Dara School

At Dara School, we acknowledge National Sorry Day and National Reconciliation Week as important opportunities for reflection, learning and connection. National Sorry Day, held on 26 May, recognises the ongoing impact of the Stolen Generations on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and honours the strength, resilience and healing of First Nations communities.

National Reconciliation Week, from 27 May to 3 June, encourages all Australians to strengthen relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians, grounded in truth, respect and meaningful action. At Dara School, we are committed to nurturing a community that values inclusion, empathy, courage and respect, and we acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we learn and work.

As part of these important dates:
- Level 10+ senior students are leading thoughtful activities for National Sorry Day. These focus on developing understanding of the Stolen Generations, engaging with stories and considering our shared responsibility for truth-telling and reconciliation.

- Other senior teachers and students are also supporting the design and delivery of learning experiences across the school during Reconciliation Week.

- Years 7-9 students will participate in a range of activities throughout Reconciliation Week, exploring culture, history and identity, and building respectful connections through discussion, reflection and collaborative tasks.

These experiences encourage all students to engage meaningfully with the themes of culture, history, identity and reconciliation. We thank the Senior Teaching team and students for their leadership and the care they show in creating opportunities for learning and reflection across our community.

⚫️🟡🔴

We are also honoured to share that our newest member has arrived in time for Reconciliation Week, a generously donated koala, specially created to represent our First Nations peoples. Having travelled all the way from Darwin in the Northern Territory to its new home at Dara School, it will be a meaningful symbol for all to enjoy while learning more about culture, connection and community. We are now seeking a special name for our newest member and invite our community to share ideas, a name that reflects both our First Nations heritage and the values that define the Dara School community.

It is wonderful to see that the environment and teaching practices, underpinned by the Dara model, have enabled our students to not only feel safe and supported to complete NAPLAN, but to also be successful. Through this one small snapshot in their learning journey, our students and staff continue to demonstrate our core values of Courage, Connection, Curiosity, Creativity and Compassion.

We sincerely thank The Advertiser South Australia for the opportunity to share this story and highlight the work of our school.

Please follow the link to enjoy reading.

SA’s Top 100 Private Primary Schools: See the full rankings Evi Wilkinson-Munt moved across the country to study at a boutique Adelaide private school for gifted students.

Don't you love it when age is no barrier to connection.

Level 9+ Excursion: Adelaide Careers Expo
Last Friday, 8th May, our Level 9+ students attended the Adelaide Careers Expo at the Adelaide Showground .
Students explored a wide range of career pathways and post school options, speaking directly with universities, TAFE, training providers, employers and industry groups. Many students discovered new and unexpected pathways, supporting informed thinking about subject choices, future study and career planning.
Thank you to staff and organisers for supporting a valuable and purposeful learning experience beyond the classroom.

What a wonderful way to celebrate Mother’s Day!
Our school Mother’s Day Scone Morning was a huge success, with an amazing turnout from our community.

A big thank you to everyone who came along and made it so special, and a heartfelt thank you to our organisers for putting together such a beautiful event.

We’re so grateful for the ongoing support from our school families—events like this remind us how lucky we are to have such a connected and caring community.

What a fantastic day we had at OSHC on our recent pupil free day with our very own Mini MasterChef!

The children started off the day with designing their very own aprons, adding a personal touch before getting busy in the kitchen

The children stepped into the kitchen with creativity and excitement, taking part in a fun mystery bag challenge where they whipped up their own unique muffin creations. From banana and chocolate to gummies and marshmallows, we saw some truly imaginative flavour combinations during this challenge.

There were plenty of laughs during our blind taste testing challenge too, as the children bravely sampled a variety of foods and tried to guess what they were. The children also enjoyed watching a bit of Is It Cake? for some extra fun and inspiration.

To top off the day, the children worked together to prepare a delicious afternoon tea, making pizza scrolls and putting together fresh fruit and veggie platters to share.

It was a day full of teamwork, creativity, and fun — we’re so proud of our budding young chefs!

We are thrilled to announce that starting in Term 2, our students will be launching an exciting online collaboration programme with students from Shuangliu District Experimental Primary School, Chengdu.
This isn't just about Mandarin. It’s also about building bridges, sharing cultures, and making new friends across the globe. We can't wait to see our students practice their Mandarin skills in real-world conversations and grow as global citizens.
Stay tuned for updates on our journey!

An intellectually gifted learner has innate outstanding ability in one or more areas. As a Centre for Learning, Dara supports gifted learners to develop a strong sense of identity and self-directed learning skills, enabling the pursuit of lifelong personal success.

Dara's Model of Teaching and Learning has been designed to support the Gifted self-directed learner.

Visit the Dara's Model of Teaching and Learning webpage for more information.

Dara’s Model of Teaching and Learning Dara’s Model of Teaching and Learning Supporting the Gifted Self-Directed Learner An intellectually gifted learner has innate outstanding ability in one or more areas. As a Centre for Learning, Dara... Read more

During Week 10, the R/1s went on a community walk, as well as an exploration of the Park Holme Library. The students showed a lot of resilience in walking a reasonable distance and were excited to see some key features of our community, like the Sturt River and Hendrie Street Reserve.

The R/1s enjoyed the opportunity to hear a story read by the lovely Lisa in the Children’s Reading Area. The ‘Possum Magic,’ story aligned nicely with our focus on classic Australian literature and was a wonderful class bonding experience. The students were then given the challenge of finding a book to borrow in pairs. They did achieve this challenge in a short timeframe and showed skills in communication and negotiation, while undertaking this task. On return to school, the children enjoyed reading their stories together, as well as doing some of the fun Easter activities that were collected while at the library.

There were many requests to return to the Park Holme Library again next term and stay for a longer visit. We were very proud of the display of Dara Values that we witnessed throughout this excursion. Well done R/1s!