Education In Schools
Education
The KAR Education Team has been in existence since 2008. They started off by visiting English Schools, but soon expanded to teaching in Turkish schools as well.
The programme taught is based on Unit 3 of the QCA Scheme of Work for Citizenship ‘Animals and US’. They also deliver a section called ‘Safe and Sound’ which teaches children how to stay safe around dogs.
The teaching material can be adapted to any age group, and for older students there is up to date information, on TRNC laws regarding dog ownership, and the importance of neutering their pets.
The programme is very interactive and all the worksheets in the folder that each pupil is given, and any extra handouts are in both Turkish and English. Each student takes their folder home when they have completed the course, and we ask them to discuss it with their parents and family.
Every young person who attends one of our courses is given a signed Certificate of Achievement.
As well as visiting schools, the team is responsible for organising group visits to the Rescue Centre. This means that all visits have an educational value as well as being fun. Links have been made with various Universities and other groups of young people. Students who need to show evidence of Community work are welcome and often volunteer to help at fund raising events.
When teaching in a Turkish School, permission needs to be obtained from the Minister of Education, especially to be able to take ‘Annie’ into the school. This has not been any problem, as Annie has proved to be a favourite with young people and teachers alike!
She is our ‘teaching aide’, and she demonstrates how a rescue dog can be a lovable family pet
As well as support from the Kyrenia Municipality, the KAR Education Programme has the approval of a local veterinary surgeon.
Our Aims and Objectives are
To introduce children to ideas of Rights and Responsibilities.
To explore issues of Animal Welfare
To consider the needs of dogs and cats and promote the
Concept of Responsible Pet Ownership.
The current members of the Team are Maggie Smith and Carole Widdison.
The school visits in 2013 started with lessons by Pam Kennedy and Maggie Smith to about 100 Year 1 pupils at the English School of Kyrenia ( ESK ).
During April, Maggie Smith and Carole Widdison taught Year 6 Primary students at 19 Mayis school in Girne. We were made very welcome and the students responded well. We were able to conclude with a very special presentation of certificates by Vet Pertev Karalɪgil who is a former student of the school.
This was followed by a visit to the rescue centre in the Başparmak mountains by a group of these students.
Another interesting presentation of certificates was when MS and CW were invited to Karşiyaka Primary school`s picnic on the beach. We had taught almost 200 students at the school by the beginning of 2013. The visit to the beach was quite an experience.
Students and teachers from ESK visited the Rescue Centre in March for the unveiling of a plaque thanking them for donations by the students for kennels on Doggy Walk 1.
Students and staff from Eastern Mediterranean University, when visiting the Rescue Centre in April, were very impressed with the condition of the animals and they praised the work of KAR.
The school year 2013 – 2014 began with a visit by MS, CW and Annie to the Nursery children at Girne American University ( GAU ) for Animal Care Week in October. They presented us with lots of food for the animals at the Rescue Centre. They had even made special animal masks for the occasion.
MS and CW visited 23 Nisan Primary school to help with two classes of English lessons using material about caring for animals. They later visited to complete lessons with other upper Primary students. Certificates were presented later, actually on Litter day.
There has been a further visit to the Rescue Centre of students from EMU and recently a group of 5 students representing the School council at ESK plus staff visited to present KAR with 900 tl worth of animal food that they had raised. They will receive a certificate thanking them for the donation.
During the year, MS and CW have been invited several times to take assemblies at ESK, with the Upper school as well as the whole of the Secondary school. We have talked with the CAS students about what they can do with KAR as part of their course and several students have gone on to visit the centre to help and helped at KAR events such as Bonfire night and the Christmas Bazaar. Money raised by the students was used to buy kennels. An after school club called Helping Hands also presented us with 300 tl during an assembly which was used to buy some kennels.
In June, MS and CW and Annie were invited to the Animal Welfare after school club at ESK. They raised money by selling cakes, pictures, book marks etc. and raised 200tl. This is going to be used to sponsor a dog which they are going to choose soon.
During the year a visit was made to the SOS village in Girne. It is hoped to arrange a visit to the Rescue centre and a discussion with the young people in the near future.
The school year 2014 – 2015 started with another visit to the Nursery children at GAU who had collected a lot more food for the animals during Animal Care week. They were carrying banners saying ` We love Animals ` and` Don`t abuse animals `.
During that week MS and CW were also invited as Guests of Honour to the whole school assembly at Şehat Hasan Cafer primary school in Ozanköy. The presentation of songs, poems, artwork and prose by the students about the welfare of animals was wonderful and a large amount of food for the animals at the Rescue centre had been collected.
At present MS and CW are organising to revisit the school to teach upper primary pupils the curriculum previously outlined.
The Education team activities during 2020.
We started well in 2020 with our first ever visit to Bellapais Primary school at the end of February. There was a lovely display in the foyer of the school of Posters from the children and donations of food and gifts for the animals at the rescue centre. We spent an hour with the 4 year olds one morning talking to them and doing activities about looking after animals and staying safe around them. They met Ruby, Maggie`s dog, who was going into a school for the first time. We also spent the afternoon with the 7 and 8 year olds two days later.
Who could not have known what was to come. Due to the Pandemic and the lock downs, which have involved schools being closed , we have not been able to visit anymore schools since then.
Bellapais school was able to collect more donations for KAR in October and Yulian kindly collected them and took them to the centre.
In August we met Jane Lee who was interested in joining the team. We have worked together on one of her ideas and produced a brightly coloured Newsletter in English and Turkish, including a photo of the team plus Ruby. We intended to take this to all schools in the area we cover in January 2021 but will now do so hopefully in September when the schools reopen. Unfortunately Jane has not been able to work in schools with us yet, but hopefully will be able to soon.
Our 2020 Education Team
Visits by KAR Education team to Necat British college.
On 22nd, 23rd and 29th March KAR Education team, including Maggie Smith`s dog Ruby, homed from KAR, had the pleasure of visiting NBC in Alsancak and Lefkosia to talk to 4 classes of 9 and 10 year olds. Their teacher Meryem Mehmet invited us to talk to them as they were starting a new project in English of `Persuasive writing` and would be trying to persuade people to adopt a street dog. She also wanted us to talk about what KAR do as a charity.
The children were delightful and we had great questions and discussions and many of them were also doing things to help street animals near them. We talked to them about KAR as a charity and what they do, with large photos as examples taken at the centre at Besparmak . We were also able to talk about how they have been able to work with other groups to help particular street animals who needed extra care eg. after an operation. The street dog Daphne is a perfect example as a 3 legged dog having had multiple births and finally caught, neutered and had further surgery on her leg.
She was taken to KAR to recover and is now a yard dog who welcomes visitors along with Evie another shelter dog.
Having talked about what animals need to be happy and healthy we then related this to street animals and what they need , actually have and how they can help. Also how to be safe around animals including street dogs .
We stressed that the main aim at KAR is to find each dog or cat a forever home and for each animal homed it means that they can rescue another. They have homed quite a lot of dogs and cats the last two years , some of whom have gone abroad.
We look forward to seeing some of their pieces of writing and hopefully they will be able to visit the centre at a later date. Thank you to you all for your donations of animal food.
Due to the Pandemic, there are strict rules at Necat about how the children are seated and having to wear a mask.
RESCUE CENTRE VISIT BY NEAR EAST UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Thank you to the students from Near East university in Lefkoşa who visited KAR on Saturday morning as part of their Social education programme in their courses. They also brought donations of food with them. They enjoyed spending time in the cattery and looking at the dogs. Two of the students, Vanessa and Lois came a walk with me with dogs Fletcher and Poppy. Good luck with your studies.
Maggie Smith & Ruby, Carole Widdison and Jane Lee.
KAR rely solely on donations for funding, please help us to help the animals of
Northern Cyprus.
UK Bank Account Details for your kind Donations:
Bank: HSBC plc, Market Street, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 3AA, UK
Sort Code: 40-21-02
Account Number: 11364812
IBAN No: GB94HBUK40210211364812
BIC No: HBUKGB4131B
or you can post your donation to us address details on Contact Page, cheques made payable to:
KYRENIA ANIMAL RESCUE
Also look out for the highly decorated collection boxes in restaurants and holiday complexes when in North Cyprus.
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