Last year, Jill Davis’ third grade class became very invested in their Animal Adaptations unit. They had direct experience with disabled animals, since their class pets Gizmo and Gili (bearded dragons) were missing a foot and a leg, respectively. When it came time for the students to choose another pet to adopt, they found Bugsy, a guinea pig who was being bullied by his peers in the shelter. Fearful that the shelter would have to euthanize him, the students begged Ms. Davis to give him a new home in their classroom.
In the spring, the students chose “Animals Around the World” as the theme for their annual Read-A-Thon. They lined up sponsors and spent the whole day reading, earning donations based on the number of pages or books they read throughout the day. At the end of the day, the third graders had raised almost $2,000! They researched animal rescue facilities to choose the recipients of their fundraising.
The kids decided to donate half of the money to the ASPCA and half of the money to the PAWS Humane Society in Charles City, Iowa. Recently, Ms. Davis and her students received a heartfelt thank you from Julie Taylor, the director of PAWS Humane Society. Ms. Taylor was floored by the generous donation, and shared that the students have indeed helped to save the life of a husky named Fire (pictured). The Charles City Press published an article about our fabulous class and their life-saving donation.
Ms. Davis is also thrilled that, with the assistance of the reporter in Charles City, our school is establishing partnerships with two other elementary schools in Iowa. Our students will be able to connect with their peers there as they learn about the differences between rural and urban communities.