Canberra is the place where our politician’s debate, lobby and vote on some of the big decisions for Australia. So what better location to take Year 6s, who are embarking on the unit on Australian Government, than our nation’s capital. Some people say that discussing politics is a conversational ‘no-no’, but when learning about our representative democracy, is it essential to find out about: how it all started; how it operates; how it has shaped our nation, and Canberra caters for such a need.

Post landing our Year 6s took in the bigger picture from the Mt Ainslee lookout before checking into our accommodation with our camp family. Together we: focussed on government at the Museum of Australian Democracy located at the old Parliament house; took a behind the scenes tour of the Speaker’s Chambers (thank you to C’s dad) and spoke with our Kooyong elected politician and Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg at the ‘New’ Parliament House; voted 1 for PEACHES whilst practising preferential voting; went through a very thorough security check into the High Court; and we were invited to tour the house of the Governor-General… a privilege only afforded to those on Open House Days, dignitaries and school groups.

By clicking on the students’ blog reflections you will also read that some of the bonding experiences and other Canberra highlights related to other areas of our curriculum. Places featured may include our interactive and entertaining excursions to Questacon (Science), AIS(Sport), the Portrait Gallery (Art) and dancing with Dora at the movies.

 

At Carey, we really are lucky to be able to go on two very different camps and see 6D students thrive in two different environments. I also felt very lucky to have such a wonderful individuals class who made my role in loco parentis enjoyable.                         -SD

A huge effort for a complex unit of work, The PROJECT, was witnessed today as the students from 6D and the rest of the year level presented their chosen topic to the Carey Community. With 26 different topics in each class, the teachers were kept on their toes to deliver content, provide feedback and assist students in maintaining a tight timeline of research, development of a new skill and an action.

In previous years the Project was called the Passion Project, but as some students (or adults for that matter) haven’t yet discovered their passions, the teaching team have worked over the past couple of years to change it to be broader, focusing on the inquiry process. Unlike many of our other Integrated units, the PROJECT requires students to use develop inquiry questions, which simply put means they are beyond research questions that are ‘Googleable’. For many, this was a challenge and with the help of some templates such as the question matrix and many one-to-one discussions, students formulated questions or statement such as, ‘What does the future of coral bleaching looking like?’, ‘What leads to inspiration?’, and ‘When is the best time to educate young people on mental health issues?’. For around 5 weeks students: researched; refined their note-taking practises; contacted experts; wrote lengthy responses using the TEEL structure (Topic sentence, elaborate/explain examples and linking sentences); communicated with an expert in the field before combining key information into a report. All the while still learning in all of their other classes.

With their knowledge students were asked to develop a skill, which they could then apply to their newly discovered information. This involved the students taking ownership of their own learning- making decisions and deciding directions. Whilst for some this was tricky because they appreciate the guiding support and specific direction of their teachers, they pushed on and wow, did they deliver! From learning to knit; to taking online courses in counselling; sewing; developing prototypes of a product to make a different (rubbish collecting nets); learning how to use a modelling material to produce a useful Coles mini,  the students showed that they are advocates for their future studies.

One of the final components in the preparation for their presentations was for the students to consider what contribution their work, knowledge and skill could make to society with some sort of action. Given our short timeframe, the students weren’t expected to activate their action; however, some managed to do so. Their action could have been activism, the product of their skill, awareness or something creative such as a published anime book or an informative video to assist others with football skills.

Whilst it is a difficult unit for all involved (including the photocopier), the result of the Year 6’s efforts brought smiles to faces, collective sighs of relief, and literal tears to the eyes of some teachers because of the depth of content and effort of our students. They showed grit, resilience, perseverance and knowledge throughout the unit, and hopefully beyond this term they can take with them the assurance that they have what it takes to be self manages in their learning. (And even I had no voice to say it today, I am extremely proud of my class).

Maths is everywhere! You can make anything mathematical and that became quite clear during our schools first

Math’s Week.

Working in groups was a common theme for the week, as we worked to solve problems with a range of mathematical concepts. Starting off the week we participated in a Maths Trail. Not only did we get to bond with our mates from Donvale, but we also spread our wings into the Middle and Senior School Campus. At the end of the day, the points we gained from all of our activities were accumulated and winners were awarded some truly cool prizes.

Later in the week, after many hours of planning, the parents of 6D were privy to a complex mystery task as part of Math’s Open Morning. Similar to Escape Room puzzles, and using the lockboxes, the tasks involved thinking logically using the process of deduction, and a range of strategies to solve 5 problems. Read all about our experiences in the class blogs.

The bus engines roared to life and there was a chill in the air, the boys and girls of 6D departed to Camp Toonallook.

Refamiliarising ourselves with our very own Carey camp didn’t take long and soon we were back dominating the King Ball Courts; testing our skills in the Initiatives Course; getting up our steps on walks to the water; rescuing beanies, and pedalling to enjoy some idyllic scenery.

On Day 2, we made an attempt to watch a sunrise (I may have gotten the students up too early and thought that the cloud was hiding the sun…whoops!…Instead we took a moonset class picture instead.) Although we hoped to spend an equal amount of time at Echo Bend, a severe weather warning swept through so we decided to assemble from our tents for a class sleepover. That night the students shared performances, and the staff were replaced by some interesting characters who apparently critiqued their efforts with humour, compassion and one-liners that would rival the X-factor panel.

Following a day of collaboration, jaffles, and birthday celebrations, our skilful Outdoor Educators (Josh, Grace and B) taught the students how to pack the essentials as if we would be heading out on ‘expo’. I was horrified to learn that deodorant was a luxury item, but failed to notice until it was too late when some of the class’s haircare products made the cut. It was lucky that they got the rundown because we were then told we’d be going to Echo Bend. 

Putting up tents occupied much of the day when we got there. Pipes were broken, the rain was falling, but they managed to do it with the encouragement of our two Year 11 camp helpers, Lexi and Lauren. 

If you were to ask students from 6D what their highlight was from camp, you’d get a number of different responses because the week provided them with a great variety of challenges and experiences. For me, it was watching the class interact and it confirmed that their bond is perhaps the strongest I have ever encountered from any Year 6 class.

Thank you to the parents for allowing me to whisk your children away for 5 days, to the Outdoor education staff who made a fantastic effort to really get to know the needs and personalities of the class, to the Year 11 students who selflessly volunteers to come along and show leadership, and 6D for having such positive attitudes, resilience, creativity, flexibility and awesome senses of humour in all of the activities the Outdoor Education program had to offer.

To gain a sense of the student’s experiences and the environment of Toonallook and Echo Bend, please read and comment on their blogs.

This semester the Year 6s have been involved in a number of rotations exploring various aspects of science, technology and design. As part of our STEAM and Science rotations, we’ve seen: original ideas and creativity through the development of a clock face; grown microorganisms from their skin and some school surfaces; watched things erupt and made things work. As well as participating in a school incursion, students also conducted and designed experiments and researched scientists who have made important discoveries. To learn more about some famous contributors in the field, check out their blogs.

Our class is 6D, but what does the D represent for us in 2019? Is it for the D in Dines, our teacher’s surname? Or could it be something else?Something more that will represent our final year of Junior School?  Only time will tell but for now, let’s aim high.

D could be for daring. Daring to push ourselves and preserve through our own challenges-To bounce back and be resilient in the face of difficulties.  After all, we choose our own destiny. Our own direction.

This blog page is all about us in our journey. We will share with you the paths we take, the dedication we show and delve deeply into the world of online publications.