Year 6 Exhibition

The exhibition kicked off with finding our core values and beliefs and the problems we cared about, then we narrowed it down to two topics and picked the one that we cared about the most. After figuring out the problem, teachers structured the groups on that. 

Next came making a tree, brainstorming what caused the problem, the effects on the problem and our problem. Racking our brains then led to research questions. This meant we had to list down questions that we wanted to research about, e.g. What causes water pollution? Which allowed us to get started on what to research, to finally get a deeper understanding of our topics, and the effects it has on the world.

Following research was Inquiry questions. Getting a deeper understanding, meant we could narrow down to 3 main questions to guide us through the exhibition, and used as the central idea. Afterwards, we did even more research, to answer inquiry questions, to dig deeper into our topic.

Then came the time that we got assigned a mentor for each group to help with our exhibition and come up with ideas. We asked questions and received helpful information to take our exhibitions to another level, making it engaging and fun for everyone. Our mentors also assisted us with sending letters to the whole school, some even sent letters to outside the organisation. Other mentors kindly gave up their lunch times to supervise craft clubs and still continue to do it to this day.

Then each group had to take an action that would support their topic. Some groups did bake sales or cleaned up our local creek or organised a food drive. All of the money that was raised by groups went towards charities and fundraisers that try to make our world a better place. Most of the charities that were picked went towards something that is related to their topic. For example, one group donated their money to the Blue Marine foundation and their topic was water pollution. Another example is a group donating to the RSPCA for shelter dogs.

But not all groups did bake sales or fundraisers, some spoke to the principal and set up a dress up day where you would dress up as your favourite athlete and bring a gold coin donation. They then donated that money to women in sport, their topic was sexism in sport. Another group organised a cleanup day where all the year sixes went down to Gardiners Creek and picked up rubbish to help the environment. It was a really good way for our school to donate money towards good causes. 

Groups also did workshops and  presentations with other classes throughout the school. One group made a presentation about animal extinction and how going to zoos can help us conserve animal species. They then presented this to the year ones. Another group made a workshop to teach students about water pollution. They taught them how to make things in origami and then showed them a presentation about water pollution. Yet another group taught prep students not to be afraid of sharks and how to protect them.

Not all groups presented presentations to teach students, one group organised a food drive so students would have to bring in non-perishable food items. Which were then donated to the Salvation army. They also wrote a letter to Coles about their exhibition and topic, in return they received a three hundred dollar voucher to Coles which they then gave away to someone in need. But one group really wanted to connect to students, through a club. They created a craft club to calm people's stress and anxiety, they asked other year six students to help teach younger students how to draw, crochet, make things out of origami and so much more. 

Near the end, we started preparing our displays. Our action boards were a big part of our display highlighting the process from the start to end of the exhibition. All of us also had opinion pieces, persuading people on certain aspects of our topic and a call to action, as well as many informative posters. The interactive part of our presentation was a main part for the juniors of the school, since they found it.

Lastly came the exhibition presentation day, a day to celebrate all that we’ve done throughout the journey, and educate people of all ages about our topic, and why they should support our cause. At first everyone just stood there awkwardly at their stalls, waiting for guests to come. As we progressed through the guests, we slowly grew more and more confident talking to guests. We all had interactives as well, some groups had Kahoots, some had games, some had arts and crafts, some even had science experiments. When the night came, it was the parents turn to come have a look. Many found that parents asked deep questions, and had conversations with us about our topics. Then finally after months of preparation , endless hours of hard work, we were done, and completed our exhibition journey.

By Stella H, Olivia H, Indi Z & Alexandra T (Year 6 Media Team), IT support (Finn L)

Millie and Sylvie with their letter from the Prime Minister about the gender pay gap.

Food Insecurity

As part of Year 6 exhibition, our food insecurity group Alyssa, Lachie and Toby ran a food drive to collect donations. Thank you to all the people who were able to contribute, and through contacting potential corporate helpers, the group also had a very generous $300 donation from Coles. Alyssa and Lachie shopped up a storm from the request list and delivered the donations to our local Salvation Army base in Camberwell during the holidays. The donations were gratefully received by Norman, and they had an opportunity to discuss looking at global issues and taking local action. Well done to the team for making an immediate impact with their exhibition focus!

The Gardiners Creek Cleanup

For our final action in Exhibition, everyone in Year 6 took a stroll to Gardiners Creek as we carried our garbage bags and tongs down the trails. We saw a colossal amount of disgusting waste while we trekked further down the creek. Finally, as we arrived at Gardeners Creek, we began to explore throughout the rocks and noticed plenty of nasty litter blown across the area. One by one, we began to cross to the other side of the rushing shallow creek. As we collected as much litter as we could, we truly realised how big a problem littering is to our community, and everyone’s smile spread across their faces as we understood how big an impact we were making. We began the journey back home, feeling relieved that we had done something to save our waterways.

Jasmine A, Ella L

Children's Mental Health with Screens