On Thursday 4 April, our SDD, Multimedia, Design and Technology and Biology classes undertook and excursion to Sydney, staying overnight on Wednesday evening.
The students and staff enjoyed a morning walk to Darling Harbour for breakfast and then onto Google headquarters in Sydney. There was a panel discussion from 5 members of their staff working in different sections of the organisation – from software engineers, marketing managers, network support and staffing managers. Each person was able to explain their individual path to Google and their role within the company.
After this we took a tour of some areas of the building being shown their staff kitchens and cafes – all free food, even a kitchen that had chefs there if you wanted to learn to cook during the day. There was a wellness room, sleep pods, libraries, interactive spaces, outdoor areas for lunch or relaxing, meeting rooms and team working environments. This was a great opportunity to see into this working environment in one of the most innovative global technology companies.
From here the students had lunch and the Biology students went to Wild Life Sydney Zoo, where they did some work on their depth study into animal adaptations. Students looked at many different animals and learned about how they are specifically designed to live in various environments around Australia. Students got to pat kangaroos, watch a pair of joeys boxing, hold a shingleback lizard, have butterflies fly past them and pat a snake.
The SDD students went to the Power House Museum to take a Minecraft Python Workshop to help further their skills in this course while the Multimedia and Design and Technology students were looking at the major works from last year’s HSC in the Shape exhibition.
Thank you to Mr Westcott who drove the bus, Mark and Jesse for their DJ skills in keeping the whole bus singing for about 10 hours in total, and Mr Goh for the enthusiasm for Google and its products. Students were a credit to themselves, their families and the school as they displayed very positive attitudes to all areas of the excursion. It is wonderful to see students living out our school motto in such positive ways; great ambassadors to PCS.