On Wednesday 16 July, Years 1 and 2 mastered the art of time travel and went back in time for a day at school in the 1800’s.  By that, of course, we went on an excursion to the Ryde Schoolhouse Museum as an introduction to our Unit of Inquiry about changes in society over time.  The museum is set up as a classroom from the 1800’s to give students a feel for what school was like in the ‘olden days’.  We arrived to dreary drizzle with little prospect of participating in any outdoor activities and were greeted by some heavily petticoated 19th century teachers. Luckily, the weather cleared within minutes and the boys were dressed up in very smart collars and treated to some maypole dancing.  They also completed military style fitness drills, complete with baton twirling and marching.  During morning tea, the boys discovered that not everything has changed dramatically over time as they were allowed to play with olden day equipment like skipping ropes and hula hoops.

The next stops in our busy day were the two historical classrooms.  On one of the coldest days of winter, the boys came to appreciate the heating system at Newington College Lindfield by gleaning warmth from the fickle fires in the high roofed classrooms.  In one room, the boys practiced writing using slate and rock.  They graduated to their ‘pen licenses’ remarkably quickly to use quills and ink on paper.  With inky hands, the boys noted that modern day pens are a little easier to use.  In the other room, the boys explored old school technology such as stamps and overhead projectors through going on a treasure hunt.  They investigated old fashioned toys and even got to use an old fashioned toaster! Well, the ‘toaster’ was really a fire, but either way they ate some yummy toast.

Thanks to Mel Hunter, Sam Watson and Jo Zammit for accompanying us on the day and helping out.  The boys in Year 1 and 2 really enjoyed themselves!

Nicola Rusten

Year 2 Teacher

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