Australian Government Assistance for Canberra excursion

Students from Balaklava High School have recently undertaken an educational tour of the national capital. Whilst on this tour, students participated in a variety of educational programmes 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 their National Capital as part of their civics and citizenship education. To assist schools in meeting the cost of the excursion, the Australian Government is contributing funding under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate (PACER) programme. All students who participated in this excursion will be refunded $60 through this programme to alleviate the travel costs incurred by this trip. This contribution will be paid directly to the school upon the completion of the excursion and submission of paperwork.

We would like to thank the Australian Government for their support of this program.

The activities undertaken during this trip have been outlined below in the newsletter.

We hope that this excursion was a rewarding experience for all students.

 Karyn Von-Zieden

Departing at 7pm Sunday 28^th April, 30 enthusiastic Year 10 and 11 students, Mr Mussared and Mrs Von-Zieden (our teachers) and Mrs Naomi Bousfield (parent representative) endured the long bus trip to Canberra.  We were kept entertained with three movies (The Castle, Lion King and Greatest Showman); we were amazed with the number of kangaroos watching our bus pass by and we were relieved to have regular toilet stops before having breakfast at Gundagai.

We arrived in Canberra around 11am and went straight to our first attraction which was the National Capital Exhibition.  This was the perfect start to our trip as it explained the history behind the selection of the site, naming and planning of our national capital.  After lunch (no, the sandwiches were not that impressive!) we walked along ANZAC Parade learning about four of the monuments, then headed to the National Museum to see Chris the sheep, Phar Lap’s heart and other national treasures.  We then visited Old Parliament House to learn about Democracy through the interactive displays and a role play.  Finally, we made it to our accommodation, Ibis Styles Eaglehawk Resort, where we unpacked and had tea.  Our final activity for this day was to visit the Telstra Tower on Black Mountain to see the lights of Canberra and feel the cold wind!

Tuesday was a really busy day as we had seven different activities.  We had an early start with a tour of the Australian Institute of Sport, a visit to the Royal Mint then a tour of Government House all before lunch. A two hour activity at the Ian Potter Foundation gave students the opportunity to be creative and invent a useful device using small robots.  Our final destination was the High Court of Australia.  After tea we went bowling which was a great opportunity to relax and have fun.

Wednesday was a more leisurely day and we started the day observing Canberra from the Mt Ainsley lookout. Perfect sunshine, no fog and no other tourists meant that the views and photo opportunities were amazing. A drive around the Diplomatic Embassies was very interesting before our educational activities at the National Art Gallery – seeing and learning about Jackson Pollock's painting, “Blue Poles” was certainly a highlight.  Some retail therapy at Canberra’s Outlet Centre was enjoyed before our relaxing one hour boat cruise on Lake Burley Griffin.  Seeing many of the places from the lake gave us another perspective on the layout and special features of Canberra.  We finished the day with “Q at night” - a two hour session using the interactive science and technology displays at Questacon.

Our final day in Canberra was spent at two of the most important places.  A tour of Parliament House gave us the opportunity to view the city from the rooftop, underneath the big flagpole.  Inside we participated in a role play debating the issue of “free internet on public transport” and viewed the Senate and House of Representatives. The Australian War Memorial was our last destination and probably the most enjoyable.  After our orientation session we went straight to ANZAC Hall to experience the light and sound shows.  We spent some time in the World War 1 section and this was incredible as all the displays had been recently upgraded.  An education session on “We Will Remember Them” explained the significance of many of the World War 2 displays and the Hall of Remembrance.  Our final activity was to attend the Last Post ceremony where Cody Redpath, Tahneil McArdle and Mr Mussared laid a wreath on behalf of Balaklava High School. This was an emotional experience and one that many students will remember.  Use the following link to see this ceremony (May 2^nd 2019) on the War Memorial’s website. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKIk4ocqGoo

The overnight bus trip went very quickly and we returned to Balaklava during the morning, tired but happy. During our 3 ½ days in Canberra we participated in 18 different activities.

Students have made the following comments which reflect their learning and enjoyment.

“My experience in Canberra was so good, learning about all the places we went to and my favourite places was the Australian Institute of Sport and the War Memorial”.  Chloe

 “The mint was really fun and interesting and it was interesting to see how robots have taken over”  Maddie

 “My favourite things about Canberra were the Embassy Drive and the AIS. I enjoyed the Embassy Drive as I got to learn about the architecture and government of different countries and I loved AIS as I got to learn more about the training and processes that different athletes go through. Overall it was a great learning experience and lots of fun”.  Abbie

 “I enjoyed going to Questacon and Parliament House. My impression of Canberra was that it was cold! School students should go to Canberra because they can learn a lot from it”.  India

 "Being involved in the Last Post Ceremony and getting the opportunity to lay the wreath was truly amazing”. Cody and Tahneil

"Canberra was really cool and scenic, my favourite place was the War Memorial”. Emma

Thank you…

I would like to thank staff member James Mussared for his participation on this year’s Canberra Trip and a special thank you is extended to Naomi Bousfield, our parent representative, for her active participation and enthusiasm.

I congratulate the 30 students from Years 10 and 11 for their punctuality, good behaviour and genuine interest which made our visit to Canberra a most enjoyable experience.  Prepared for cold autumn conditions, we were fortunate to have warm and sunny days which were almost too warm for our Canberra hoodies, however, we certainly looked good!

Karyn Von-Zieden

Canberra Trip Coordinator