The following extracts are from student journals which were written during the Year 7 trip to Canberra earlier this year.

Testing strength at the AIS

On Wednesday 28^th we went to CSIRO Discovery.  My class and half of Mr Vercoe's class came with us because we had to have two groups.  I went into the looking room and made cheese.  The cheese didn't really work.  It came out all slimy and it looked like vomit.  We also made DNA.  What happened was we put in all these ingredients into a container and the end product turned out like the real thing.  It showed us what DNA really looked like.  DNA means Deoxyribonucleic acid.

Leah W.

There were many exciting and challenging tasks for our students at many venues.

On Thursday night we went to the movies.  The movie we saw was Mr Bean's Holiday.  The movie was really good but very predictable.  The cinema we went in was huge and we had it all to ourselves.  At the movies we got popcorn and coke.  I enjoyed the movie, especially seeing it with my friends.

Courtney N.

That's not an insect ......
THIS is an insect!

On Wednesday we went to New Parliament House.  The first thing we did was go and practice that we were in the House of Representatives.  The person who was leading us told us to sit on either the right or left.  I sat on the government side (which was on the left).  The guy leading us told us to have an argument about something and we had to choose it.  We chose to ban animals in the circus.  That went on for a while.  The second thing we did was we entered the real House of Representatives.  We learnt a bit about the House of Representatives.  The third was the Senate and we learnt a lot about that room too.  We learned that this is where new laws are made and bills passed.

Tori S.

Who's the pretty boy!

Mount Ainslee is the highest point in Canberra.  On our way up there, there were lots of Kangaroos and a few rabbits.  The view from there was amazing!  The lights on Parliament House were beautiful.  When we arrived back at the hotel, I went straight to bed because I was so tired.

Emma N.

Staff members Amelia Wright and Doug MacLean waiting outside the AIS.

On Tuesday March 27^th we went to the Australian War Memorial.  When we arrived at the War Memorial we had to watch a short movie clip about the wars and the war memorial.  We went over to meet our guides.  We all sat down in front of this boat with lots of gun shot holes in it.  Our guide explained to us about the boat and what war it was from.  Our guide then took us up into a view platform above the eternal flame then he explained all of the names on the walls and parks.  We had time in our dorm groups to look around.  We went to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier first.  In the tomb of the Unknown Soldier we were told why he was so special.  He was the only unidentified Anzac because his face and his dog tags were blown off from a Turkish hand grenade.  About ten minutes later we went to see all the aircraft and vehicles.

Ben B.

Role play in
Old Parliament House

On Thursday at about 3:30pm we went to the National Gallery.  We split into two groups.  My group went with Sam.  He introduced himself and showed us the most expensive painting in the world.  The title was "Blue Poles" by Jackson Pollock and it looked a lot like scribble.  We also saw another picture and it was painted just white.  After a while we said thank you and went to the gift shop.

Amelia V.

Staff member Wendy Nicolle with the Blue Wig Award.

At Zone 3 we were split up into three groups.  A, B and C.  I was in group A with Luke, Caleb, Wes and Mr Vercoe.  When we went in they told us how to hold the gun and showed us how to shoot the bases.  After that we went into the maze.  It was hard but I did get the two bases and so did Luke.  At the end of the first round we found out what our scores were and mine was 9,200 points.  After that we went and played some Arcade games like Pinball and Rally car racing.

Dan M.

The Happy Valley party on the steps of Parliament House

During Week 9 of Term 1, forty five Year 7 students and five staff members travelled to Canberra for a six day tour of our nation's capital. The group travelled by coach and stayed at the Hotel Heritage in Canberra.

It was about a fourteen hour trip on the bus to get to Canberra. The students found lots to do on the way........Sleep didn't seem to figure very highly on their list!

During the week, the party visited many places of interest in Canberra. A brief outline of the itinerary is set out below:-

Students and Doug MacLean survey the scene at the Australian War Memorial

The students gained tremendous educational and social benefits from the six day trip. Once again, our students excelled! Their cooperation, interest level, team-work and behaviour were exemplary throughout the entire trip. As a group they are to be congratulated. They acted as great ambassadors for our school and were complimented on numerous occasions by tour guides, facilitators and other people with whom they had contact.

The five staff members also deserve our special thanks and congratulations for their extraordinary efforts. Particular thanks to Simon Mueller who once again coordinated and organized the programme.

Students try out one of the many interactive exhibits at Questacon Science and Technology Centre.

No matter where our students went they were interested, enthusiastic and keen to learn about our capital.

To view a special Photo Gallery of the 2007 Canberra Trip
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Click on any thumbnail below. This will enlarge the photograph. Then you can either click "Back" to return to this page or click "Next Photo" to work your way through our special Photo Gallery.

Hard Day's Night	Ben	Dorm 104
Breakfast	Parliament House	Role play
Senate occasion	New Parliament House	War Memorial
A moving experience	Bomber crew	Josh at CSIRO
Botanic Gardens	Tour guide	Canberra mall
Happy birthday, Saghe!	Lots to eat	Birthday girl
Delicious!	Space Dome	Waiting
National Museum	Kit Kat!	Jordan projects
War Memorial	Meeting room	Blue Wig Award
Dorm 103	In the pool	AIS facilities
Dorm 105 celebrates	Blue Wig success	Group hug!
Mueller's group	Victory dais	Kristy & Elise
The Free Fall	Jack & Kate	Pizza anyone?
Pizza delivery