WE are passionate about sharing our wild experiences with people all around the world. This makes hosting our safariLIVE school drives an added bonus to the LIVE drive experience. This week we had all the bright young students from Glenwood Elementary join us on an African adventure all the way from Virginia Beach, Virginia on the east coast of the United States.
(Glenwood Elementary School, Virginia Beach, Virginia)
The school was founded in 1990 with the aim of providing a world class education to a multitude of different students from all walks of life. Inspired by the University of Florida, the school’s “gator” mascot and colours are a bright and contrasting combination of blue and orange.
(the Glenwood Gator)
WE hosted the 1st and 3rd grade Glenwood “gator’s” focussing on animal and plant characteristics. The students loved the opportunity to tag along on a live African safari with all of their questions being answered by our expert guides, James and Sam. The school’s motto is “Together Everyone Achieves More.” These words could not be more at home with the safariLIVE philosophy of creating a meaningful interaction between african wildlife and viewers all over the world who have a passion for the wild.
Excitement and wonder ensued as all of Africa’s iconic animals came out to greet us, from giraffe to zebra and an incredible sighting with Karula, the resident and dominant female leopard here on Djuma, with her two little cubs.
(Student sees Karula and her cubs for the first time)
WE would like to extend a very warm thank you to Caroline Altman, the Instructional Technology Specialist, 1st grade teachers Mrs. Staie, Ms. Wilson, and 3rd grade teachers Ms. Faini, Ms. Cummings and Mrs. Kennedy for their enthusiasm in involving Glenwood Elementary in the safariLIVE school’s project.
(Students watching James say hello from the tree tops)
The excitement at Glenwood Elementary school is through the roof with the opportunity to experience SafariLIVE. Learning has truly come to life as the students are able to ask questions live to the Safari Guides. It has been amazing to see the students faces light up when they hear the guide say their name and answer their questions. Of course S. Africa is a place we could never visit on a field trip but being able to connect globally with SafariLIVE has afforded the opportunity for the students to experience something they otherwise would never have to chance to do at school. They are learning so much more than just animals but learning about other countries, cultures, time zones, seasonal difference, and more. I have been so impressed with their questions for the guides. Many of the questions are ones that I wouldn't have thought to ask but realized I didn't know the answer to myself! I love seeing the gears in their minds turning as they come up with their next question. Their energy and excitement is almost uncontrollable as they stand in line to tell me their question so I can relay it to Final Control. I love the gasps and finger pointing to each other as they hear their name being said on the drive. The students continue to approach me daily to ask more questions about what they saw and wanting to know more. I can’t wait to do our other scheduled school drives with the rest of our 1st and 3rd grade classes and to get our other grade levels involved. I can't even begin to express what an amazing opportunity this is for our students to connect and learn about a place and animals we could never visit in real life. Glenwood would like to extend a huge Thank You to Wild Earth for this unique and amazing experience.
Great blog and I am so glad to see another elementary school in Virginia Beach take advantage of this wonderful opportunity. Glenwood had joined the ranks of Three Oaks Elementary, Landstown Elementary, Creeds Elementary and various other elementary and high schools. Thank you so much to the ITS at Landstown High School and WE for lighting this wild fire!
Very nice to see our students on Safari with WildEarth! Thanks for the opportunity!!
Erik
That is the coolest thing to watch young people learning about Africa. It has always been my hope that WE could involve schools and students on the drives. Thank you WE for doing this. Makes my heart sing.
What a great blog article. So glad that SafariLIVE does these special school drives. The kids learn something while being entertained, and when learning is fun, you want to learn more.
What a wonderful blog story! I think it's great that SafariLIVE does these special drives for schools. The kids learn things while being entertained, and when learning is fun, they want to learn more. It's so cute to see pictures of the kids enjoying the drives. Such excitement!