Year 9-11 Music and Drama students had an amazing two days in Sydney where students participated in a range of activities. It is easy to underestimate the value of an opportunity like this, as there were amazing moments of inspiration and realisation for our students. 

Day 1

Our first stop was UOW, where students were given a guided tour of the university to see the amazing facilities, such as studios and performance spaces. The students were able to learn about some of the tertiary options for Music and Drama students and ask questions of some of the lecturers at the university. Our students were so surprised to learn that the university is like a village with shops and food outlets. Our visit ended with an interesting drama performance followed by a tour to see their swimming pool. A lot of our students end up studying at UOW, and it is wonderful for students to see the amazing facilities and what university life is like. 

We then travelled to our accommodation at The Village in Glebe, and students had approximately 90 mins to shower and get ready for the theatre. Onno, our wonderful bus driver, took us to the Star City Casino, where the students bought dinner in preparation for the musical, ‘Wicked’. The students were in awe of this amazing musical, and it was the highlight of the trip! It is such a treat for our students to see live, professional theatre. After returning to our accommodation, it took a while for the students to wind down as a result of their experience. 

Day 2

We had an early start on Thursday morning as the students needed to be awake at 6.30 am, packed and ready for breakfast at 7.15 am. Drama and Music students headed in different directions to have rich experiences at tertiary institutions and theatre companies. 

The Drama students were lucky to be involved in a fun Drama workshop run by Monkey Baa Theatre, followed by a tour through the Australian Film, Television & Radio School (AFTRS). Students had the opportunity to speak with some of the film industry’s professionals while visiting the film studios, workshops, editing suites, costume and prop rooms, and sound effects studios. 

The Music students visited the Australian Institute of Music (AIM), which was inspirational. We were taken on a guided tour to see their amazing facilities, including classrooms, performance spaces, and recording studios. The students participated in a vocal workshop, songwriting workshop, and performance workshop, which were informative and gave the students an insight into tertiary-style music education. Our students are now more aware of the different course options at AIM and know that a degree in the music industry is within their reach.

A massive thank you to Mr Harding and Mr McCann who accompanied Mrs Lomax and I on this trip. With marking rolls, night supervision and early door knocks to ensure the students were awake and packed up for our 7.15 am breakfast, the trip was action-packed and busy. Thanks also to Ms Julie Davis for her organisation behind the scenes, as well as the staff who taught our classes while we were away. 

Ros Maher
CAPA Coordinator