Humanities
Parliament House excursion
On 31 October, the FLE Humanities students took part in an excursion to the Victorian Parliament House in Melbourne. The purpose of the visit was to deepen their understanding of how the Victorian Government operates and how democratic decisions are made🏛️ ✨ During the excursion, students toured the historic Parliament building, including the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council chambers. They learned about the roles of members of Parliament, how debates are conducted, and how ideas become laws.
👀 A highlight was seeing where real discussions and decision-making take place, bringing their classroom learning to life. 🌱 The visit helped students gain a clearer understanding of the importance of active citizenship and how individuals can have a voice in shaping their community.
💬💬This is what our TC students had to say about the visit:
💚“This experience is memorable for me because it was the very first time I visually saw such a beautiful monument. The rooms inside had such intricate detail, keeping your mind and eyes occupied when touring the Parliament. One highlight definitely had to be meeting a member from the green room (the legislative assembly) because it was inspirational and uncommon.” – Shivi
🪙“We also talked about the mace that was stolen. It was made of gold and silver. Because it was stolen, there is a $50,000 reward if you find/return it.”- Jacinta
📗“The excursion to the Victorian Parliament house was a very insightful visit, we explored the red room (legislative council), and the green room (legislative assembly), the library, and our tour guide, Karl, explained the history and importance of each historical item and answered everyone’s questions.” – Kianna
❤️“Some of the highlights of this event would have been being in the Parliament house with my friends and being able to sit in the President’s chair.” - Rhodes
🦄🦄🦄“I was surprised how many unicorn statues there were. Although some parts were a little boring it was astonishing how much the British parliament was copied by the Australian/Vic parliament. My favourite part was visiting the library there. I definitely recommend going if you get the chance.” - Willow (some examples of the unicorns pictured above)
💭“I met the lower house MP for Essendon, Danny Pearson, he was very nice and even gave me a selfie with him! This trip was an incredibly fun and interesting look into the parliamentary functioning of the Victorian government. I loved being here and I dream of getting to work here.” - Vann
👑“One thing I found interesting was the differences between the speaker and the President, with the former being in the Lower House and the latter in the Upper House. The Speaker and the President serve basically the same purpose, keep the peace and kick out anyone who doesn’t calm down, but one difference is that the speaker cannot vote, but the president can. Also, in the Upper House, there is a grand chair that sits behind the President’s seat. It is where the Crown (the King or Queen) would sit, but it is also commonly occupied by the Governor-General, who will listen to them and report back to the monarch to either give or deny Royal assent, though no monarch has denied giving royal ascent since Charles I of England got his head chopped off.” – Gabrielle
Romeo and Juliet Performance in the PAC – Preparatory English
In Week 2 of Term 3, the Flying Bookworm visited TC to perform Romeo and Juliet.
✨🎭 They are an experienced foursome who opened with a fast-paced, quirky and humorous summary performance of the entire play.
📚 They then selected key scenes to help unravel Shakespeare’s complex language and make difficult moments clear and accessible.
❓ The cast also responded to student questions, helping them consider different perspectives on the great conundrum: Who is responsible for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet?
📝 The performance supported students in shaping their own ideas and preparing for this central learning task.
Julie Campbell
STUDENT RESPONSES
🎭“The Romeo & Juliet school performance provided clarity and context. It developed my understanding, although I have seen a few Romeo and Juliet productions before I think the delivery of this performance has helped provide clarity for some conversations and points in the play”.
💬“The actors were entertaining and helped us to understand the play”.
❓❓“They explained that as long as we had evidence, we could make our own choices for who was most responsible”.
🧡“I was expecting this to be boring, but it was great!”
🎭“The actors made sense of the play”.
🙋“A fun incursion – and the Q & A at the end was interesting and helpful”.
TC student shortlisted for ‘Story in Miniature’ creative writing competition
🎉Congratulations to FLE1 student Heide Orr, whose short story has been shortlisted for the ‘Story in Miniature' Victorian Association for the Teaching of English creative writing competition from a field of 150 entries. Heide’s story is featured below:
The waltz swirled around Ellie Barrett; her silk gown catching the candlelight in soft, shimmering waves. The ballroom at Lord Ashworth’s estate glowed with gold and laughter, but all Ellie saw was Will Darsey across the floor. He smiled—warm and genuine—and something fluttered in her chest.
For weeks, they had danced around the truth: stolen glances over teacups, shared laughter under garden trellises, hushed conversations in the library about poetry and dreams. Ellie felt it—this spark, this quiet pull. And she was certain Will felt it too.
He crossed the floor slowly, deliberately, his eyes never leaving hers. “Miss Barrett,” he murmured, voice low and velvet-soft, “may I have this dance?”
They moved together like a secret. His hand brushed her waist; her fingers curled into his. The world melted away as they spoke of distant lands and restless hopes. He longed to paint sunsets in Italy and rivers in India. She whispered her secret longing—to write novels, to move people with words.
Then, as the music slowed, he stilled. His hand found hers. “Ellie,” he said, voice trembling with something deeper, “I will love you forever.”
But before Ellie could reply, a sharp voice sliced through the air. “Will!”
A woman with flaming red hair and a familiar Darsey face approached, a small boy clutching her skirts. “Where on earth have you been?”