Friday Day Two

Today we woke up with a light switching on. We all knew that it was time to get up but most of us stayed in bed. We were all very tired. We eventually got up and got ready for breakfast. When we got to breakfast it was yummy! We had baked beans, scrambled eggs and sausages. Finally, once everyone had finished, we went back to back to our dorms and got our bags ready for the day.
Emily Holland

First up we went to the National Gallery of Democracy. We learnt about how Canberra was designed and came to be. Our activity at this stop was to create a design for an improvement to Canberra city. This was an awesome place to visit.
Dylan Bassett

Our next stop was Old Parliament House.  We learnt about voting and Canberra’s political past. Old Parliament house is heritage listed and we all had to wear a pair of white gloves. We did a mock debate about the Franklin River. Mrs Ashwood dressed up as Prime Minister and Phillip was the clerk with a  curly wig. He rest of us got to sit in the big red chairs.
Phoebe Smith & Scott Campbell

We then got to meet Michaelia Cash, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women and Assistant Minister of Immigration and Border Protection.  This was once we had arrived at the new Parliament House. She was very happy, excited, and impressed with a loud voice. Her nephew Tyler Cash is in year 6 at Southern Hills. We got to see her office and ask her all about being a politician. Because of her role in border protection she talked a bit about the scout dogs at the airport. We were all gifted a lovely black plush ‘Border Protection’ dog to take home.
Tamia Halstead

Michaelia Cash is my Aunty – I call her Aunty Micky. We got to go behind the scenes with her today which was really fun. I think that everyone had great fun today, especially the teachers, really knowing how special these moments we had today were. I will, and I’m sure everyone else will never forget today .
Tyler Cash

After lunch we went on a tour of Parliament House. We had a photo on the rooftop and  learnt that the flag on top of Parliament House is as big as a double decker bus! Our tour guide, who was very good at her job, took us to both chambers; House of Representatives and House of Senate. She discussed the roles of certain seats and the chosen colour scheme. It was interesting to learn that the Senate had voted to change the exit signs in the lower floor of their chambers to red to match the colour scheme. They are the only exit signs this colour in the country! The colours also fade as they get higher up to reflect the sun bleaching things. A little information about the House of Representatives: It has 150 seats and the Prime Minister also sits there. There are two special items that are presented at the start of every session: The house of Representatives has a mace that was used as a weapon to protect the king and the Senate has a black rod.
Jordyn Heylen and Jaime Smith

 “Hi Mum! How are you going?” Dylan

“Hi Mum and Dad! I miss you, I think of you each day and wish you the best. Zach and Mia, keep well and I’ll see you on Wednesday! Love Jordyn

“Hi Mum and Dad and Jett. Say hi to Roxy for me and give her a hug. Love you so much, bye! Love Phoebe”

“Hi Mum and Dad. I miss you guys and my brothers too, even though I didn’t think that was possible! Love Tamia”

“My Mum, Hi Dad, I had fun visiting Aunty Micky!” Love Tyler
“I <3 you mum & Dad”Jaime

“Hi Mum and Dad, I love you and miss you!” Emily

Year 7 Blog Friday
So far the trip has been good. It was a fun, but boring at times, plane trip. There were many things to do such as; watch movies, play games and listen to songs. So far the highlight of the trip was going to the War Memorial. The best part of the War Memorial was the discovery place. There you could go in an old helicopter that was really cool because it shook a little. It was also cool going in the pretend trenches.
Miss you Mum and Dad – Tom

Today we all went to the Old Parliament House of Australia. We acted in a debate of the Franklin River, about whether to build a dam or not. We all contributed to the debate.
Love you Mum and Dad – Miss you! Jordie T

Today we went to the Old Parliament House. We talked about the Franklin River Debate. We got put in groups and each group got a box. Inside my group’s box was hand cuffs, raincoats, a magazine cutting, information boards and signs. After we went through the boxes everyone went into the House of Representatives. We did the exact vote of what people did when this really happened.
I miss you very much Mum, Jett and Dad. I wish you were here with me. I love you, Mackenzie

Today we went to the Parliament House. The thing I am going to write about is the colours and facts about parliament. The House of Representatives is green for the eucalyptus leaves and the red in the Senate represents the olden days and how only the rich wore red, but also the blossoms and red dirt of Australia. Something that surprised me was how there was grass going all the way up to the roof and that all the year 7’s, including teachers, could fir in one elevator!
Jono

Written by Emily Holland, Jordyn Heylen, Brianna Bird, Jaime Smith, Tamia Halstead, Phoebe Smith, Dylan Bassett & Scott Campbell