Year Six
Hello Year Six Families,
This term has bought a lot of exciting times for our Year Six students. We have had an excellent start to our third Unit of Inquiry as students investigate government systems and prepare for our Year Six Election Day.
This week we have been on Saltwater College's Canberra Camp. Our first day involved a lot of travel with students and teachers sitting on the bus for around 10 hours. We passed the time by watching movies singing songs. We made stops at the Holbrook Submarine Park and The Dog on the Tucker Box for rest breaks. When we arrived at our accomodation, students were excited to be allocated their cabins and settle in with friends. After dinner and our talent show, students were keen to get to bed after a long day.
Students had a great experience at Parliament House. They actively participated in a role-play to pass a bill in Parliament to see how everything operates in the House of Representatives. We were then taken on a tour of the House of Representatives where some of our students were lucky enough to witness a vote take place. Students were most excited to meet our local representative for Gellibrand Tim Watts. He shared information about his journey in Parliament as the students ask many inquisitive questions.
At the National Electoral Education Centre students participated in a mock election to learn more about the Preferential Voting System. In the role-play activity, students were able to have special roles such as guarding the ballot box and counting the ballots.
At the Mount Ainslie Lookout, students were able to take in the sights of Canberra with panoramic views.
The students were highly focused at the National Arboretum Canberraas they participated in orienteering. It was a great opportunity for the students to stretch their legs in nature and get some fresh air.
The students participated in a guided tour at the Australian War Memorial. They showed empathy as they learnt about the personal stories of different soldiers, and learnt about the eternal flame and tomb of the unknown soldier.
Students loved adventuring the National Zoo and Aquarium as they viewed all the animals in their enclosures and learnt different facts. Students were lucky enough to hold a snake, and feed the emu, alpacas and deer.
At Government House we learnt amazing facts about the house and the Governor General. Our tour guide was really informative sharing his knowledge about the history of the location. Bus two were incredibly lucky to meet the Governor General when he arrived home during the visit. He took the opportunity to answer the students’ many questions and also stood for a group photo.
The students loved their visit to Questacon. Many students were courageous as they completed the free fall which saw the kids let go and fall smoothly down this 2-storey tall vertical slide. They also really enjoyed the earthquake stimulation room after our recent earthquake in Melbourne.
The students were excited to see the process of making Australian coins at the Royal Australian Mint. They learnt about different robots that are used to make money. The students were also lucky enough to receive a souvenir coin courtesy of their teachers to remember the trip.
Our visit to the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament house saw students accessing their prior knowledge learnt throughout the trip. They were Inquirers when asking questions to make connections between Old Parliament House and our current Parliament House. The students loved that they had the opportunity to sit in the original Senate.
In our visit to the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex, the students were surprised to hear that Canberra is only one of three locations to home these satellites from NASA.
The students were highly focused in their visit to the High Court of Australia. They first sat for an informative video before participating in a research tasks. The students really enjoyed their sitting in Courtroom One as we learnt about different cases that took place there.
At the Australian Institute of Sport the students were privileged to a tour around the facilities as they saw the swimming pool, gym, volleyball courts and gymnastics training centre. Their favourite part was playing in SportsEx, the interactive centre which simulates different sporting scenarios.
We have really missed all of our friends at school. Our non campers completed a fun school program that included activities such as trivia, game design and building their own cars out of recycled materials. We are looking forward to seeing them when we return to school.
After a long five days, the students were eager to get home to their families and share their experiences. Despite our days being jam packed with activities, our students handled the entire camp like the champions they are. They were respectful, inquirers and communicators at every location we visited and they have built up their knowledge.
Congratulations to our Year Six Class of 2023 for their participation in our second Canberra Camp. We are incredibly proud of your participation this week and thank you for making this such a brilliant experience for us all.
Thank you,
The Year Six Team