All aboard for Puffing Billy
22/05/2023
In a Montessori environment, we nurture and support the individual interests and passions of each child. Each day, students have the opportunity to challenge themselves and learn new skills, as well as teach their peers about their specific interests.
‘Going Out’ is an opportunity for children to organise their own trips outside the classroom environment to further their knowledge in a specific area.
Since the end of last year, Hugh from our Boronia class has worked on a project about steam trains. It was a massive project and, to follow up on his learning, Hugh organised and prepared to ‘Go Out’ with his class so they could all see and experience a real steam train. This trip was organised during the term with Hugh contacting various steam train companies to get quotes for our visit. He also organised buses to transport students and had regular conferences with his teacher, Bec, to update her on his progress. Hugh wrote timetables for the day out, undertook risk assessments, worked out expenses for the day and created lessons about steam trains for his peers.
On Monday, 1 May, Boronia finally went to Puffing Billy! Hugh says: “We had a great day at Puffing Billy Railway. It seemed like everyone enjoyed the trip and when we got to Lakeside railway station, we got to visit the museum which was very interesting. I had never met a Puffing Billy educator before who could teach us about the history of the railway, so I really enjoyed that part and Peta knew a lot! We all had a great time learning about Puffing Billy and it was funny how everyone’s name was Peter or Graham or John.”
Because the team at Puffing Billy knew that Hugh had organised this excursion all by himself, they organised a special opportunity for us to meet the drivers!
Hugh says: “I thought it was fantastic to get to meet the drivers and go inside the cabin. Thank you to everyone at Puffing Billy for giving us that opportunity. I am also amazed by the technology they had for an oil burning train so they don’t create bush fires in the Dandenong Ranges!”
Finally, Hugh says: “Thank you to Bec and Daniel and everyone else at school for making it possible to organise this whole excursion. I am very appreciative and thankful for the opportunity. It was a great day and I will never forget it for my whole life even when I am 100!”
