Defence dogs' visit goes off with a bang

STUDENTS from West Moreton Anglican College commemorated Anzac Day by getting up close and personal with three RAAF explosive detector dogs.

Labradors Lucy and Zac and kelpie Esky, together with their personal handlers, demonstrated their unique skills to students from Years 3-6 on the school's main oval.

The luckiest students were members of Year 6 class 6H who had one on one time with the lovable visitors after the class won the WestMAC Anzac Day poster competition with its entry honouring the Rats of Tobruk.

The school enjoys a higher than average enrolment of children from service families because of its proximity to the Amberley air force base, and the college's defence transitions co-ordinator Belinda McCreath said events like this helped all students understand the role of the defence force.

"Our role is to help defence children transition into the school and be proud of the jobs their parents do," Ms McCreath said. "And to give other students knowledge about what the parents of their classmates do.

"This is a way of saying what the defence forces do, in a non threatening way for kids."

Following the explosive detector dogs' visit, students joined local politicians and defence force personnel for an Anzac Day commemoration service in the school auditorium.