HUMANITIES

MCKINNON SENIOR GLOBAL POLITICS STUDENTS ATTEND ABC'S Q & A PROGRAM 

On Monday 6 March, a group of Years 11 and 12 Politics students were lucky enough to have the chance to travel to the ABC Studios in Southbank to be part of the live Q+A show audience. 

This was a great experience, where we saw host Stan Grant alongside a panel which included politicians Matt Thistlethwaite and Andrew Bragg. After arriving at the studio, we were able to catch a glimpse of the ABC News Studio before we headed into the Q+A theatre. I was lucky enough to be able to ask a question to Andrew Bragg, where I questioned him on the Liberal Party position on the upcoming referendum on the Voice to Parliament. 

It was a nervous wait, but after about 45 minutes into the show I finally got my chance to speak on national television. It was a great experience, the only disappointing part was that they didn’t come back to me on a follow-up question due to time constraints. At the end of the show, I was fortunate enough to be able to shake hands with Stan Grant and get a photo with him. Everyone had a fantastic time and I think most of us were captured on screen in the audience, especially in the first segment where Stan spoke in the audience.

Jack Graffeo

Year 11 Student

HISTORY HOLOCAUST REFLECTION

Overall, the Melbourne Holocaust Museum was a very positive and enjoyable learning experience for myself and my peers. It shed a light on what people truly experienced in the Holocaust and helped us reflect on what we have done in the past so it does not happen again. 

On the day we started off by analyzing some historical evidence from the Holocaust such as documents, photos, journals and a passport. The passport was very interesting as it had a big J on it, We learnt that the J was used to seclude Jewish people and that this helped the Germans maintain control over them. 

To wrap up the day we had the chance to speak to a Holocaust Survivor whose name was John Lamovie, he was a young kid in France when the Holocaust happened and told us about his experiences and the trials and tribulations he and his family faced, he talked about how he had to hide his identity in his everyday life just to survive and learn. This chat with John was very influential and touched many people's hearts.

Ben Lewis 

Year 10 Student

YEAR 7 ARCHAEOLOGY PRESENTATION

On Friday 17 March, Year 7 History students attended the Lecture Theatre for a presentation on Ancient Egypt from Dr Richard Long, a famous archaeologist and one of our wonderful Assistant Principals at McKinnon. 

We learnt about the history of Ancient Egypt beginning with the importance of the River Nile, the longest river in the world, that flows through Egypt. Dr Long explained the famous tombs and temples of Egypt that are still standing today. Some of which are the Great Pyramids of Giza and The Valley of The Kings. We learned about some of the famous Kings or “Pharaohs”, hieroglyphics, papyrus and the amazing obelisks. Dr Long explained how many artefacts from Ancient Egypt have been taken to different countries around the world, but that this is no longer allowed. 

Dr Long shared his past career as an archaeologist with the Year 7s. Dr Long worked on a major excavation project at Mut al-Kharab in Dakhleh Oasis in Egypt’s Western Desert. He helped to excavate ancient buildings, houses, lots of pottery and a large temple dedicated to the god Seth. We saw how ancient life was preserved well and people’s religions and cultures. 

At the end of the presentation, we saw some ancient artefacts such as an accountant's book, old columns and a small ceramic hippopotamus made by Ancient Egyptians. Dr Long showed us what stratigraphy was and how it is so important. Stratigraphy is the different layers of Earth and waste, and rubble that shows us a little into the past of what was on a site first. 

We would like to finish by thanking Dr Long for taking the time to teach us about Ancient Egypt, as it was a really interesting and informative presentation. 

Kenath Silva & Josh Chan

Year7 Students