DESPITE school students dancing for rain there's still no precipitation in sight, and it's likely the next week will be a scorcher, with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees every day.
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Students from Clergate, Calare and Millthorpe public schools and St Mary's Catholic Primary School participated in Bust the Dust, a rain dance inspired by the students of St John's Parish School at Trangie.
For Clergate students, many of them living on properties, the cause hit particularly close to home.
Tully Philpott said his family now stood in a bucket to wash. "We get a sponge and wash ourselves," he said.
Jayden Innes said his family often stuck to three showers a week to save water.
While many families still keep animals, the drought has also affected crops.
Harry Stubbs said his family usually grew lucern but was not at the moment due to the drought, while Oliver Fowler said his family was having some success with brassicas, a type of forage crop.
WATCH: St Mary's student dance...
They joined more than 80 classmates in an indoor rain dance on Friday, following the choreography set down by the Trangie students.
They finished the day with an hour-long disco.
Clergate Public School principal Natalie Philpott said with term ending on Wednesday, it was a good way to end the school year.
"It's fantastic just for them to be able to support other schools and know they are having some impact," she said.
Mrs Philpott said the drought had been front of mind for the students.
Mrs Philpott said they helped to put together care packages for Cumnock, which has been suffering particularly hard under drought conditions.
Meanwhile, St Mary's students took their dance outside, kicking up the dust between the remnants of their playground's grass.
However, no rain is predicted in the immediate term.
Record hot conditions are predicted in the coming week, with Wednesday tipped to push the thermometer to 35 degrees and Thursday to 37 degrees.
Rainfall remains shy of the driest December on record, in 2001, where 22.5 millimetres fell - so far, 15 millimetres have fallen.
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