Year 5 Camp

Year 5 postcards from Sovereign Hill

Lauren Donovan, Year 5 Classroom Teacher

From 7 to 10 October, Year 5 students went on camp to Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, where they role-played as children from the 1850s gold rush era. Here's a collection of 'postcards' they wrote to their families: 

Catherine Shardey, Year 5G

Dear Mum and Dad,

I have arrived safely in Sovereign Hill. When we arrived, we stored our bags and went to meet our Ma'am. After getting changed into our attire, we started school. It was quite different from our usual lessons. Our school is called Wesleyan Day School, and we learnt how to be good Wesleyan people. I was selected to dust the windowsills and the tables. 'Marry a man with a windowsill,' Ma'am says.

Tonight, we have a Trivia activity. We have been told to go to bed early and get a good night’s sleep because we have the 'Aura' show tomorrow. I will see you on Friday.

Love, Catherine

Max Cooper, Year 5G

Dear Dad,

Hello from Sovereign Hill! Camp is currently super fun! We have just met our Ma'am's, who will be our teachers for the next two days.

I am the row monitor, meaning I collect and distribute all the materials to the people in my row. Today, we learnt how to write in pen and ink, and I had to write with my right hand! As Ma’am said, ‘The right hand is the right hand to write with.'

Tonight, we are going to see a show called ‘Aura’, which is about the discovery of gold.

Love, Max 

Jordan Chow, Year 5G

Dear Mum and Dad,

Hello from Sovereign Hill! Today, my friends and I went shopping for souvenirs and lollies at the confectionery store. I bought raspberry drops, fairy drops and sour grape drops. Even though the lollies were super expensive, it was definitely worth it. 

After my friends and I purchased our lollies, we decided to go gold panning! The trick to gold panning is to be patient and take your time, and it is almost 100% guaranteed that you will find gold. At the river, you need to use a shovel so you can dig deep and pour it into your pan. Make sure that you aren't collecting rocks instead of gold because no one wants to collect rocks! We had a great time!

Love from Jordan 

Artemis Liang, Year 5M

Dear Mum,

Today was fun. I woke up in my cabin (with my wonderful friends) and went down for breakfast. Then we walked around the 1850s town and bought some souvenirs. After that, we went to the park to play. I tried to climb onto a wooden horse statue, but it was really hard, so I needed help from a friend!

Afterwards, we went to the confectionery-making building, where we were shown how candy is made and heard about its history. Next, we went to a candle and soap-making workshop, where we heard about its importance with the miners. We even dipped candles of our own, and I got the chance to make a multi-coloured candle!

After this, we went to a theatre for a performance, before heading down to the river for some gold panning. I was unsuccessful! At night, after taking a shower and eating dinner, we got to go watch a pantomime. It’s been such a wonderful day at Sovereign Hill. 

Love, Artemis 

Louis Allen, Year 5M 

Dear Parents, 

Today was fabulous! We started by going shopping and gold panning. Next, we watched a demonstration of how raspberry drops are made and got to taste them; they were really satisfying and yummy! After this, we learnt about candle-making, and we even got to make our own rainbow candle! 

Next, we had a very interesting information session about Aboriginal people on the gold fields. Then we had a choice between playing on the playground, shopping or going to another information session, which is what I chose to do. We learnt all about the migration, the struggles of the miners and how contrasting the experiences were for each miner. 

Oh, we also went on a gold mine tour underground (335m deep) and watched a very funny pantomime involving an elf! 

Love, Louis           

Ryan Lu, Year 5M

Dear Mum, Dad and Rachel,

School camp at Sovereign Hill has been awesome. We have been taking part in lots of different activities over the past four days, including shopping, candle-dipping, candy-making, and much more! It has been great fun to be involved in the costume school. Last night, we saw the Aura Night Show, and it was engaging, interesting and extremely informative. 

My favourite day was when we took part in the confectionery-making demonstration, the candle dipping, shopping, the talk with Andrew, and the pantomime show. I loved the shopping experience, where we could buy things like candy and pens, and even try 1850s-style bowling! Candle dipping was enjoyable too, as we learned about the importance of candles for the miners and got to dip our own candles in colours. 

Overall, this has been the best camp so far! Thank you for this wonderful experience!

Love, Ryan