Primary Years Program Exhibition

By Year 6 students Oscar Eyers and Charlie Sly

Oscar: The second week of the PYPX campaign saw a renewed surge of palpable interest and effort from teachers and pupils alike. Radford students have adapted to the new concept groups, introduced to bring groups together through similar ideas. The groups consist of technology, well-being, sustainability 1 and 2, and the equity group.

The equity group looked deep into inquiries related to perspective and equity applied in different circumstances throughout communities. We underwent several tasks, sparking ideas and forging connections. We had incursions in which we collaborated effectively as an audience with guest speakers, bouncing experiences, opinions and feelings positively amongst each other. This guided us toward forging new conclusions, with everyone acquiring new knowledge while still seeking more information and having a sense of injustice and motivation to make the change that the community needs. Our guest speaker, Caitlin Maggs, came in and inspired us with her humour and passion for electrical work, enriching understanding over life lessons: Make sure you do what you want to do, and if you have a dedication, don’t let anything get in your way.

A few days later, a Vinnie’s worker came in to spread awareness on the problem that our nation has with poverty. One in eight Australians are classified below the poverty line and one in six children are as well. We were also introduced to a metaphor which revolved around juggling balloons (meaning responsibilities), and how organisations like Vinnie’s can help you stay afloat by assisting you with juggling some of your balloons. Have a think and ask yourself what you can do to help someone in need?

After the two incursions the equity group went off campus to St John's Care, to learn what life is like doing proper organisational work for the community. St John's Care provides homeless or disadvantaged people with resources including food and toiletries. We spent the morning doing our part by helping families in need.

With exhibition underway and a jam-packed week of activities to look back on, we can now set our gaze on the horizons of the future of this year’s PYPX campaign, with moments of beauty awaiting each and every one of us.

Charlie: Last week Year 6 split up into four concept groups for Exhibition. The groups are equity, sustainability, well-being, and technology. I'm in equity. We split up into classes and did some group activities to get to know each other and feel comfortable. We later talked about equity and the different types and how you need to use perspective in equity. Later in the week we had incursions and excursions.

In our first incursion we met a woman named Caitlin who talked about equity for gender and how she had people doubting her in the electric company where she worked. She kept on doing what she loved and now she owns an electric company.

In our second inclusion we met a guy named Sharky. Sharky worked for Vinnie's which help homeless people. We also learnt that you don't need to do anything crazy to try and save the world and that you can just do small, nice things that don't have to take up all your day but might just make someone else's day.

For Exhibition we went to St John's Care which also helps the homeless by giving them things that they might need like shampoo, canned food, and other helpful supplies. We helped them out by putting away supplies in crates. At the end we learnt about how not everybody is as lucky as we are.

I think that everyone had a great time learning about equity.