Monday, July 4, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Day 5 (By Kaye Lim, BU6)
By the time we arrived at Springhills Farm for our farm stay, it was already evening and there wasn’t much left to do for the day, but we still had the next day to cover our activities.
We were given a few minutes to freshen up in our rooms before dinner. The rooms were comfortable. We could see the fields with goats and sheep outside through one of the windows. During dinner, we were told not to use too much water when we showered because the farm relied on rainwater for their water supply and it had not rained since November.
I had a quick shower and dessert before going outside to watch the stars. We saw Canis Minor, Canis Major, Orion’s Belt, Mars, the Southern Cross, the Milky Way and various other stars. The moon was really bright and the sky was very pretty. Although the moon was also really pretty, I half-wished it wasn’t there as because it was so bright, we saw less stars than we could have.
The next day we fed the sheep and goats in the fields with bread. We didn’t go beyond the fence. Instead, the animals came to us, they knew we had food. Some of them even let us pat them on their heads.
Then we went inside the shearing shed to watch sheep shearing. Someone came to show us how sheep were sheared. At first, we were worried for the sheep because the shears looked sharp, but after the shearer told us that it wouldn’t hurt the sheep, we relaxed.
After that, we took a ride in the farm truck to the hay shed. During the ride there I was in the middle of the back so everyone in the middle kept falling and clinging on to each other. I fell too, but I didn’t mind, it was fun.
The hay in the hay shed was piled about three times higher than the ceiling inside a classroom, maybe even higher. We were allowed to climb the hay stacks, but only some people tried it. I climbed with my friends and we hopped on the hay as if they were stepping stones, there was a lot of ground to cover.
We then rode back in the farm truck. Those who were in the middle during the ride to the hay shed took the sides. We saw some sheep trapped in the fences, so we stopped every now and then and the farmer would release the sheep from the fence.
We freshened up a little before going to collect chicken eggs. In one of the nesting boxes, instead of finding real eggs, we found chocolate eggs. Everyone got one. Some of the real eggs were even blue. It was strange, but cool.
Near the dining hall there was an almond tree. The farmer showed us how to crack open the almond and then we could eat it. The almonds tasted really good, we couldn’t stop looking for almonds on the ground even when we were told to stop.
All too soon we had to leave the farm for the airport. I felt a little sad, but I was happy that I was going to be home soon.
We were given a few minutes to freshen up in our rooms before dinner. The rooms were comfortable. We could see the fields with goats and sheep outside through one of the windows. During dinner, we were told not to use too much water when we showered because the farm relied on rainwater for their water supply and it had not rained since November.
I had a quick shower and dessert before going outside to watch the stars. We saw Canis Minor, Canis Major, Orion’s Belt, Mars, the Southern Cross, the Milky Way and various other stars. The moon was really bright and the sky was very pretty. Although the moon was also really pretty, I half-wished it wasn’t there as because it was so bright, we saw less stars than we could have.
The next day we fed the sheep and goats in the fields with bread. We didn’t go beyond the fence. Instead, the animals came to us, they knew we had food. Some of them even let us pat them on their heads.
Then we went inside the shearing shed to watch sheep shearing. Someone came to show us how sheep were sheared. At first, we were worried for the sheep because the shears looked sharp, but after the shearer told us that it wouldn’t hurt the sheep, we relaxed.
After that, we took a ride in the farm truck to the hay shed. During the ride there I was in the middle of the back so everyone in the middle kept falling and clinging on to each other. I fell too, but I didn’t mind, it was fun.
The hay in the hay shed was piled about three times higher than the ceiling inside a classroom, maybe even higher. We were allowed to climb the hay stacks, but only some people tried it. I climbed with my friends and we hopped on the hay as if they were stepping stones, there was a lot of ground to cover.
We then rode back in the farm truck. Those who were in the middle during the ride to the hay shed took the sides. We saw some sheep trapped in the fences, so we stopped every now and then and the farmer would release the sheep from the fence.
We freshened up a little before going to collect chicken eggs. In one of the nesting boxes, instead of finding real eggs, we found chocolate eggs. Everyone got one. Some of the real eggs were even blue. It was strange, but cool.
Near the dining hall there was an almond tree. The farmer showed us how to crack open the almond and then we could eat it. The almonds tasted really good, we couldn’t stop looking for almonds on the ground even when we were told to stop.
All too soon we had to leave the farm for the airport. I felt a little sad, but I was happy that I was going to be home soon.
Day 4 (By Rouie Domingo, EM6 (Padbury) and Claudia, CE6 (Harmony)
Places of interest: Padbury Catholic Primary and Harmony Primary School
During our Perth trip, I was in group 5 under Mrs Pauline Tan.
Our first activity was to visit Harmony Primary school. After our visit, we went on to Padbury Primary School. We had to have buddies in that school. Some were boys and some were girls. Our buddies had a few minutes to take us on a tour around their school. Then we had to assemble in their school hall. After a quick introduction, we had to teach our buddies to play zero-point using rubber bands. We took turns to jump over the rubber bands. We had an enjoyable time with our buddies. Thereafter, we headed to the school field to play some field games our buddies had planned for us. We had a whale of a time! There were games like tug of war, ball games, and novelty races. After the games, almost everybody felt like passing out from the heat and the running. But all in all, we made new friends who are the same age as us and learnt a lot on classroom and outdoor lessons in Perth. After a long, tiring day, we gave our buddies souvenirs and they gave us one too!
I really wished the time given in Perth would be extended it was such an enjoyable time!
-----
After having breakfast in the hotel like all the other days, we checked out and went to Harmony Primary School. We met many new friends and learnt how the pupils studied and more about their daily life. The building of the school is made of recycled, recyclable and environmentally-friendly materials. It utilizes energy from the Sun and air flows to provide natural heating and cooling effects. There are water and power saving devices too! We also taught our new friends how to make a goldfish out of angpows.
At Padbury Catholic, we played with our new friends a game of ‘zero-point’. After spending a few hours of games with our new friends, we had to say goodbye.
After that, we went to Springhills Farm, it was a LONG DRIVE. As everyone was tired from playing under the HOT sun, the whole bus was peaceful and quiet as almost everyone fell asleep. We finally reached the farm near dinner time. We got used to our rooms and it turned out to be better than I expected. It was not only very comfortable but also very cool. After having dinner, we went out to see the stars.
We could apply what we learnt on our first day at Scitech about stars and constellations. We saw the Orion’s belt and the Southern Cross too! We all then had our last night in Perth. Because there was no network, nobody could give their loved ones a call. Everyone was anxious and couldn’t wait to call back. Our tour guide managed to get in touch with the school and sent out a message to our parents to assure them of our safety.
During our Perth trip, I was in group 5 under Mrs Pauline Tan.
Our first activity was to visit Harmony Primary school. After our visit, we went on to Padbury Primary School. We had to have buddies in that school. Some were boys and some were girls. Our buddies had a few minutes to take us on a tour around their school. Then we had to assemble in their school hall. After a quick introduction, we had to teach our buddies to play zero-point using rubber bands. We took turns to jump over the rubber bands. We had an enjoyable time with our buddies. Thereafter, we headed to the school field to play some field games our buddies had planned for us. We had a whale of a time! There were games like tug of war, ball games, and novelty races. After the games, almost everybody felt like passing out from the heat and the running. But all in all, we made new friends who are the same age as us and learnt a lot on classroom and outdoor lessons in Perth. After a long, tiring day, we gave our buddies souvenirs and they gave us one too!
I really wished the time given in Perth would be extended it was such an enjoyable time!
-----
After having breakfast in the hotel like all the other days, we checked out and went to Harmony Primary School. We met many new friends and learnt how the pupils studied and more about their daily life. The building of the school is made of recycled, recyclable and environmentally-friendly materials. It utilizes energy from the Sun and air flows to provide natural heating and cooling effects. There are water and power saving devices too! We also taught our new friends how to make a goldfish out of angpows.
At Padbury Catholic, we played with our new friends a game of ‘zero-point’. After spending a few hours of games with our new friends, we had to say goodbye.
After that, we went to Springhills Farm, it was a LONG DRIVE. As everyone was tired from playing under the HOT sun, the whole bus was peaceful and quiet as almost everyone fell asleep. We finally reached the farm near dinner time. We got used to our rooms and it turned out to be better than I expected. It was not only very comfortable but also very cool. After having dinner, we went out to see the stars.
We could apply what we learnt on our first day at Scitech about stars and constellations. We saw the Orion’s belt and the Southern Cross too! We all then had our last night in Perth. Because there was no network, nobody could give their loved ones a call. Everyone was anxious and couldn’t wait to call back. Our tour guide managed to get in touch with the school and sent out a message to our parents to assure them of our safety.
Day 3 (By Vanessa Lam, AM6)
Places of interest: Herdsman Lake Regional Park, Hills Forest National Park
This trip to Perth had indeed been a memorable one. What I enjoyed most was the Herdsman Lake Regional Wildlife Park visit, where the W.A Gould League was situated. There, I learned about many different sorts of animals and plants and even got to touch a long- necked tortoise! After that, we had a walk through the forest and learnt about paper-bark trees. I found out that the trees’ bark was used to wrap foodstuff like the Aboriginals, the olden Australians did in the past. We also had a bird-watching activity and saw many different species of birds, including the well known and rare black swans. All of us were mesmerized by its beauty. After that, we had an activity – catching water organisms! My group caught 4 small fishes and a backswimmer. We were elated. Then, we had lunch at a nice restaurant and then proceeded to our next destination- Hills Forest National Park! It was a nice and warm day to go for a walk in the forest. Before trekking, we had a sneak peek of some animals – an echidna, a snake and 2 baby joeys. When we had a walk in the forest, we learnt how important dried leaves were as they helped in purifying the water. We also learnt that all the trees in the forest take up about 250,000 liters of water. The trip was fun and exciting! If I could go again, I will definitely go!
This trip to Perth had indeed been a memorable one. What I enjoyed most was the Herdsman Lake Regional Wildlife Park visit, where the W.A Gould League was situated. There, I learned about many different sorts of animals and plants and even got to touch a long- necked tortoise! After that, we had a walk through the forest and learnt about paper-bark trees. I found out that the trees’ bark was used to wrap foodstuff like the Aboriginals, the olden Australians did in the past. We also had a bird-watching activity and saw many different species of birds, including the well known and rare black swans. All of us were mesmerized by its beauty. After that, we had an activity – catching water organisms! My group caught 4 small fishes and a backswimmer. We were elated. Then, we had lunch at a nice restaurant and then proceeded to our next destination- Hills Forest National Park! It was a nice and warm day to go for a walk in the forest. Before trekking, we had a sneak peek of some animals – an echidna, a snake and 2 baby joeys. When we had a walk in the forest, we learnt how important dried leaves were as they helped in purifying the water. We also learnt that all the trees in the forest take up about 250,000 liters of water. The trip was fun and exciting! If I could go again, I will definitely go!
Day 2 (By Rachel Devadason, AM6 & Yong Wen Min, AM6)
Places of interest: Fremantle, Cicerello’s Seafood Restaurant, Caversham Wildlife Park& Margaret River Chocolate Factory.
First, we took a bus to Fremantle Market. Many different things were sold there, from fresh fruit, vegetables and meat, to toys, interestingly bound notebooks, musical instruments and other knick-knacks. With so many choices, we really had difficulty deciding what to spend our money on! Although the market was swarming with tourists like us and the weekend crowd, it was surprisingly clean. After an hour of fun, we returned to the coach with shopping bags in our hands and smiles on our faces.
After spending our money at Fremantle Market, we headed to Cicerello’s Seafood Restaurant, where we had a delicious lunch of fish and chips. The restaurant was huge as it could cater to 450 customers, and there was a big aquarium indoors where fish swam about freely.
Having satisfied our hunger, we went to Caversham Wildlife Park which houses a large number of animals. We started by visiting the kangaroos. We fed the kangaroos with kangaroo food that was given to us before the guide told us more about those jumpy marsupials. Next we visited the sleepy koalas and got to meet-and-greet a big wombat. All in all, we had a great time and learnt more about the animals which we thought of as ‘cute’, without knowing much about.
Lastly, we made our way to Margaret River Chocolate Factory in excitement. As most of us had never seen a chocolate factory before, we were amazed by the amount of chocolates there. Chocolates came in many different shapes and sizes, white chocolate was shaped into tennis balls and dark chocolate into easter bunnies. I realised that besides eating, chocolate had many other uses such as moisturising cream, as well as facial and body products!
First, we took a bus to Fremantle Market. Many different things were sold there, from fresh fruit, vegetables and meat, to toys, interestingly bound notebooks, musical instruments and other knick-knacks. With so many choices, we really had difficulty deciding what to spend our money on! Although the market was swarming with tourists like us and the weekend crowd, it was surprisingly clean. After an hour of fun, we returned to the coach with shopping bags in our hands and smiles on our faces.
After spending our money at Fremantle Market, we headed to Cicerello’s Seafood Restaurant, where we had a delicious lunch of fish and chips. The restaurant was huge as it could cater to 450 customers, and there was a big aquarium indoors where fish swam about freely.
Having satisfied our hunger, we went to Caversham Wildlife Park which houses a large number of animals. We started by visiting the kangaroos. We fed the kangaroos with kangaroo food that was given to us before the guide told us more about those jumpy marsupials. Next we visited the sleepy koalas and got to meet-and-greet a big wombat. All in all, we had a great time and learnt more about the animals which we thought of as ‘cute’, without knowing much about.
Lastly, we made our way to Margaret River Chocolate Factory in excitement. As most of us had never seen a chocolate factory before, we were amazed by the amount of chocolates there. Chocolates came in many different shapes and sizes, white chocolate was shaped into tennis balls and dark chocolate into easter bunnies. I realised that besides eating, chocolate had many other uses such as moisturising cream, as well as facial and body products!
Day 1 (By Claudia, CE6 & Samantha Yap, JO6)
Places of interest: Scitech Discovery Centre, Kings Park & City Tour
Straight from the airport after out midnight flight, we went to have breakfast at McDonalds. After that, we headed to Scitech Discovery Centre. Scitech Discovery Centre is a place where I got to do some hands-on activities on science, and of course, more on Stars and constellations.
Our first activity was to get to know more about stars where we could sit on comfy chair as we watched a short film that lasted approximately 20-30 minutes. We got to know the Orion’s belt & the Southern Cross and many more!
After Scitech, we went to King’s Park. King’s Park is a popular place for picnics, pleasant strolls and cultural and ceremonial events like weddings! King’s park is also a testament to certain aspects of the Western Australian history. In addition to the huge war memorial, which contains the names of the many soldiers who lost had lost their lives during the first and the Second World War. In the evening, we checked into our hotel (The New Esplanade Hotel) and had our dinner in the hotel. Yummy spaghetti! We all then had an early night.
-----
Scitech Discovery Centre is a very interesting place with workshops and programs that are designed to make science teaching easier. There are several workshops available and I have been to a few but not all as time was not on our side.
I visited Horizon – the Planetarium’s exhibitions and it was definitely very enlightening. I found the planets and constellations in the night sky before blasting off into space a very interesting concept.
Some other activities I found really interesting include:
1. Playing with light - It was so cool. The light follows the direction that you move to.
2. Mirror - It changes the shape of your body.
3. Chicks - The chicks were so cute. We saw them in the incubator as they require the heat to grow.
4. Laser Beams - It was so fun in there. We had to avoid the lasers displayed throughout the room in order to cross over to the other side.
Besides the Scitech Discovery Centre, I also visited the Kings Park. I learnt that the Swan River flows through the city of Perth, in the Southwest of Western Australia. It’s lower reaches are wide and deep while the upper reaches are narrow and shallow.
Also found at Kings Park was The State War Memorial which is located on Mount Eliza overlooking Perth Water. The State War Memorial has individual plaques that were lined along the street and they are dedicated by family members to Western Australian service men and women who died in World War I and World War II.
I have been back to Singapore for about a week and a half but am still recalling all the events that has happened during the trip to Perth. It was indeed an educational trip and I felt that I have a better knowledge of the Solar System and of Perth and had also made new friends from other classes as well as developed better friendships with existing friends. I am glad that I am able to be part of the 51 chosen ones to embark on this trip and hope that there are more to come.
Straight from the airport after out midnight flight, we went to have breakfast at McDonalds. After that, we headed to Scitech Discovery Centre. Scitech Discovery Centre is a place where I got to do some hands-on activities on science, and of course, more on Stars and constellations.
Our first activity was to get to know more about stars where we could sit on comfy chair as we watched a short film that lasted approximately 20-30 minutes. We got to know the Orion’s belt & the Southern Cross and many more!
After Scitech, we went to King’s Park. King’s Park is a popular place for picnics, pleasant strolls and cultural and ceremonial events like weddings! King’s park is also a testament to certain aspects of the Western Australian history. In addition to the huge war memorial, which contains the names of the many soldiers who lost had lost their lives during the first and the Second World War. In the evening, we checked into our hotel (The New Esplanade Hotel) and had our dinner in the hotel. Yummy spaghetti! We all then had an early night.
-----
Scitech Discovery Centre is a very interesting place with workshops and programs that are designed to make science teaching easier. There are several workshops available and I have been to a few but not all as time was not on our side.
I visited Horizon – the Planetarium’s exhibitions and it was definitely very enlightening. I found the planets and constellations in the night sky before blasting off into space a very interesting concept.
Some other activities I found really interesting include:
1. Playing with light - It was so cool. The light follows the direction that you move to.
2. Mirror - It changes the shape of your body.
3. Chicks - The chicks were so cute. We saw them in the incubator as they require the heat to grow.
4. Laser Beams - It was so fun in there. We had to avoid the lasers displayed throughout the room in order to cross over to the other side.
Besides the Scitech Discovery Centre, I also visited the Kings Park. I learnt that the Swan River flows through the city of Perth, in the Southwest of Western Australia. It’s lower reaches are wide and deep while the upper reaches are narrow and shallow.
Also found at Kings Park was The State War Memorial which is located on Mount Eliza overlooking Perth Water. The State War Memorial has individual plaques that were lined along the street and they are dedicated by family members to Western Australian service men and women who died in World War I and World War II.
I have been back to Singapore for about a week and a half but am still recalling all the events that has happened during the trip to Perth. It was indeed an educational trip and I felt that I have a better knowledge of the Solar System and of Perth and had also made new friends from other classes as well as developed better friendships with existing friends. I am glad that I am able to be part of the 51 chosen ones to embark on this trip and hope that there are more to come.
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