On Tuesday 15 June Yr 5 and Yr 6 travelled to Canberra for our excursion on a bus. When we arrived in Canberra we headed to our first destination, the AIS ( Australian Institute of Sport ).

When we were in the AIS some people took us to a place called Sportex. Sportex was a big room with all these cool, fun and simulated games and we were all allowed to play with them. My favourite game was called Skeleton Run. It was where you had to ski down a mountain and see how long you could go without falling off.

Then the people said we had to follow them into another room where we played ball games called European dodge ball and European handball. We played them for 20 minutes and then we went out for lunch.

After eating our lunch we got on the bus and headed to Parliament House. When we arrived at Parliament House there was a man who told us about the water feature at the front of Parliament House. Then he took us inside to a room. A woman told us that we were going to do a role play. The role play was about what the politicians did in question time so we all had our roles and when we were finished with the role play the man took us on a tour around Parliament House.

The man took us to the House of Representatives but we weren’t actually in the room we were in a higher compartment with glass so we could look down on question time. We knew who everyone was because we did our little role play. The man said we’d better move on. We walked into a red room. It was the house of the Senate. We waited and he explained some stuff about the House of Senate. The tour was coming to an end and we were making our way out. We had one last look and got on the bus.

On the way home it was quiet. I think everyone was tired and hungry. And before anyone knew it we were back in Crookwell at 4:49 PM. Everybody got off the bus and went home.

In conclusion I think everybody had a great time and enjoyed themselves. I would advise teachers to take students on an excursion there again.

Patrick Walsh.

Year 5 and 6 Excursion to Canberra

Getting up at 6 o’clock and the long bus drive was definitely worth it! We arrived at the AIS (Australian Institute of Sport.) We had 45 minutes in Sportex. Sportex was a virtual reality sports gaming room. We played and practiced some of the sports done in the Olympics including cycling, soccer, basketball, rowing, wheelchair racing and rock climbing. After Sportex, for another 45 minutes we played European handball and dodgeball. European handball was a new sport for most of us and it was kind of a combination of basketball and soccer. We also played dodgeball for the rest of the 45 minutes.

After the AIS we had a quick lunch break and soon after we were getting off the bus at Parliament house. Before we went inside our tour guide told us about the history of the Parliament House and the water feature that was behind us (in front of the Parliament House.) When we went inside, we went through the security system. It was similar to an airport’s security system. Once we were in, we went up to meet another tour guide, where we did a roleplay of how to pass a bill. We were split into two major groups: The House of Representatives and the Opposition.  There were also three Independents who got to choose what team to side with and add to the bill. The House of Representatives was the main and biggest group and of course the Opposition went against them. William was Prime Minister and Kiowa was the Speaker. In the end, the House of Representatives won. Then we went to “Question Time” in the Chamber of House of Representatives also known as The Green Room. We watched down on the meeting from the gallery and you could say that they argued and talked over each other a fair bit! After the Green Room we went to The Chamber of The Senate also known as The Red Room. I learnt this room is the only place in Australia where they allow red exit signs!

It was now time to go on another long bus trip home. Overall, I think this was a great excursion and I rate it 10/10! Thank you, Mrs Walsh and Mr O’Kane, for organising a wonderful excursion.

By Caitlyn Hogan