Scotch College

A day of fable, fairyland and food

A great day of fabulous entertainment for Junior School students.

Words: Leo Hurley, Year 6G • LOTE Captain Photography: Jocelyn Pride

German Day 2007 – Friday 5 June – was a day to remember, with boys from Years 1 to 6 enjoying a wide range of fabulous entertainment, including a play, storytelling and a visit to a surprise fairytale destination.

Much planning had gone into the day’s activities by all staff, especially Frau Cornelia. Everyone was looking forward to a wonderful time during our surprise fairytale trip, and having some fun in a German-style environment.

The day started on a high with a very impressive play at morning assembly. William Maginness acted as Frau Viehmann (die Märchenfrau), Lachlan Phillip and I played the role of the two Grimm brothers, and many others played different roles in an overview of some of the fairytales that Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm recorded (which we had been learning at School). Even Mr Nicol and Mr Leith joined in, playing the hilarious and much suited roles of the two ugly sisters in the story of Aschenputtel.

The School was treated to revised versions of Rotkäppchen, Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten, Aschenputtel and Hansel and Gretel. A fabulously choreographed dance by Frau Cornelia and her husband, Larry, lit up the day even more. Evan Xia, Jonty Pedersen, Damian Di Donato, James Malon, Hamish Dennis, Matthew Lew and Lachlan McAuley presented it and received thunderous applause for their great efforts. With happy thoughts and excitement pumping through their veins, the School set off on numerous buses to Anakie Fairytale Park.

The activities included the awesome Camelot Adventure Playground, an intriguing storyteller, a hunt to answer questions about fairytales within the park, and a puppet theatre showing the tale of Hans und die Hexe. The adventure playground activities included finding our way through sneaky escape tunnels, to sliding down a massive slide and whizzing around and around on a huge rotating wheel till we felt dizzy.

The storyteller was set on the top of the mountain, looking over the whole valley. The teacher told a story very passionately, using amazing expressions and playing the accordion impressively to finish off the tale.

The next activity involved an exhilarating race against the clock to find all 30 fairytale statues around the park in our peer support groups, and answer questions about them. This was a fantastic experience, as it involved teamwork, thinking, leadership and a bit of running too. Each boy also received an edible Haribo prize for his efforts.

Finally, the fourth activity was listening to the well-known fairytale of Hans und die Hexe, only with some differences. This was a great opportunity for students and teachers to laugh while getting seriously spooked by a person with some puppets. The puppeteer worked very hard to prepare the play, and all the boys were grateful for the fun they had while enjoying a great show.

After a fantastic day at Anakie Fairy Park, everyone from Years 1 to 6 would like to thank Frau Cornelia, her husband, Larry, Mrs Richardson, Mr Mackenzie and all other staff and parents involved for making the day very special for the students. We can’t wait for what’s around the next corner in German this year. Danke und auf Wiedersehn! GS