Grade 1 students at Sigurbjorg Stefansson Early School (SSES) in Gimli paid a visit to a local dairy farm a few weeks ago to learn about the dairy industry, including a firsthand look at how cows get milked.
As part of their research project on dairy cows, the Grade 1 classes visited the Mission Trail Farms, formerly called Narfa Farms, and is owned and operated by Jason and Clara Porteous.
Teacher Lisa Michaluk said the school visits the farm every spring. Excluding the years of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year will mark their 20th visit. The visits started when the Porteous’ son, Austin, was in Grade 1 at SSES.
Students learned about what cows eat, the equipment used to milk them and how milk is treated before it can be consumed. They also got to feed some calves.
“It is a real farm-to-table experience. After exploring the dairy farm, learning about the milking process and meeting the baby calves, students are then treated to milk and cookies. The kids use this real-life experience as the basis of their research work around dairy cows,” said Michaluk. “Learning about the needs of living things is part of the science curriculum and research work, and exploring our community is part of our social studies curriculum.”
The Porteous family also hosts students from Winnipeg Beach School with a teacher who used to work at SSES. Taking time out of their busy schedule every year to take students on a tour and discuss the dairy industry was much appreciated.
“We are so grateful to Jason and Clara for providing students with the opportunity to explore and understand where our dairy products come from,” said Michaluk. “Our students left with happy hearts, full tummies and fun activities to enjoy when we got back to school.”
