by Shannon Sargeant (on behalf of the Science Faculty)

In Term 4 Science, students undertake a unit of Biology focussing on classification and ecology. As part of this curriculum, we undertook an excursion to Healesville Sanctuary. Before the day, students were introduced to the 21 endangered animals that Zoos Victoria is fighting to save from extinction; the students each chose one of those animals on display to visit and research while they were at the Sanctuary. Educators on the day discussed the role of Zoos Victoria in saving species and educating people on the things that they can do to help. Some students were able to go behind the scenes at the reptile enclosure and all experienced the bird show.

The day was a huge success and we received really positive feedback about the behaviour and manners displayed by our students – well done on such great demonstration of the College Values.

Student comments on the day:

I liked having the freedom of being able to walk around everywhere with my friends and it was very enlightening - James Ackroyd

I liked having freedom of being able to roam around the zoo and see all the Australian animals that they had there and learning new facts about the animals - Hayden Stevens

I got to see lots of animals that I’ve never seen before - Matthew Van Trojen In terms of animals, I liked the black cockatoo the most. It was also nice to break the rhythm of normal schoolwork and go somewhere else - Monte Darlison

I liked how a bird went on my head and started dancing - Annie Nykel

I liked seeing my animal, the spotted tree frog, at the lyre bird enclosure- Braiden Glover

I liked the timetable structure and all the animals involved in the program - Genevieve Hollingshead