Canberra Tour

Photos: No rest for the weary...

ac — Wed, 4 Jul 2018 19:25:00 GMT

No rest for the weary...

ac — Wed, 4 Jul 2018 19:04:00 GMT

Today was our final full day in Canberra - the pace of our tour is starting to show but the boys again were admirable in their behaviour and attitude.

We started with a HUGE HEARTY breakfast with most boys have 2 plates of bacon and eggs with many getting in a third or more! We then headed out to Government House, unfortunately the Governor General was not at home as he has been on a tour of Europe for the last 10 days. Despite this we toured the house and were even lucky enoughy to see the 1970 Rolls Royce Phantom that is used for official duties.

Our second stop of the day was at the zoo - it was all laughs and good times until the snakes came out (the reptile kind)! It was amaing how many of our boys were not the greatest fans of the snakes and rapidy moved as far in the opposite direction as possible. To their credit many pluked up the courage and took the risk to touch and even hold the snakes by the end of our session. We then spent the rest of our tour looking at the variety of animals the Zoo holds and even got the opportunity to feed some!!! Our tour guides at the zoo were extremely complementary towards our boys behaviour, manners and attitudes - they were amazed at how well they listened and followed their instructions.

The final stop of our tour was Canberra Deep Space were our guide Glenn helped us see ad understand the wonders of the universe, we were all astounded by his knowledge! Glenn endede his tour encouraging all the boys to get involved in the exploration of space, either through simple at home online involvement or by aiming to make it to Mars one day. We finished our time at the Deep Space with group photos with our AMAZING bus driver Cam who has been such a fanastic addition to this tour - he is extremely well infomed on all places Sydney-Canberra and just so SOOO tolerant of enthusiastic off-key singing.

THAT'S ALL FOLKS! Now we are off to do battle with the boys to pack cases and get them to bed one more time and up once more (our earliest up time of the trip mind you!) We will see you all at Perth Airport, baggage carousel around 1620 (flight VA559).

Photos: 6 activities in 1 day!

ac — Wed, 4 Jul 2018 00:00:00 GMT

6 activities in 1 day!

ac — Tue, 3 Jul 2018 23:32:00 GMT

Well that was a packed and exhausting day!

Today we started at the Old Parliament House - now known as the Museum of Australian Democracy. This place is very interesting as we got given swipe cards that we touched to a screen which lead us on a 'choose your own adventure' style learning experience through Australia's Democratic past. We then got to conduct a role place in the old Senate - the boys acting was so awful it was hilarious - we had a great time impersonating politicians and some of their more colourful behaviours in the upper house.

Next we moved on to the 'Big House', new Parliament house - thanks to our bus driver Cam's love of fresh air and walking we took the short stroll up Parliament Mall (it was actually probablly quicker than loading/counting the 40 boys on to the bus + it used up some of their energy!) New Parliment House saw us complete two activities - a tour (very insightful with an excellent guide) and another role play (this time in the House of Reps).

We then moved on to the Film and Sound Archive - the information was interesting (lookng at Adverts through out Australan TV history) but the big high backed old style cinema chairs were so comfy - many took a super quick power nap! With this in mind we briskly walked to the National Library where we hit up the Cafe for a energy boost (COFFEE/Hot Chocolate).The boys were amazing as they have been without all such drinks since our first travel day and there has been no whinging - they were extremely greatful and the gesture paid off as we were all pleasently suprised by our tour of the National Library. The main reason our tour was so interesting was Ben our tour guide who was just amazing and his enthusiasm was contagious. We also meet ISSAC the automated/robot book trolley that assists on the 3 below ground levels of the library.

To finish our day out off we headed to Questacon where it was so enjoyable to watch the boys simply playing! They mucked around and tried all that was on offer, including the 6.2m free fall slide.

Upon return to camp we had our dinner and a quick change into our Quiz Night attire. I was truelly impressed by the efforts and ideas of the boys to this and it really added to the atmosphere. Overall however they were pipped by the teacher/Fairy WIngs group - the prizes they won however (portable usb power chargers) were quickly handed out to exemplary students that have just be consistently amazing or gone above and beyond throughout camp - Congrats to: Lucas Purdie, Matt Flowers, Harry Fenner, Mitch English and Tom Jessop. Second place/student winners were fittingly the 'Indian Match Fixers": Kynan Ganza, Andrew Tran, Ryan Fox, Michael Hardie and Max Fell. I am certain all enjoyed the night.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Canberra and camp comes to an end. We have a fairly light day tomorrow with a bit of time on the bus (I guarentee this will be spent sleeping by most students!) We have: Govenment House, the Zoo (also possibly the aboretum) and then Deep Space. We will return to camp for one of the funniest nights - how to pack a suit case '101' - as teachers we love to watch how the boys try to get everything back into their luggage - it all came here it all has to go back! This is not helped by the heap of clothes that were pruchased at the AIS!

Photos: Let the learning begin

ac — Mon, 2 Jul 2018 23:07:00 GMT

Let the learning begin

ac — Mon, 2 Jul 2018 22:41:00 GMT

Today marked the first of our full on days where we visit and experience some of the amazing educational venues that Canberra has to offer.

Our morning was a little slow, important information from Electoral Education and the High Court but not the most enthusiastic of presenters or exciting content! The boys however were amazing in their behaviour and their questioning.

There were two clear highlights of the day:

The Ian Potter Foundation - this is a relatiely new venue. The boye worked in teams to create a 'ball/marble run'. They had a HUGE variety of materials and an unlimited amount of hot glue and masking tape. The creations were UNBELIEVEABLE and the 2 hours we had just flew by and we could have easily have stayed longer.
The AIS - or more correctly the AIS gift shop - seriously the boys were beyond excited and overjoyed at the time they spent here and the purchases they made. We now have a huge aray of AIS gear being proudly worn by our boys.

Tonight mid-camp has hit and the funny is in full swing and the boys were in full voice with many tunes being cranked in the dorm, their dancing had the teachers in absolute stichers. Credit to our boys however we went from full on impromptu dance party/disco to quiet movie night in 5 minutes flat. Tonight the movie education continued with the classic (released in 1992) Mighty Ducks.

Now we are off to bed, ready to recharge for our day looking at the workings of our county tomorrow.

Photos: Snow Day

ac — Sun, 1 Jul 2018 20:42:00 GMT

Our day at Perisher

SNOW DAY!!!

ac — Sun, 1 Jul 2018 19:51:00 GMT

We awoke this morning to a more traditional Canberra morning with fog and minus temperatures! This however turned into the most spectacular day up in the Snowy Mountains at Perisher where we had to actually go and buy additional suncream (this was hilarious as it was such thick stuff, more zinc like so we were all impersonating pantomime's) it was such a picture perfect sunny day.

The most important thing to note today was that we managed a day in the snow with no significant injuries!!!!!!!

The boys had a BLAST! We rode tobboganns, had a snow ball fight and built "snow men".

To see how much fun we had check out the 'Snow Day' gallery.

Photos: Canberra 2018

ac — Sun, 1 Jul 2018 05:50:00 GMT

Photos so far

Seeing the Sights

ac — Sat, 30 Jun 2018 20:22:00 GMT

Today was busy, very busy! We started the day with a warming cooked breakfast at Canberra Park, which the boys appreciated. First on the agenda was rock climbing and in typical Aquinas fashion it didn’t take the boys long to start racing each other up the walls. After the competition had ended (it never ended) we travelled to the National Museum of Australia and learnt about our great country's past. The boys were particularly impressed at the size of the megafauna which once roamed Australia. We surprised them by changing the afternoons agenda slightly. Reading the boys journals last night it was clear that they wanted more time at the War Memorial, so back to the War Memorial it was! After three hours there the boys were satisfied and we headed to iPlay. We spent an hour running around playing games and returned back to Canberra Park to have dinner before the Church service. Unfortunately, we missed the regular service (miscommunication of times) but Father Bernie was so kind as to give us our own service. Cam, our bus driver, then drove us past Mount Ainslie on the way back and we saw the beautiful view of Canberra by night. The bus ride home from Mount Ainslie really kicked off and the boys went up in chorus to old classics like ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and ‘Piano Man’. After a bit off down time at the Park, Day 3 was wrapped up!

Lest We Forget

ac — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 07:03:00 GMT

Day two of the trip had many new and confronting experiences for the students. The first of which started with an early wake up call and a queue for the very limited number of bathroooms. On the bus, students were recieving a musical education which they appreciated followed by learning about the great movie classics...Top Gun. Once we arrived, our first stop was the Australian War Memorial. Students were amazed at the stuning archiectural design and the reverance it demanded. Walking through the muesum Students didn't know which way to look and soon found themselves imersed in Australia's fighting and peacekeeping history. From early engagements to Afghanistan students were in awe by the interactive displays. On leaving the museum and walking around the Memorial the students found themselves scouring the Roll of Honour in search for long lost relatives. On entering the Tomb of the Forgotten Soldier a hush went around the group and students found themselves confronted with the immense bravery and sacrifice Australian Service men and women have given. To end the experience students witnessed the Last Post Cermony, with two students laying a reef by the Pool of Reflection. Attached below is the link of the ceremony.

With a few snaps we were off to AIS. Students were very excited to see the faciliatties where Australia's top champions train. Students particpated in Indoor Soccer, European Handball and Hockey, all of which the teachers dominated in! With students succesfully worn out we headed back to the accomandation ready for tomorrow's next adventure.

LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN!

ac — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 05:00:00 GMT

What a great day!

Landeded in Sydney - beautiful weather to start - we were actually so early that the boys (and us) all got to have a bonus/unexpected lunch! Their delight was obvious!!!

On to the Bridge Climb, unfortunately the weather did not hold and we all climbed the bridge in varying degreees of rain and wind.The climb was still an adventure and an experience that will stay with us for a long time.

We have now settled into the Hotel for the evening - a HUGE BAG of lollies has been collected fro redistribution at a latter time!

Tomorrow we are off to CANBERRA! 6am start, hopefully 7.30/7.45 departure to buy us some extra time ateither the War Memorial or general site seeing around Canberra.

Right now though the next challenge is LIGHTS OUT! :)