Issue 5 / 2 April 2015
Junior School Bulletin
Junior School News Sydney and Canberra Tour Over the past seven weeks, our Year 6 students have been totally engaged in their first unit of inquiry. Investigating the central idea, ‘Societies have different structures for making decisions’ the students have been curious as to the role the Australian Government plays and the relationships between government bodies. Throughout the inquiry our students have become knowledgeable and this became evident during the recent trip to Sydney and our nation’s capital city, Canberra. The Canberra experience enabled students to consolidate their new understandings developed in class of how our government system works by visiting a number of places. Some of the visits included Old and New Parliament House, The Museum of Australian Democracy, The National Capital Exhibition, the High Court of Australia, National Museum, AIS, CSIRO, Royal Australian Mint, the Australian War Memorial and the Electoral Education Centre. The visit to Parliament House enabled students to view the House of Representatives and the Senate in action as well as enact the passing of a bill. During the visit to the Electoral Education Centre, the students held an election and experienced the voting process. By visiting these places in person, the students were able to directly ask the guides specific questions to deepen their understanding of the central idea and the key concepts being explored throughout the unit. In Sydney we visited the Rocks area and learned about the settlement of Sydney and the conclusion to our trip was a scenic tour of Sydney Harbour.
The Australian Government recognises the importance of all young Australians being able to visit the national capital as part of their Civics and Citizenship education. To assist families in meeting the cost of the excursion the Australian Government is contributing funding of $80 per student under the Parliament and Civics Education Rebate program towards those costs. The rebate is paid directly to the College upon completion of the excursion. We would like to thank the Australian Government for their support of this program. ANZAC Day March This year marks the 100th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli and as a result this year’s ANZAC Day March will be a special event. As has been the custom for a number of years, all students from St Andrews are invited to march behind the College banner. Students wishing to march are asked to wear their full College uniform (including formal hats). We will meet by 9.00am, in 9.30am. As a for the service 10.30am.
on the corner of James and West streets preparation for the march which begins at group, we will then sit with other schools at the Cenotaph, which should conclude by
Please be aware that parking may be difficult. The College highly recommends carpooling and/or allowing enough time to park nearby and walk into Burleigh. 3 Way Conferences The Three Way Conferences are one way in which we report to you your child’s progress at school. It was great to see so many parents taking up this opportunity to meet with their child’s teacher. As I walked about, it looked like there was very healthy dialogue and the students were affirmed in the areas that they are working well on and given goals to improve. Cross Country and Mini Cross Country It was wonderful to see the students really enjoying themselves at the recent Cross Country carnivals. You could see the students pushing themselves to try and do their personal bests. Congratulations to all of the students who were age champions and to Jubi House who won the Junior Carnival. It was great to see the healthy competition but also the sportsmanship that was exhibited. Speed Limit You may have noticed that on Tallebudgera Creek Road, the Department of Transport and Main Roads have installed flashing School Zone speed warnings. We would like to thank the Hon. Michael Hart MP for his support in making the area safer for our Community.