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Year 7 Canberra Trip 2015

After an action packed, whirlwind tour of the sites and the learning opportunities of Canberra, the Year 7 trip is complete for another year. This trip forms part of our students’ studies on the Federal Government, our Constitution and the history of Australia. There were many positives for your children as they experienced a number of new places and made new friendships.

Each day held highlights of its own and different students enjoyed different aspects – you can read more on our 2015 blog, or keep reading for the highlights.

It all started on Thursday, 25 June 2015, as we departed Perth to fly to Canberra via Melbourne. On Friday we visited Parliament House, toured the Senate and the House of Representatives, and undertook a role play at the Parliamentary Education Office. Then we visited the Electoral Education Centre, where we voted for our favourite fast food. After this came a visit to the Museum of Australian Democracy at Old Parliament House, and we took in the views of the Parliamentary triangle from the Mount Ainslie Lookout.

On Saturday we went to the Australian Institute of Sport and visited Gold Creek Station. Here we watched an Australian kelpie work with merino sheep, saw sheep shearing and participated in sheep wrestling! Then we went to Cockington Green to view the miniature villages and finally we visited the National Gallery of Australia.

On Sunday, 28 June it was off to Church at St Andrews Presbyterian Church, taking in the old architecture, stained glass windows and friendly congregation. We then took a stroll along Reconciliation Place and the Australian of the Year Walk. The afternoon was spent enjoying Questacon, particularly the show on rockets.
Then on Monday 29th we did a tour of Government House and met the Governor General, Sir Peter Cosgrove. We then visited the CSIRO, and the Australian War Memorial, where we stayed for the wreath laying ceremony, and laid our own wreath. After dinner, we headed for the National Dinosaur Museum. The next day we took a lengthy drive out to the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex for a very interesting insight into our universe, then back to Geoscience, where we created our own earthquake and recorded it on a seismometer. We finished the day at the National Museum of Australia, and our bus driver Alan took us for a short trip over the border into New South Wales.

A highlight of the trip took place on Wednesday, 1 July – a day in the snow at Perisher. What a great day playing in the snow and tobogganing. In the evening we went back up to Mount Ainslie to enjoy the view of the city at night time. On Thursday, 2 July it was time to pack up and load our gear on the bus as we headed out for a jam packed day visiting the Royal Australian Mint and the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia. At the Embassy, we put on a shadow puppet play and played in a Balinese gamelan ensemble. We also visited the High Court of Australia and the National Portrait Gallery, where we sketched our own drawings. In the afternoon, we headed to Canberra Airport, caught a flight and finally arrived at Perth airport to go home.

A great experience was had by all, and we received lots of positive comments regarding our students’ behaviour. The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion, the Australian Government contributes funding of $240 per student, as part of the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER). The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion. We really appreciate this support and funding.

I would like to thank the students for making the trip a great experience, and parents for all of your support before and during the trip. Thanks must go to Mrs Bargerbos and Miss Gibbon for their planning last year and our Office staff for their work organising the trip. Thank you to Mrs James, Mrs van Wyk, Mrs Frick and Mr Peletier for all their help. Without our staff, this experience would not happen for our students.

Mr Murray
YEAR 7/8 TEAM LEADER

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