On Wednesday 25th October, Stage 3 students piled onto the buses with their bags ready to take on an educational tour of the nation's capital. It all began with a pleasant and safe day of travel, and we had a stop at the Hawkesbury and our final rest stop at Lake George. We then made our way into Canberra ready to start our adventures at the Australian Institute of Sport. The students really enjoyed their first adventure at the Australian Institute of Sport, despite one of our friends injuring herself it was a successful visit. We then settled into our accommodation at the Ibis Styles and ate a yummy dinner.
On Thursday 26th October, we woke up to a chilly 6 degrees in Canberra, but it turned into a lovely sunny day. We had a jammed packed day where students were given the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational programs with a focus on Australia’s history, culture, heritage and democracy.
Our day included a visit to the Australian Electoral Education Centre, engaging in a mock vote and learning about Australia as a democracy. This was followed by a bus tour of the Embassy District and the Avenue of Flags. We also enjoyed a tour of the Old Parliament House and learnt about the history of government in Australia. We then headed to the Australian War Memorial and enjoyed a guided tour called ‘We will remember them’. We heard many stories of the men and women who have served our country. The days' activities finished at Parliament House where we engaged in a tour of the Senate and House of Representatives. This included having fun participating in a role play of a debate in the House of Representatives.
We moved onto Questacon where we ate dinner before heading off into the Questacon activities. The drop slide and earthquake machine were some of the favourites. Even Mrs Malloch and Mrs Gillard tackled the drop slide it took loads of courage! It is safe to say we were exhausted after our big day and returned to our accommodation for some much-needed rest.
On Friday 27th October, our teachers woke us up at 6.15am to pack up our rooms and get ready for our next adventures. Firstly, we began with a bus drive around more embassies and the National Mint. We had a play stop at Boundless playground in Russell. Then we went to the National Museum of Australia, where we were taken on small group tours of the venue. There is so much to see at the Museum and the First Australians Gallery was highly engaging and educational. Our buses then took a drive to Mount Anslie and the Arboretum, where we saw an incredible view of the entire city of Canberra. We then enjoyed lunch at Black Mountain Peninsula where students could play on the equipment and burn some energy. Then it was time to start travelling home to Lambton. We enjoyed a stop at Lake Alexander in Mittagong and watched some movies, played games and sang songs on the bus, arriving back at school around 6.45pm.
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 contributed funding of $30.00 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program and towards the cost of the excurion and our costs. The rebate is paid directly to the school upon completion of the excursion.
All LPS stage 3 students represented our school with pride, and I would like to take this opportunity to offer a huge thanks to the teachers who took time away from their families to make this camp happen, Mrs Malloch, Ms Nichols, Mrs Webb, Mr Moore, and Mr Simon. I am very grateful for your support and teamwork. Finally, a big thanks to the office staff for your assistance in preparing us for camp and all staff back at school for doing what was needed to ensure we could give our students this great experience. Thank you to all parents and carers for ensuring your children had what they needed to make camp successful. We hope they enjoyed making memories with us!
