Bethlehem School

Thank you for your support with provided bus travel so that students from three Y3 classes from Bethlehem School could visit two farms.

The students really enjoyed the experience, as well as the parents who were able to come. Not only has this provided a real life context of a dairy farm but it also evolved into the importance of protecting our waterways, especially as one of the farms borders the Tauranga Harbour. Back at school we have also done some work on flow charts, starting with how milk gets from the cow to our house. The students are now able to watch videos from Rosie's World and create a flow chart independently.

The opportunity to touch cow poo, run in a paddock of long grass, and stand close to a cow is something that many of our students had not previously experienced (lots of students didn't realise how big they really are). Interestingly, when told about the electric fence and how much it hurts, but they could touch it if they wanted, nearly all my students did, even after seeing there classmates jump. Maybe they are not as smart as I had thought ... thankfully, Nick had set up a lower voltage fence deliberately. He also told the students a big story about his jersey cows being used as a test for Fonterra (thank you for the flavoured milk, and for bringing a milk tanker in especially for us). As they are brown they make chocolate milk. He had a test pot which he milked a cow into, that already contained milo powder. Even some of the adults took a while to realise his trick. Nick had also taken the time to arrange some spot prizes from Ballance, it really was a great experience for the students.