Year 3

The Year 3 corridors were a buzz of excitement this week as our new Year 3 students eagerly returned to school to meet their new teachers and interact with friends, both old and new. The students filled each classroom with smiles and laughter, as they shared tales of their holiday activities and their learning goals and dreams for the year ahead.

As an added bonus, the Year 3s attended their first excursion of the year in the hustle and bustle of the city. What awaited them was a fun-filled day of exploring the streets and houses of The Rocks to introduce them to the Stage 2 History topic, ‘First Contact’.

The day started with an introductory presentation to discuss famous explorers and their journeys to Australia. The students were given outfits for the day, dressing up as migrants, soldiers and convicts, with two lucky students even dressed as Captain Arthur Philip and James Cook.

Following this, our Year 3s were split into groups to participate in two walking tours which focused on migrants, settlers and convicts. The ‘Red Walk’ looked at all of the buildings and architecture required to establish a colony, allowing students to visit the old bank, hospital, police station and sewer canal. The ‘Blue Walk’ focused on housing, comparing the lives and living quarters of the affluent, wealthy and elite with those of the working class. The tour guides relayed fascinating stories from the past, including some ghost stories to raise the hairs on their heads.

For lunch, the students were taken to Observatory Hill where they could delight in a stunning view of the Harbour. Here, they participated in a creative arts activity entitled, ‘Colonisation: Now vs Then’, sketching the view of present day and then sketching what they imagined the scene to look like in 1788.

Finally, to top off a fantastic day of learning and fun, the Year 3s took part in the First

Contacts Olympics, where they reinforced and demonstrated information which they had been taught throughout the day with running races.

All in all, the Year 3 students and teachers had a wonderful day, coming home with a mountain of new facts, and an eagerness to continue their learning about Australia’s rich history in the classroom. Way to go Year 3!