19 students in Year 5/6 at St John's Parish School in Trangie came up with the idea of a simultaneous 'bust the dust' dance event that took place at 1pm on Friday, December 13.

The students created the #BustTheDust dance to give all school communities a way to show support for rural areas.

Students were hoping to get the 18 schools in their diocese involved but after the release of their viral Facebook video, more than 600 schools across the nation took part on Friday - including St Michael's Nowra.

Year 3 teacher at St Michael's, Emma-Kate Callaghan, said the dance helped students understand the scope of the drought.

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"A lot of children have been talking about the drought, and this was an opportunity to be part of something bigger," she said.

"I don't think they had an idea of how bad it was before. This has given them a better understanding of how big the problem is, and how close it is to us."

Year 5/6 St John's teacher Emma Wilson said the idea came to her small group of students when they were learning about the drought.

She said lifting the spirits of their tiny town, and indeed all drought-affected communities, was vital.

"It's incredibly important and I think children are often forgotten in the middle of a drought," Ms Wilson said.

"Often people don't ask what they're seeing, what they're noticing and how they're feeling."