Our
48 students from Year 6 had a wonderful week in Canberra, their trip including
a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture,
heritage and democracy.
The
Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being
able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship
education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the
Australian Government is contributing funding of $60.00 per student under the
Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate
is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.
We
had a little time to sightsee in Sydney on the way down, enjoying fish and
chips at Bondi Beach. We took in the breathtaking view of the Sydney Harbour
Bridge and the Opera House from The Rocks.
At
the Australian War Memorial, students saw the halls of commemoration for
conflicts since 1945, World War One and World War Two and listened to intriguing
stories of sacrifice and valour while looking at the items on display.
At
Old Parliament House, we completed the Museum of Australian Democracy program
and researched the history of female suffrage and the recognition of Indigenous
people. At Parliament House, students were taken on a tour and debated a bill
from the Senate and were able to see all elements of the law making process.
Students also visited Government House at Yarralumla, residence of the Governor
General.
An
interesting visit was to the Canberra Museum and Gallery, where the various
design plans for our nation’s new capital were exhibited. From Mt Ainslie, we
could see the layout of the winning plans from Walter and Marion Griffin,
architects from the USA. The Royal Australian Mint uses robots in the
manufacture of Australian coins and many students minted their own.
Questacon
was a great visit, students enjoyed exploring the different elements of
science. Students especially enjoyed exploring the laws of physics while going
down a specialised slide. We also enjoyed our visit to the CSIRO and discovered
some fascinating facts about how Australians invented wifi and how the CSIRO
created the polymeric plastic we now use for our bank notes. At the Australian Institute of Sport, we saw their
world class swimming pool, gymnastics centre and strength and conditioning
centre, before putting our sports skills to the test in the Sportex area.
Other
visits included the National Aboretum with trees and shrubs from all around the
world, Cockington Green where everything is in miniature. Many students
experienced rock climbing and bowling for the first time and had a blast
challenging themselves. It couldn’t be a successful Canberra trip without the
snow! Students thoroughly enjoyed throwing snowballs at teachers and racing
each other down the tobogganing hill!
Thank
you to all who helped with the fundraising for our trip, to the teachers who
kept parents updated via the Facebook group and to our students, who made the
trip so enjoyable.