CLASS ACTIVITIES
Year 6 - Canberra
Our Year 6 students enjoyed a wonderful day on Friday in Week 7. We visited Canberra and had the opportunity to tour Parliament House, the National Electoral Education Centre and the War Memorial. We would like to thank the Australian Government who sponsor this educational opportunity which allows the students to consolidate their learning about democracy and the Australian system of voting as part of their unit of study.
Student reflections:
I really enjoyed the War Memorial, my appreciation for all the soldiers who put their lives on the line grew even further. One of my favourite parts was the Wall of Remembrance, with all the poppies. To see all the people that fought for us was truly amazing, I can't imagine leaving my own family to serve my country. I am very grateful and thankful for what those soldiers experienced to keep our country safe.
- Clementine H
The Canberra excursion was amazing. We visited Parliament House where we have a tour of the chambers and then participated in a role play of the House of Representatives passing a bill/new law. After lunch, we visited the Electoral Education Centre to learn more about voting. We ended our day at the War Memorial to learn about what our soldiers went through in all wars they have been to. After our long day, we went home to share our adventures with our families.
- Conor S
At Parliament House, we did a role play of making a new law and we also had a tour. I learnt heaps on the tour, for example; there is a fountain in the middle of Parliament House so that no one can be in the middle of the place. We then visited the Electoral Centre to learn about how preferential voting works. Our last stop was the War Memorial, it was really interesting but also very sad. I had the best time in Canberra!
- Alexander T
I really enjoyed the War Memorial, it made me really wish I was there thanking the soldiers because we don't realise how lucky we are compared to other children around the world. The grave of the unknown soldier was my favourite part of the memorial. The roof on the inside was spectacular, it made me feel a little emotional and gave me a feeling of safety and hope - hope that no one has to go through what those soldiers went through again. It left me speechless. I couldn't stop staring.
- Torah W
Parliament House was a great experience and I liked that we already knew quite a lot about it so we could answer most of the questions quite easily. I also thought it was very spectacular how much detail they put into the building itself, like fossils in the huge chunks of marble. Although we didn't get to see any parliamentarians, I liked when we got to pretend to be them during the role play. All in all, I loved going to Parliament House and when the bus rolled away I felt I would have liked to explore more. It was an amazing experience.
- Hamish McR
When we went to Canberra, we visited the National Electoral Education Centre. We learnt more about preferential voting in Australia. We watched a video of how voting has changed over the years and then we completed a lot of different activities. Our class then got to participate in a fake vote. Charlotte and I were the electoral officials, ticking off our classmates' names as they came to "vote" and Conor was the ballot box guard. The whole class voted on their favourite fruit. After everybody made their vote in order of their preference, Darcy, Zac, Hayden and Lucas counted the votes until Peach won with an absolute majority. Overall, I had fun and it was interesting.
- Hugh White
