We started our study of Democracy learning all about Australia’s federation. We then went on to learn about referendums and plebiscites. A plebiscite is a vote mainly used to gauge public opinion, to guide the government’s decision on a question. Unlike a referendum, it does not immediately change the Constitution. We thought about questions to vote on that would help improve our society. We then worked in groups on different questions to write arguments, and to make campaign posters and videos. These campaigns were presented at Open Day and voted on by families who visited us on the day.

On 8 May, Year 6 left Ivanhoe Girls’ to travel on a 10-hour bus ride to Canberra. We settled ourselves into our rooms on Monday night after arriving at our accommodation in Canberra Park. The first full day was on Tuesday, when the Year 6’s visited the Royal Australian Mint. We got to see coins being made! We then went to Government House, which is where the Governor General lives. We saw the special trees in the backyard, planted by important people who had visited. There was a tree from the late Princess Diana and Queen Elizabeth II. We also got to see the Governor General’s Rolls Royce car, which he uses when he attends Parliament House. 

Wednesday was the biggest day of our Canberra trip. At the Electoral Education Office we role-played a referendum. We also took a tour around Old Parliament House, where we wore special gloves to preserve the artifacts. We also learnt about political cartoons and created some ourselves.

Parliament House was definitely exciting for everyone. It was very fancy and we enjoyed a special tour. Our group went to the Senate first, which is one of the two houses of parliament. It wasn’t particularly busy in there. On the other hand, the House of Representatives was buzzing! We got to see the Prime Minister, and lots of people made speeches debating the recent budget. The other group got to meet the CEO of Qantas! We all met up for some delicious afternoon tea, a really cool LEGO structure of Parliament House, and to see Kate Thwaites, our local federal MP.

After Parliament House, we went to Questacon which was clearly a favourite for most people. The main highlights were the earthquake simulator and the free-fall. We even got to see caged lightning! We started Thursday with a cycle around Lake Burley Griffin. We learnt a lot about Australians in war at The Australian War Memorial. We saw the Eternal Flame and went inside the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Unknown Soldier represents everyone who fought and died in war whose body wasn’t identified. 

The final thing we did on Thursday was a visit to the National Film and Sound Archives. We learnt about media literacy, and by the time the session was finished, we were experts. To wrap up our Canberra tour, we got to go to the National Arboretum and visit the world-famous playground there. After that, we headed to the airport to hop on a flight back to Melbourne.

Overall, Semester 1 was very eventful for the Year 6’s, and our brains are now full to the brim with knowledge about Australian Democracy. 

Some of us are now considering a career in politics and maybe becoming a future Prime Minister (or even President!).

Maxine and VyVy
Year 6