Year 6 camp we had, apart from the rain on the first day. Students encountered new and exciting activities that both challenged and thrilled them. Crate climb was an absolute hit with our school record of 21 crates climbed! 

Canoeing, cooking pancakes, the giant swing and the flying fox were highlights for many. Our Hollywood dress up theme saw some interesting and famous stars walk the red (grey) carpet. These included Audrey Hepburn, Marvel and Star Wars characters, production crew, producers, dinosaurs and many more! 

The talent in Year 6 was showcased by singing, acting and dancing with a few card tricks thrown in!! Thank you to students, parents and staff that made this a such a memorable week.

During camp, we got used to this term: AAAAAAHHHHH!!! It was our daily life on camp, whether we were on the giant swing, climbing crates or falling through the gravity room in Amaze’n Things. 

We also heard it as people ran around trying to find things to stick in their hair on the crazy hair disco night or when we were competing for food by singing, acting or telling jokes at most meals. Again, we may have heard this while trying to sleep or in the early waking hours of the morning. 

We might have heard OOoooooOOOO during the Hollywood costume catwalk or talent show, or even from the parents when they were treated to a special dinner. Our Year 6 camp was a very wholesome, hilarious and fun experience.

                                                                                                  Alastair Phipps, Year 6 Student 

Primary Music Incursions

Judy Paterson - Junior Primary Music

David Bonfa - Senior Primary Music

The Primary music department has been treated to some very special visitors that have conducted workshops at DCC over the past few weeks.

The Year 3 and 5 students were visited by the African Drumming Group. This was an interactive and fun workshop that was run by some expert drummers from West Africa. The students participated in playing authentic African rhythms on the djembes. 

The sound created was intoxicating and the rhythmic pulse was felt across the school. The students also learnt about the culture and history of West Africa. They sang and danced to the vibrant rhythms. This was hopefully an experience that will stay with them in the years to come.

The Prep to Year 2 students were visited by Kaboom Percussion. This is an energetic group that uses everyday items to create very catchy music. The group used things like chairs, cups, and buckets to create some amazing rhythms. The children enjoyed the vibrant show and learnt that music can be made by using things around the house.

We are thankful that we could have these visitors share their gifts and talents with our school community. Hopefully it will inspire our students to use music, dance, and song to serve our Lord.