‘Walk like an Egyptian’ might be a song from the past but it was perfect for Mr Follett and Ms Calais as they kicked off the new theme in Year 7 for Term 2 of FUSE in Egyptian costumes and with Ms Crase as Howard Carter, the archaeologist who discovered Tutankhamen’s tomb. The students were soon humming along and doing some of those characteristic Egyptian moves.

Our study of Ancient Egypt so far this term has been hands-on, especially with our recent excursion to the Abbey Museum in Caboolture to take part in their Egypt Dig experience. Not only did the Year 7s learn in detail the hows and whys of Egyptian mummification, they also spent a few hours becoming ‘real-life’ archaeologists, digging in structured grids and carefully sifting through dirt and sand to find traces of the past. An ancient sarcophagus was surprisingly ‘discovered’ in our well-prepared dig site, along with many relics and artefacts. The excitement of discovery was obvious with some boys excitedly exclaiming, “We’ve found gold, Miss!”.

Back at school we are also keeping it ‘hands-on’ as we experiment with mummifying chickens – don’t worry: they’re just from the supermarket! It makes a change from roasting them! Mind you, the smell isn’t quite as enticing as the students are discovering as the days turn into weeks of salting chickens.