Beyond the Classroom

Acoustic guitars hanging on the wall within the music room.

Beyond the Classroom

At MVAC we recognise that education does not always occur within the classroom. MVAC offers a rich and diverse extracurricular program for our Senior School students providing a range of activities for them to explore and discover.

MVAC has a proud tradition of educating the whole child. This involves providing opportunities above and beyond the classroom. These can come from a variety of interest areas including sport, music, education enhancement, agriculture, drama and Christian fellowship.

Sport

MVAC is a member of the HRIS (Hunter Region Independent Schools) association. This provides a representative sporting pathway for our students. We offer a challenging and variety filled senior school recreational sport program for Years 7-10.

Our Junior School students don’t miss out on sporting opportunities either with many visiting facilitators supporting skill development, fitness and game skills.

Interschool sport includes local matches against other schools along with the major HRIS carnivals and gala days. We are proud of how our students perform often competing against schools with much larger populations.

MVAC boasts a strong rowing team developed through a partnership with the Manning River Rowing Club. Students compete in local club regattas, independent schools’ regattas and at NSW State Championships.

Students wearing swim caps of red, blue and yellow waiting within the water to begin the 50m backstroke race at the swimming carnival

five students smiling while on camp wearing bright blue helmets and abseiling gear.

Outdoor Education

Students in Years 3-12 are involved in a sequential and appropriately challenging outdoor education program. All senior school students go on camp at the same time and the junior school program provides for an appropriate level of challenge in the choice of venue and activities. We use a variety of well-known venues and our staff are actively involved in supporting the program. Outdoor education provides our students with chance to challenge themselves in adventure style environment.

Performing arts

MVAC continues to grow our co – curricular performing arts programs and we are known throughout the community for valuing the arts. The guidance of our specialist teachers encourages students of all abilities from Kindergarten to Year 12 to explore their creative talents.

We have a range of ensembles across the CAPA department within Music, Dance and Drama who perform regularly within the community.

Students on stage performing during the 2022 Musical performance We WIll Rock You.

Our rich music program provides students with the opportunity to be involved in bands, small ensembles and choirs. These groups perform at school events and at the local eisteddfod and we are proud of our achievements in the musical sphere.

We have a focus upon contemporary music and there are several very talented rock bands that perform at school events and at the local eisteddfod. The small ensembles are growing in popularity as are our choirs.

The senior school musical is held bi-annually and is a huge event that draws large crowds to local venues to see our students perform. The musical is a highlight cultural event of the year that it is performed in. Our students look forward to the announcement of each upcoming musical.

We aim to showcase our Junior School artistic abilities at the annual MVAC Art Showcase.

Debating team in progress during an online debating match.

Other Activities

Our students compete in HICES and HRIS debating and public speaking competitions and we have a record of pleasing success in these areas. We are also heavily involved in verse speaking, debating and public speaking at local eisteddfods.

MVAC also provides opportunities for students to compete in academic competitions such as Da Vinci Decathlon and Tournament of Minds. Cerebral pursuits such as chess are always popular, and we compete locally and within the region.

Cattle Team

The MVAC Cattle Team is a very popular activity with large amounts of student and parent support. Our team presents at local shows and Wingham Beef Week, and we have also had students be selected for the Sydney Royal Easter Show. The Cattle Team is a unique team based competitive activity where students learn to care for the cattle along with the finer details of showing the cattle in front of a crowd.

Student crouched down feeding the MVAC cows straw hay.

Students performing the eagle during a traditional dance performance with arms outstretched, fingertips to the sky, right hand up high, left hand down low.

Indigenous Dance Group

We started the MVAC Indigenous students dance group in 2023 under the Waratah Project initiative. This activity builds pride in Indigenous culture and allows self-expression in a culturally appropriate environment for our students.

Beyond the Classroom