Two weeks ago Year Six went on an exciting excursion to Canberra. We left school at 8am and had a fun 3 hour drive to our first destination, the Electoral Education Centre at Old Parliament House. We were split into groups and had a guided tour where we learnt about the very large and interesting world of democracy, voting and politics in our country. From the Electoral Centre we went to the National Gallery of Australia where our tour focused on Aboriginal and Australian art. We went inside James Turrell’s ‘Within Without’ dome which was extremely relaxing and had a man inside playing his handmade flute that echoed and made a calming noise in the dome.

From here we had a tour of the embassies from all over the world. Our bus driver, Scott, was really kind and funny and he kept us entertained with his jokes, trivia questions and riddles. We then went to Mt Ainslie lookout where we could see the war memorial, old and new Parliament Houses and the red road which leads to Parliament House and the War Memorial. We then went back to our accommodation Leumeah Lodge and stayed in a room with our friends, had showers, ate dinner and went to sleep from the fun and tiring first day in Canberra.

Early the next morning we had pancakes for breakfast. It was cold and foggy as we were driving to the first destination of the day, Parliament House. Here, we had a tour through the House of Representatives and the Senate. We participated in another role play in the Parliament Education Center where we re-enacted the voting process for the House of Representatives. We then went to the War Memorial where we had a guided tour through  the entire building. We were in wonder and awe of the beautiful tomb of the unknown soldier. 

The final destination was Questacon where we discovered lots of different types of science, illusions, cool tricks and hands-on activities. One of year six’s favourite activities was the Free Fall. It was a vertical drop slide where you hung on a bar and once you let go onto the slide for a brief few seconds you felt like you’re in zero gravity. At the end of the day, we went to Goulburn McDonalds and bought dinner. On the way back to school we watched a movie in the bus and drove past Lake George which was fuller than usual. Before we knew it we were back at school at around 8pm and saw our parents waiting to see us after our amazing trip.

Year six would like to say thank you to the parents, teachers and our principal Mrs Tyson for giving us the opportunity to go on this amazing and jaw dropping trip to the ACT or as we call it, Canberra.

Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER)

Students from our school have recently undertaken, an education tour of the national capital. Students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy. 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 is contributing funding of $30 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.