School Excursion to Calmsley Hill City Farm on 22 September 2018
On Saturday, September 22, 2018, our first long-awaited school trip to Calmsley Hill City Farm took place. The trip was partially sponsored by „Freedom and Democracy” Foundation at the Senate of the Republic of Poland as part of the project „Supporting Polish Education in the World”.
We are extremely grateful to the „Freedom and Democracy” Foundation for financial assistance in the implementation of our school excursion project. It is difficult to find words that would fully reflect our joy that we could spend this day together as a school community: students, teachers and parents.
Our trip had two basic outcomes: an education outcome and an integration outcome.
Education outcome:
- The student recognizes and names animals living in the Polish countryside;
- The student builds simple sentences in Polish on the subject of farm animals;
- The student recognizes the characteristic sounds made by animals on a farm.
Integration outcome:
- Strengthening social attitudes and integration of the group of trip participants and their environment.
On September 22, 2018, on a beautiful spring morning the students met their parents and teachers in front of the entrance gate to Calmsley Hill City Farm. The first event of the day was the opportunity to interact with, touch and pet various types of domestic animals. There were rabbits and goats, sheep and ponies. What fun it was for kids! This joy was painted not only on the faces of children, but also on the faces of their parents. Some lucky students had the unique opportunity to feed a baby lamb from a bottle. It was a great experience, and everyone shared in a lot of laughter, and joy. The following attraction was milking the cows. At 11:00 am, a large crowd gathered together around the cows. Onlookers, and everyone, without exception, wanted to see if it was possible that chocolate or strawberry milk would flow by accident. Unfortunately, some of our kids were honestly disappointed when it turned out that milk from a cow is always … plain. Some of our students tried their hand at milking the cow, as seen in the pictures. I admit that I myself attempted to milk the cow and I am proud to report some success. At 12:00 we gathered for lunch. Parents talked cheerfully with one another, and the children played together on a large meadow. There was also a sing-a-long, made possible by our talented Mr. Darek Plust, who brought with him a guitar, songbooks and a loudspeaker. I am very grateful to Mr. Darek for his presence! Without him and his talent, our trip would certainly not be the same. After lunch, some of the parents took their children to the farm, where kangaroos lazily lounged in the sun. Others went to watch dog training. Their dog trainer was fantastic. With great pleasure we watched the performances of her pupils. Finally we watched and admired the skills of professional sheep shearers – the children were hypnotized by their incredible expertise. Our trip turned out to be a great escape for both children and adults. Once again, we would like express our gratitude to the Freedom and Democracy Foundation for allowing us to organize the outing.
And did the children like the Farm? Check the photos and decide for yourself!