Year 6 Canberra Excursion – Inquiry Learning Project: ‘Do we always have a Choice?’

On June 5 & 6, Year 6 travelled to Canberra for an excursion as part of their Term 2 Inquiry – ‘Do we always have a choice?’. The students have been examining the stories of populations affected by conflict, and of people who have served at war. Many of these included former Newington students who served during World War I. As part of their inquiry, students are working on developing a ‘Call to Action’ – to persuade, inform or inspire a target audience about the reasons for, and consequences of, war.

Students have been challenged to examine each of the places visited whilst in Canberra, through the lens of how they could use the experiences, education or symbolism to help develop their ‘Call to Action’ and support a specific group affected by conflict.

As part of the excursion we visited: the Australian Institute of Sport; Questacon; CSIRO; Parliament House; National Museum of Australia; and the Australian War Memorial. Everyone had a fantastic experience by asking questions, gaining new knowledge and making links to previous learning. They enjoyed spending time with friends – and even had a few spare moments to cheer on NSW in the State of Origin!

A particularly poignant moment for many students came during our visit to the Australian War Memorial. Each boy had the opportunity to a lay a poppy by the name of someone from Newington who sacrificed their life during WWI – an important mark of respect for their service to school and country.

All the students look forward to sharing the results of their inquiry at the Year 6 Learning Showcase in Week 8.

Justin Brayley
Year 6 Team Leader