YEAR 6 students at St Peter’s School, Caboolture, took a trip down memory lane to witness life in a Catholic school in the early 1900s.
The school day began for the students with strict uniform checks, shortly followed by prayer and a reciting from the catechism.
Within the early 20th Century school day was an authentic early 20th Century classroom complete with chalk and slates.
Students experienced activities traditional to that era, like dictation, cursive writing, spelling bees, algorithms and sewing.
Year 6 student Keanan Schwerin said things had changed a lot since the early 1900s.
“There’s more variety when it comes to subjects, and teachers are a lot nicer,” he said.
“It makes me appreciate school a little more and even my teacher.”
Year 6/7 teacher Rebecca O’Connor said they gained inspiration for the 1900s day from the most recent Year 6 Brisbane Catholic Education Learning Byte: The Catholic Church in the Land Down Under.
She said the students investigated the history of the Catholic Church within Australia, and the contribution it had made to the shaping of the country, as part of the school’s Religion studies.
She said they examined the ways in which the Australian Catholic Church and its organisations had changed since federation, in particular how Catholic schools had changed.
“It was an invaluable learning experience for the students to compare the then and now of Catholic Education in Australia since federation,” she said.
Assistant principal for religious education Anna Shaw said it was an authentic learning experience the students will always remember.
“Students and teachers alike gained many insights into what life was like in a Catholic school around the turn of the 20th Century,” she said.
