Exciting opportunities await 39 students of Bishop Druitt College who are embarking on overseas excursions this week. Students will be visiting India, America and Japan experiencing diversity and growth while safely exploring the world. 

BDC is passionate about creating innovative, educational and real-world opportunities for students to develop global competence, character and understanding leading them to become world prepared citizens. 

NASA Space Camp

America will welcome 14 Bishop Druitt College students as they attend Space Camp at NASA from 12 – 20 October. These students along with two staff members will begin their Space Academy Young Astronaut program. Some of the activities in the program include: underwater Astronaut Trainer (UAT) scuba diving course, aviation challenge Jet Simulators and Centrifuge course, Mission Control Centre work, learning about the science behind Space Flight, model rocket making, Simulated Space Flight missions, and students will conclude their program with a graduation ceremony. 

‘Heading to the NASA Space Camp is a great opportunity for our students, as it opens up their minds to realise that a space program career is accessible to them’ Troy Sodeau, Teacher at BDC. 

Round Square trip to India

Three students and one teacher are visiting Indore in central India from 1 – 10 October as part of the Round Square program attending the International Round Square Conference. Students will participate in discussion groups with 600 other students from all over the world. They will attend forums with guests speakers, have adventure days, service days where they will help local charities and participate in the local fun run through the city, raising money for the local cancer institute. 

‘I would hope students will come back with a deeper appreciation of the 6 round square ideals of internationalism, democracy, environmentalism, adventure, leadership, and service and their ‘real-life’ applications in the world’. Nadene Flick, International Program Coordinator at BDC. 

Japan tour

The main island of Japan will welcome 22 students and three staff from Bishop Druitt College from 25 September – 8 October. Travelling via Singapore to Hiroshima students will sightsee the Bomb Dome, Peace Park and hang the paper cranes the Year 5 – Year 9 students have made for world peace and kindness. 

Students will enjoy Miyajima Island, Karaoke, Kyoto and participate in a 10-hour sightseeing tour and a trip to Nara to visit the Big Budda and see some wild deer roaming the streets. After a few exciting days in the old capital they will head to Osaka to explore the region and attend an Okonomiyaki cooking class and visit Universal Studios. The group will then head via Shinkansen (Bullet train) to Ueda Nishi to visit our sister school and participate in their school program and will be hosted by Japanese families. The high school students will attend the high school and our primary students will be the first-ever to start the primary to primary sister school relationship with Nishi Primary School, in Ueda Nagano. 

‘This is such a fantastic cultural trip and our students will benefit so much from language opportunities, cultural experiences and host family support.’ April Harris, Teacher at BDC.