6.4 Investigating our Migrant Past

During the Winter Term, the Year 6 boys have been busy creating a Migrant Suitcase which was all part of an exciting iLearn unit where students investigated a notable Australian migrant who has made a significant impact on Australian society. As an introduction to the unit, boys started the term with a fascinating interactive excursion to the Maritime Museum to explore the stories of people who had migrated to Western Australia. Boys learnt of the challenges, achievements and contributions of a group of migrants and how they impacted the future of Australia. They thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to recreate through role play some of these different migrants stories. They also discovered how to build a museum-quality display and examined artefacts that represent a migrant's life journey.

When boys returned to school, they were full of enthusiasm to start researching a famous Australian who had migrated to Australia. Their task was to create a Migrant Suitcase (shoebox size) that included five artefacts representing different aspects of the person's life. As a part of the unit, the students learnt about the White Australian policy, the Displaced Person's Act of 1947 and push and pull factors that influenced migration.

A highlight of the term was an incursion involving Dr O'Connell and student Arad Rad (Year 12), who told their personal stories of migration to Australia to the Year 6 cohort. The culmination of the term was the 'classroom walkthrough' where all the Year 6 boys had the opportunity to present the Migrant Suitcase they had created to the rest of the cohort. A vast range of migrant stories was presented, including Victor Chang, Penny Wong, C.Y. O'Connor and Majak Daw. It was also wonderful to see boys also choosing family relatives and personal sporting coaches to research.

Finally, on the sporting front, the Year 6 Inter House Gaelic Football competition was a formidable hard-fought contest between the Houses with the mighty David House declared the champions.

 

Mrs Sarah Blunt
6.4 Homeroom Teacher