Year Nine LIFE Week Melbourne-Canberra Tour

Last week, 26 Year 9 students, accompanied by Mr Parsons, Miss Goodwin and myself, toured Melbourne and Canberra for our inaugural Expanding Horizons Melbourne-Canberra Tour. The tour itinerary was designed to support students’ learning across all of the LIFE pillars of Learning, Interrelationships, Faith and Enrichment and to support deep learning in real world environments as they explored their Big Ideas question: Ghosts of Cities Past and Present – how are cities shaping their legacies?

In Melbourne, students undertook a walking tour to take in the culture and heritage of Melbourne’s alleyways and laneways. They visited the Melbourne Museum and the MCG. They explored the Melbourne Sea Life Aquarium and the Old Melbourne Gaol.

In Canberra, students had an important opportunity to extend their Civics and Citizenship learning through visits to Parliament House, the Museum of Australian Democracy the Australian War Memorial and the High Court. They visited a range of attractions in the Nations capital including Questacon, the CSIRO Discovery Centre, the National Library, the National Museum of Australia and the National Gallery. Their time in Canberra was an outstanding opportunity for students 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 $310 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.

After our stay in Canberra, we travelled to the Snowy Mountains where students spent two days learning to ski or snowboard. We were blessed with wonderful weather, experiencing considerable snowfall on our first day and clear blue skies for our second day on the slopes. The Melbourne-Canberra tour provided students with a wonderful opportunity for expanding their horizons and experiencing life to the full. I look forward to students bringing together their learning as they complete their final Big Ideas project.

Ms Karen Taylor
Year Nine Learning Innovator