Taronga Zoo and Cockatoo Problems at School!

Taronga Zoo and Cockatoo Problems?

Hello Elementary Friends,

Happy April!  The months are going by so quickly - I can't believe that we have been in Australia for over three months!  Each week when I write this blog, I spend some time in grateful reflection of this opportunity.  The people we have met here have been so amazingly welcoming.  Aussies know what it means to live life to the fullest, and I intend to take that philosophy home with me in December!

Last weekend we went to the Taronga Zoo.  We spent the day there and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  First, it is a beautiful zoo, and I mean location, location, location!  Here is what the giraffes get to look at out their dining room window!

Here is a little bit of information about the Taronga Zoo:

Taronga Zoo is the city zoo of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and is located on the shores of Sydney Harbour in the suburb of Mosman. It was officially opened on 7 October 1916 so this year it is celebrating its 100th Birthday! Taronga Zoo is managed by the Zoological Parks Board of New South Wales, under the trading name Taronga Conservation Society, along with its sister zoo, the Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo.

Divided into eight zoogeographic regions, the 21-hectare (52-acre) Taronga Zoo is home to over 4,000 animals of 340 species. It has a zoo shop, a cafe, and information centre.

Taronga is an Aboriginal word meaning beautiful view -Appropriately Named! 

A critical review in 1967 led to a new emphasis on scientific conservation, education and preservation. New exhibits were built starting with the Platypus and Nocturnal houses, waterfowl ponds and walkthrough Rainforest Aviary. A Veterinary Quarantine Centre was built as was an Education Centre (funded by the Department of Education). Previous attractions such as elephant rides, miniature trains, monkey circus and merry-go-round gave way to educational facilities such as Friendship Farm and Seal Theatre.

In the mid-1980s, a gondola lift was installed that allows visitors to view the zoo and Sydney Harbour. It runs from the bottom of the park close to the ferry wharf, and transports passengers to the top end of the zoo.

Here are a couple photos of the gondola lift:

In the early 2000's the Taronga Conservation Society commenced a 12-year $250 million master plan, the majority of which has been spent at Taronga Zoo. The first major master plan item was the Backyard to Bush precinct. Under the plan, the zoo received five Asian elephants from the Thailand Zoological Park Organisation for breeding purposes, education, long-term research and involvement of conservation programs. The plan has met opposition from environmental activists in Thailand, who blockaded the trucks hauling the elephants to Bangkok International Airport for their flight on 5 June 2006. The elephants along with other Asian rain forest specimens are housed in the "Wild Asia" precinct which opened in 2006 and aims to immerse visitors in an Asian rain forest environment.

A marine section, Great Southern Oceans, opened in April 2008. Recently, the redevelopment and restoration of the historic entrance opened, further adding to the master plan. The chimpanzee exhibit is also under construction, hoping to split it into two sections, making it easier for introducing new individuals.

Here are some photos of our day at the zoo!

Robyn Lucas Smith - This Koala is waiting just for you!

Cockatoo Problems at School?

This cockatoo is "PopEye."  He is our home cockatoo who comes to visit us most days!

I am not sure of this cockatoo's name, but he is on one of the picnic tables at school.

I will get to the cockatoo part in a minute, but first - as an elementary school principal I have always been fascinated with organizational dynamics - especially in a school or district setting, but also in churches, businesses, non-profits, and even neighborhoods.  The structures, procedures, policies, leadership styles and cultures created by humans to work, educate children, care for each other, and live together are of great interest to me.  I can read about that kind of stuff all day long - it energizes me.  I know I might be quite nerdy, but mission statement writing is fun for me!  Visioning with a committed group about what we want to accomplish in the next three years would be my choice for how to spend a weekend!  So, you can see why coming to Australia to see how they educate children is of such passion for me.  How school personnel solve problems together is a dynamic that all schools take part in regardless of where they are in the world.  Typically a school staff has agreed upon norms for solving problems that everyone understands and abides by. 

Here are a few examples of problems that have been discussed and solutions generated in schools that I have been in:

1.  The animals and the landscaping in the Outdoor Learning Center were being neglected and needed more regular care.  So...the Murfee Rangers were created - selected students had little farmer uniforms and gloves that they put on each day to maintain the plants and animals after being trained by a volunteer staff member.

  

2.  Should the children go to recess before or after lunch?  A few years ago, there was some research that surfaced that children should definitely go to recess before lunch.  It said that it was better for their digestion and that the afternoon in class would be better if they came back to class from the cafeteria instead of from being outside running around.  So, after MUCH discussion and planning we tried it for a few months.  We then held evaluation problem solving meetings where we determined that it caused more problems having the children go to recess before lunch.  I really don't remember what the problems were, but that is beside the point.  The point was the bringing up of the issues as a team, letting each person share views, coming up with a plan together, implementing the plan, and then monitoring the progress with some type of evaluation.

These examples are just a couple in the years of this being my primary work.  

So, I now need to tell you about the problem solving session at Beaumont Road the other day.

We have a Thursday morning staff meeting where all types of admin things are brought up and discussed.  Small tweaks are made to schedules.  Volunteers are solicited for special events, etc.  Here is the approximate chain of conversation:

Teacher 1:  "We are having problems with children going into the cloak room during morning tea (recess) to put their lunch boxes back in their backpacks.  They are not supervised in there, and the boys (especially) are getting into skirmishes - no good is coming from the unsupervised cloak rooms!"

Teacher 2:  "I think we should go back to the plan where they are forbidden to go into the cloak room during morning tea - they can just put their lunch boxes on the ground while they play and then pick them up when morning tea is over as they are re-entering class under their teacher's eye."

Teacher 3:  "Well - we tried that, and it won't work because the cockatoos steal their lunches if they are left outside."  

Teacher 4:  "I know that the cockatoos will eat the crumbs from the ground, or maybe get into a lunch bag if it is left open, so the students just need to make sure that their boxes/bags are properly zipped/latched."

Teacher 3:  " The cockatoos are so smart they can open some lunch bags with their beaks."

Teacher 5:  "She's right - I even had a child who reported that the cockatoo couldn't get his lunch box open on the ground, so he simply took flight with it and then dropped it from a significant height and it cracked open on the ground!  Problem solved for the cockatoo!"

At this point, I was silently laughing so hard I had tears coming down my cheeks!  I was just wishing to capture the moment so that I will never forget it.  Teachers working together to solve problems, to get these kids educated in a healthy and happy way, and to support each other in the process - its what we do in schools no matter what the latitude and longitude might be!

Enjoy dear friends!