General News
29 July, 2019
Hatching interest
THE cute factor soared at St Patrick’s Primary School last week as students watched in captivated awe as a dozen little chicks pecked their way out from their shells.
THE cute factor soared at St Patrick’s Primary School last week as students watched in captivated awe as a dozen little chicks pecked their way out from their shells.
Science teacher Paula Atkins said three hatched chickens and a dozen fertilised eggs had arrived at the school at the start of the week, with two to three hatching each day.
“The kids and staff alike have all been very excited with the project and are really interested in their progress,” she said.
“It’s been a great way to teach the students about everything from life cycles and the ‘farm to table’ process to animal classification.
“Even though we have a lot of farm kids here, they don’t always see something coming to life.”
Ms Atkins said a number of the chicks had hatched within an hour, while others had taken up to 15 hours to free themselves from their shells.
“Every single student from Prep through to Grade 6 has been totally absorbed, so it’s been a great teaching tool,” she said.
A number of the chickens are set to stay at the school with a coop being built, to ensure the students can continue to see the life cycle of the chickens’ progress.
The remaining chickens will be adopted out to various staff members who already have chickens at home.