bm_reflections


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 * Terence's Reflection: **

When I first heard about the CBD I didn't know what to expect, but over the past 5 weeks it has lived up to itself. Coming into the city everyday has really made me see that we live in such a beautiful city. But to me, I haven't really come to the city, it has come to me. The city itself is one huge resource and I was very satisfied that I could use it. Going on the excursions was a highlight for me, I especially liked the Eureka Tower, the Old Melbourne Goal and the city river cruise, whilst watching the city drift by at a leisurely pace, luckily it was nice and warm.

Writing reflections after the excursions meant that you could have your own say on the excursion itself. At first I thought it was a waste of time, but in the end it was a time to relax and reflect and I learnt many things like, a reflection is not a recount. Now I can look back on fun times in the CBD**.**

The State Library, where we went a few times, was certainly a good source. The huge reading room was an unmistakably quaint quiet place where you could research. Indeed, it was also very relaxing and comfortable with the chairs having adjustable back rests. We also went to the archives in search of old newspaper articles on the Olympics in 1956. The front pages were completely different to today's front pages. Many interesting articles came from the 'AGE' and I also found a few mentions of my name on the front page. The State Library was great.

Being in the city meant you couldn't really get time for physical education, although occasionally we went to the Alexandra Gardens. Going to the City Baths every Friday was a great way to end off an incredible week. It was usually very hot, so playing water polo or swimming laps was very refreshing. It was something to look forward to, like the many excursions. Swimming every Friday was a great luxury that I couldn't resist.

Working on the Wiki was sometimes hard and very annoying. We spent a lot of frustrating hours trying to perfect everything and 99% of the time it didn't work out. Tim and I worked brilliantly together and we had lots of fun times. Over time, everything started to work smoothly. The way we worked meant that we didn't have to rush our work and finish our Wiki back at school, I'm very happy with this because it means we have more time to prepare for the presentations, in front of all the parents.

The CBD has given me many lessons: I now know many of the streets in the city, when before I only knew three or four, travelling to the city everyday has made me independent and opened my eyes up a little bit more, eating McDonald's a lot is bad for you and I have also learnt city 'etiquette'.

The CBD is a once in a lifetime experience and I'm very appreciative that I had the privilege to be part of an unbelievable experience. Every single second has been amazing from the excursions to just having fun with friends. Many memorable moments have come from the CBD and I enjoyed it so much, but it probably wouldn't have been as memorable and fun without all the teachers, so thank you. **Tim's Reflection:** Leading up to the CBD I was getting very excited because I knew that I would have a great time. I looked forward to coming into the city everyday especially on the day we had an excursion. I really enjoyed the amount of freedom we were allowed on the excursions and during lunchtime. During the CBD I thought that Terence and I worked very well together. I knew that working with Terence would be very interesting because we have never worked with eachother and we are in different classes but in the end we worked very well together and I am very glad we were put together. During the CBD Terence and I went on two mini excursions, both times we went to the State Library.

I really liked the topic that we worked on. I had a huge interest in international and annual sporting events in Melbourne and it helped that Terence did too. We found all the sports very interesting and I learnt something interesting everyday. The State Library helped us a lot with information, for one of our mini excursions we went in and photo copied the fron page of The Age. The date of the paper was the 22nd of November which was the day of the opening ceremony for the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games.

Some of my favourite excursions were the Eureka Tower Skydeck, and going out onto the edge; the Melbourne Gaol and the Courtroom case; and of course the city baths, where we went every Friday. After every excursion we had to do a reflection which I wasn't very good at but as the CBD went on I improved on reflecting instead of recounting.

I have gained so many things throughout the CBD experience but two of the biggest are the independance and knowldge of the city I now have. I now feel so much mature because of the trust the teachers gave us to walk around the city by ourselves.

The wiki's were very frustrating to work with but me and Terence got the hang of it in the end and I am very, very happy with the final outcome. I really enjoyed the CBD program and I am sure I will remember all the memories and experiences. I would like to thank all the teachers for helping out in the city, they made it a much better experience for all of us. I would especially like to thank Mrs. Dubbeld for taking us to the State Library for a mini excursion.