On January 22nd, Year 5 made the trip to Elifoun farm to spend the night on ODE. Having not had the chance to experience ODE during the previous school year due to security concerns, the teachers were as excited as the children. After organizing themselves into groups, the next task was to agree on what food hey should take for their evening meal and breakfast. As usual, pasta was a popular choice although there were a number of other meals creatively constructed and served.
We arrived at the location at around 11 and hiked to our camping site – the children were convinced we had endured a 10 mile walk but it was in actual fact little more than 1.5 km. Team work, problem solving and collaboration were evident throughout the ODE experience as tents were erected, sleeping positions agreed and organized and food set aside. The children then visited and observed the dairy operation under the guidance of Dr. Giovanni, the dairy farm manager. It was. Great opportunity for our students to see the source of a product many of us consume on a daily basis and gave them a real understanding of the scale of the task of meeting the local demand for dairy products. The experience was reflected on during an interesting discussion led by Mr. Gerben. I don’t think anyone was expecting the temperature to drop so much but everyone enjoyed the relative comfort of their tents.
After an early wake-up next morning (for those who managed to sleep!) breakfast was prepared by the different groups and we made the journey back to school in time for Fatour.
Brian McDaid
Y5 Teacher