On Thursday October 25 the JP travelled to Adelaide and stayed overnight at the Zoo for our 2018 ‘Zoo Snooze’. We had a great time, learned lots about animals and had some wonderful adventures!
Thursday
The JP were all very excited on Thursday morning and set off early for the long bus ride to the Zoo, (yes kids it takes longer than 10 minutes!). They sang on the way with the favourite being ‘We’re going to the zoo’ much to some of the staff members dismay.
Once arriving at the Zoo we carried our heavy bags in and were very happy to sit down for lunch.
We split into our animal groups, each with an adult leader: fairy penguins, mandrills, giraffes, hippos and lemurs
Then it was off to explore zoo and see the animals
Some of the groups were lucky to catch the bird show and watch a variety of animals being fed.
The teachers learned not to ask the lion zoo keeper what they were feeding the lions when students are in ear shot… whoops!
We then headed back to the education centre for afternoon tea. We took full advantage of the zoo being closed to the public as we all let loose on the playground. We aren’t sure if the students or the teachers enjoyed the twirly slide more!
We then got to meet David who was our zoo host for the evening. David spoke to the students about the different animals and showed them some of the items the zoo has collected including bones and skins.
While this was happening the staff were cooking up a storm and students had a yummy BBQ tea.
We then set up our sleeping areas and headed out with David for a night walk. This was a bit spookier than normal as the Zoo was setting up for their Halloween event.
It was great to see the nocturnal animals, bats and we even played spot the possum.
We eventually managed to find one having a lovely feast off the floor back at camp from our BBQ.
Students then settled in for the night after a busy day full of walking and we watched ‘Madagascar.’
It was fantastic that some students even asked if they could go to bed and we all went to bed with no tears.
Friday
Friday morning saw us wake to the sound of the noisy gibbons. We packed up our things and had toast and cereal for breakfast.
We then headed out with David as our guide to see some of the animals. We especially liked the hippo as the day before he was not on show as his enclosure is cleaned every Thursday. We learnt that he is the oldest hippo in Australia, 53, and he had a pumpkin cake for his birthday.
We then headed back to the playground for a last play before the Zoo opened.
We split off into our groups again to make sure we got to see the entire zoo.
After that we headed back to camp for a quick recess before getting back on the bus for the long journey home with many students having a nap along the way. We stopped at Dublin for lunch of rolls, fruit boxes and a cookie, a big thank you to the school canteen.
Students were very happy to see their parents and headed home after a very big couple of days.
Thank you
Thank you JP for the way you represented CYS while we were away.
A big thank you to Sarah Atkins, Courtney Dayman, Tim Tuck, Pat Hastings and Jackie Smart as the Zoo Snooze wouldn’t have been able to go ahead without you.
(Thank you as well, Emma Wesbrook! Ed.)
To our awesome bus driver Rob we say thank you for driving and putting up with our singing.!
Preparation
What you may not know is about all the fantastic learning that took place beforehand. The JP have worked together and studied the book ‘Class Two at the Zoo’ by Julia Jarman during literacy time.
They have looked at rhyming words and found proper and common nouns within the story. They have sorted the animals in the story into Venn diagrams.
We have used the Adelaide Zoo map to highlight where we would find the characters and completed animal research to make a sign for an enclosure to tell visitors about their animal.
In HASS, students have completed a number of mapping activities and skills to make sure we didn’t get lost.