Grade 5/6

Life on the ACPS Goldfields

Your child may have come home talking about 'The Gold Game'. During our morning sessions, students are exposed to what life was like back in 1851, during the goldrush era. A regular comment we hear in our classrooms is, "it's not fair!" and they are very quickly learning that life WASN'T always fair on the goldfields. Some students feel excitement, as they find many ounces of 'gold' in their plot each morning, whilst others don't feel as lucky, getting a mere 1 ounce. They are able to assay their gold for pounds (the currency used back then). But they are very quick to learn that their luck can change, depending on the 'chance card' they choose at random each morning - some students lose the lot, whilst others may double their 'earnings'. They are required to buy a gold licence with their money and can get fined for not having one- it is always fun for the government when a miner is caught out!!

Some students have started to create their own businesses selling things, such as 'medicines' - see the photo of Tom and Joel below who have already sold out and plan to restock!