During week 10 of Term 1, 9G and 9U embarked on a Social Studies trip to Parliament and the National Library.

In the Education Centre at Parliament we learnt about MP’s, government seats and also about important roles - The Speaker and Clerk of the House.  We were able to act out a debate to see how everything worked.  From there we went on to the debate chamber and noticed many interesting things about the room.  The carpet is green, symbolic because it means the Queen, or any of her representatives, are prohibited from entering the room.  This means she is unable to influence government decisions.  Following this we saw the select committee rooms as well as the gallery corridor which showcases all past Prime Ministers and MPs from that year.

At the National Library we visited the He Tohu exhibit to see Te Tiriti o Waitangi and He Whakaputanga which is the Declaration of Independence.  An interesting fact we learnt is that both these important documents are kept in an air tight heat and light sensitive case to protect the documents and should do so for another 500 years.  We also saw the Women's Suffrage Petition and learnt a little about the work involved in collecting signatures.  He Tohu has a series of computers on which you can search your ancestors' names to see if they signed these important documents.  One or two students managed to find their ancestors.