On Sept. 27, Sunny View went wild. Through a grant from the Polk County Community Foundation, all kindergarten through fifth-grade classes took a field trip to the Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia, S.C.

The grant included a special “behind-the-scenes” tour, where the students learned about the job of the zookeepers, and received first-hand knowledge about various  animals. Numerous parents and family members also went on the field trip, making the experience a true community event.

Before the day of the field trip, students did research on many of the animals they would see at the zoo. Also, each classroom focused on a specific animal, and tried to become experts on their animal. Animal decorations in classrooms and hallways greeted the students when they started school on the first day. Teachers assigned special writing activities, Internet research and related art projects. In addition, students read lots of books about animals.