Field Trips

"Fire Fighters are as Fast as Lightening"

This was one of the statements that one of my students made after we visited the local fire station. We have been learning about community helpers and for the first time I became brave enough to contact the fire station and the police department about doing a tour. Tours of emergency services are not as common for International schools but both departments were extremely welcoming and it was quite an experience for all of us. Our guide took us to the garage with all the trucks and he showed us each one explaining what each truck is used for. 

Although we knew an emergency could happen at any time I thought it highly unlikely they would get a call during our visit there. Well near the end of our tour we left the big hanger with the large trucks and were looking at the vans they use for smaller calls, when the alarm sounded and we got to see the fire fighters in action. I don't think I have ever seen people move that fast in my life. During our tour our guide said that they had to be down and out of the station in under two minutes. Down the poles, out the doors, into their gear and out the door in mere seconds. Our guide told my Czech translator that we should wait in the corner and someone would come for us, as he threw on his gear and hopped on the truck. Then we waved goodbye to the trucks as they headed out. It was an amazing thing to witness and to contemplate what it all meant. As we were walking back to the school it struck the girls that the firemen leaving meant someone was in trouble and there was a fire. We prayed for the people in trouble and for safety of fire fighters.

Braving Butterflies

To go along with our unit on plants and the grade 2/3's learning about insects we took the kids to the Botanical Gardens during their butterfly exhibit. The green houses have a bountiful collection of many different plants and who doesn't love butterflies? Well not all my students loved the butterflies. One of my girls was simply terrified of them. I believe they were MUCH larger than she thought they should be and the chances that one could land on her at any given moment resulted in tears. However she powered through and we had a lovely time exploring the different butterfly species and seeing the variety of plants that God has created.

At some point I will get a chance to post pictures from my Spring Break trip to Paris but that will have to wait for another day off. Stay tuned for our next adventures of Swim camp and field day!

Spring is Here

Field Trip Season Has Come!

When Spring comes so does field trip season. How does one cope with a Friday afternoon after doing a week of Standardized testing? You go to see the Police horse stables!
After learning about helpers in our local community I took my girls and the grade 4/5's to the police horse stables. One of our wonderful office ladies used to work in the horse stable for the mounted police and was able to set up a visit for us. Unfortunately the weather did no cooperate so it was a wet cold afternoon, but our kids are troopers and they toughed it out.
Enjoy the pictures from our adventures.

First we trekked a kilometre from the bus stop to the horse stables. In the rain! Such tough kids.

Big thanks to Lily for teaching us about the horses and what the officers do. We learned that one horse and rider is the equivalent of having 10 officers on the ground. They are often brought out during large crowd situations such as after hockey and football (soccer) matches, to help with crowd control and in case or riots.

The horses are trained to walk in formation through crowds and obstacles and to not spook around loud noises, smoke and fire.

Despite being cold, hungry and tired we made it through and had a fun time.

Many thanks to the Czech Police department- Mounted division for welcoming us and taking time out of your busy day to teach us about what you do.

Now on to Spring Break! Stay tuned for a few snapshots of my quick trip to Paris!