Throughout the school year, our educators, and animals visit area classrooms to present Humane Education to school children. In the 2009 - 2010 school year, we taught, through our School Visits Program 24, 831 children in wider Kitchener-Waterloo area in Public, Catholic and Private schools. Each presentation is designed to tie into the government required curriculum and to be age-appropriate. Presentations include a short summary of the services provided by the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society (KWHS), and a unique Humane Education theme. Visual resources enhance each presentation, and a follow-up activity sheet is given to reinforce the lessons taught. For a detailed overview of our grade specific curriculum, see below:
For enquiries, or to place bookings, please contact the Education Manager, Nancy Cressman, at (519)-745-5615 or education@kwhumane.com.
Humane Education at work!
When our Education Manager, Nancy Cressman, and the Education Dog, Yuri, head out daily to elementary schools in our community, she hopes the Humane Education lessons that are taught are remembered and put into practice. The actions of Mr. Johnston’s grade 6 class of Sudaby Public School, Frederick Street, Kitchener, proves that the lessons are remembered and acted upon. It was approximately one week after their Humane Society visit that the Grade 6 students were able to put their newly learned lesson into practice.
It was a regular day at the beginning of February for Mr. Johnston and his students. They were getting ready to leave their portable classroom and head into the main school for a computer lesson when a friendly little cat came right up to them and wanted to go into the school too. The students felt concerned for the stray cat since it was a cold day and the cat was having trouble walking on one paw. Mr. Johnston felt concerned too, but when they returned from computer class the little cat was gone.
When the students later returned to their portable, the cat was back, this time wanting to join them in the warm classroom. Mr. Johnston couldn’t turn the cat away, not when his students were reminding him of the valuable lesson they had learned: “If you find a stray cat, the safest place for it is at the Humane Society”. The animal-loving teacher went to his car where he had an animal crate which he uses when traveling with his dog, and brought it to the classroom. The students saw that the cat was very friendly and gently pick him up and reassured him that he would be safe in the crate.
The cat remained calm and happy to be in a warm classroom until Mr. Johnston could bring him to the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society (KWHS). Mr. Johnston told the KWHS staff that the children were very aware of the role of the Humane Society in our community and what they had learned on how they could support the efforts of the KWHS. They were very motivated to apply what they had learned by helping this needy cat. This experience gave them a first-hand view of how they could be a part of what KWHS strives to do each day: save the lives of animals.
This story has a happy ending. The little stray cat belonged to a family at the school! They were able to come to the Centre and pick up their escape artist, who now stays indoors and wears a collar with tags, just in case.
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