Maleny Primary School's Poultry Club kids cock-a-hoop about Show
Amongst the many agricultural exhibits at the Maleny Show this year will be the much loved and cared for rooster and hens from the Maleny State School Poultry Club. The Poultry Club is a project created by Year 1 teacher, Jo Dykes.
“As a school, we like to be sustainable in as many ways as we can,” said Jo. “We have a recycling program that the kids participate in but we found that there were still many things that could not be recycled, like food scraps from lunchboxes. That’s when I had the idea to introduce chickens to the campus to not only eat the scraps, but to teach children about aspects of food production and animal care. It has been so popular with the kids, it has blown us away.”
The Poultry Club has impacted the children in many positive, powerful and unexpected ways. “For some of our students who suffer from separation anxiety and other emotional and social issues the Poultry Club has played an important role by providing a supportive learning environment for them at school to ensure that they feel like they belong, which is a key value of our school,” said Mrs Dykes.
“It has been delightful to see Poultry Club members creating lasting friendships, built on respect and responsibility for the chickens and each other.”
Jo said every year she had up to 100 applications from children wanting to join the Club.
“Now that we understand the ways in which participation can benefit kids, it has changed the way we choose Poultry Club members. I sit with each of the teachers and we discuss which students we feel would gain the most benefit from the club.
“It is actually quite overwhelming to see children who had little confidence, or were struggling to make friends, become the popular kids who have a greater sense of worth because they are in the Poultry Club. It is very special.
“We have a rooster and three hens, and this allows us to complement curriculum activities, like hatching chicks in Science, where students learn about life and living. They learn to be gentle and respectful and the Poultry Club kids are trained to be mindful of the welfare of the animals. All of the chicken pen hay is recycled back to the garden club, so we go full circle,” she said.
“Establishing the Poultry Club has been a huge learning curve and at times a fairly expensive process, but educationally it is well worth it, it is just a lovely thing, and the kids absolutely love it. Our P&C are very supportive and assist us financially with expenses and maintenance of our coop.”
You might also like …
