This term, the children in F1 had their first visit from our community partner, Animal Rescue and Care (ARC). ARC is a charity organisation run by animal lovers whose passion is to directly address the plight of abused and abandoned animals in Saigon. Their mission is to initiate and facilitate care, advocacy and awareness for animals in need.
During the last two weeks, the children have been learning about animal care and how to approach cats and dogs safely, especially when meeting them for the first time. Last Wednesday, Ms Koto and Ms Mel from ARC gave each F1 class a soft toy pet to look after for the week. They taught the children how to correctly carry the pets and know which foods are appropriate to give them. The children have been taking great care of our class pets, naming, combing, feeding and bathing them.
This week, Ms Koto and Ms Mel came back with a veterinarian, Dr Nghia. They brought with them their own pets Ziggy, Petal and Mimi for the children to engage and interact with. The children learnt how to safely approach a dog and a cat for the first time. They all had a chance to give these animals a gentle stroke, a handshake and feed them some delicious carrots as a treat! It was lovely to see many of the F1 children confidently engage with these pets in a safe and gentle manner.
Community leader, Luke Neville, had this to say about our exciting visits: “This partnership reflects the variety and depth of BIS’ community service program whereby our youngest students are learning about how to engage and care for pets through an authentic experience”.
Hopefully, this experience with animals at a young age will contribute to the long term, positive impact that our students will have upon the people, animals and the environment around them.
Ms Christine de Ubago, F1 Teacher
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