Year 1 News
Year One Inquiry – Habitats
The most anticipated day of the Year 1 School Calendar Year came into fruition this week, due to the easing of COVID restrictions.
The Year One team worked quickly to ensure our zoo visit could go ahead and we thank the parents for their prompt payment and consent to allow this to happen. We were thrilled to have a full contingent of Year One students attend our adventurous day.
Our Year One students and teachers, ably assisted by Jen and Janine, travelled by bus to the picturesque Werribee Zoo on Monday.
We were greeted by some very happy rangers who informed us that we were the first school to be welcomed back to the zoo, since pre-Lockdown 6. The students were elated to be informed of the arrival of a new zebra foal, that was born on August 28. We were informed that the zoo had been lucky enough to welcome the safe birth of three zebra foals since December 2020 and that the zoo were eagerly awaiting our visit.
A picnic recess followed by a play in the playground, allowed the children to refuel and re-energise before heading off on teacher led walks around the zoo. We walked the Australian track where the children were able to wander with roaming kangaroos and emus. There was much excitement as we stumbled across the koala enclosure, where we overheard a debate between our students about whether a koala is really a bear.
Our Safari Tour took us across the open Savannah, driven by one of the knowledgeable park rangers. The ranger taught us all about conservation, animal adaptations such as camouflage and educated us about each animal and their habitat. Many animals at the zoo are close to extinction, with a few only being bred at the Werribee Zoo and in one other location in the World.
There was excitement as the bus approached two-and-a-half-month-old zebra Dajan, who was laying under Mum, Dafina. Dajan is the youngest sibling to half-sister foals Zola and Falah.
The giraffes, having not been around visitors for some months, were extra inquisitive as the bus meandered its way around the park. With their loping walk, the giraffes bravely approached the bus, where the students quietly sat to admire these wonderful creatures.
The zoo’s Savannah, also home to camels, bison, Mongolian wild horse, ostriches, and bison allowed us a close view of these amazing animals. Unfortunately, the cheetahs and rhinos’ habitats had been damaged by our recent storms and were not out in the savannah for the public to see.
After a picnic lunch, we were afforded extra time to wander the zoo’s many paths where the children viewed lions, hippos, monkeys, and gorillas asleep and at play. There was much chatter as to whether the hippos were real or not, and some minor disappointment when we were unable to visit every animal before our time at the zoo came to an end.
A wonderful day was had by all, with a couple of children taking advantage of the trip home, to take a little kip. We hope you enjoy the videos of our students enjoying their big day out!