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January 2020
 The latest issue of Bark! magazine is coming soon to the shelves of your school library. This issue is packed with awesome animal features, including:
• Looking for a social justice project for your class? Learn how to make a winter cat shelter with just a few materials and help community cats stay warm this winter.
• Become a Snow Sleuth by identifying animal tracks and scat in the winter.
• Has your pet ever eaten something they shouldn’t? Take a look at some eerie x-rays from animals that ingested some strange things and learn how to keep your pet safe
• Learn how horses use their bodies to communicate.
Explore these highlights and more! If you are a teacher in B.C., receive a class set of this issue by sending us an email including your school, grade and number of students. Distribute for independent reading or use Bark! to encourage students to create inquiry projects by exploring a wide variety of animal issues.
 Belly Rubbins for Bubbins: The Story of a Rescue Dog
Written by: Jason Kraus, Illustrated by: Connor Dehaan
Reading level: Kindergarden to Grade 3
Belly Rubbins for Bubbins is the beautiful, true story of a senior pit bull whose life was full of hardship and neglect. Bubbins spent nearly a year in the shelter after spending the previous 10 years of his life living outdoors with little human interaction. The scars all over his body tell the story of hardships he endured. Through all his struggles, Bubbins never gave up hope that he would one day find a loving family. This book highlights the true unconditional loving nature of dogs, and the resilience they have to put their past behind them.
This story is written by first time author, Jason Kraus based on the real life ‘Bubbins’ named Gibbson. Gibbson lives with Jason and his wife, Michelina and receives belly rubbins every single day. Jason donates 51% of all the proceeds of this book to various dog rescues. He wrote this book to educate youth about the true loving nature of rescue dogs and the value of a second chance. If you’d like to continue to follow Bubbins story, you can follow him on Instagram @the.real.bubbins.
Read more reviews of our recommended books.
 Make 2020 the year you start a school animal club, with our newly revamped BC SPCA School Club Manual!
A brand new year is the perfect time to bring new perspectives to the classroom. In every class there are students whose eyes light up whenever they read or talk about animals. When students discover what they are passionate about, and share that knowledge with others, it can be an empowering experience.
Our guide has lots of great ideas on fun ways to make a difference. Learn the steps to finding members and getting your club started. Discover ideas to help companion, farm or wild animals. Get tips on hosting successful events and fundraisers, or making the best possible poster displays and petitions. There’s even a special section on creating a video or skit to share an important animal issue with your classmates. But that’s not all! You can now earn animal buttons for every project you do. Complete three projects and your club will receive a BC PSCA School Club banner!
Ideas to kick start a school club:
1. Book one of our humane educators to do the “Leaders for Animals” presentation to inspire your group and give you the tools to begin.
2. Collect gently used fleece blankets, and have a “crafternoon” where students upcycle fleece into no-sew cat beds, square-knot dog toys or catnip knots. Students can donate them to their local BC SPCA branch or bring them home to enrich the lives of their own pets!
3. Get a team of young master chefs together and plan to bake treats for BC SPCA Treat Week, coming up next month! Gather recipes and make a schedule for getting supplies, baking, pricing and packaging.
What are you waiting for? Download the manual now!
 Looking for a fun event to get students involved in giving back? Mark February 24-March 1st in your calendar, the most delicious week of the year – the BC SPCA’s Treat Week™.
Bake, cook, roll or pop. Inspire those keen young chefs to show off their talents. Challenge them to be creative and work it into a math lesson on budget or measurement. Pizzas and pies make great fraction lessons; how much does it cost for supplies? How many slices per pie do you have to make in order to make a profit?
Make anything edible like cupcakes, pies, pizzas, popcorn and ask for donations in exchange for your tasty treat. The animals will thank you for it. Register for Treat Week today.
Learn more about this news item and other BC SPCA news that you may want to include in class discussions.
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The BC
SPCA has classroom resources for grades K-7. The lessons integrate
animal issues and information into existing provincial learning
outcomes.
Click on a lesson plan below to learn more.
Kindness counts
(Primary)
Bite free
(Primary/intermediate)
Making the right choice
(Intermediate)
You can make a difference
(Intermediate)
The farm-food connection
(Intermediate)
Cats in the community
(Intermediate)
Including animals in social justice
(Intermediate/Secondary)
We would love to know what you think of this newsletter. Do you use it regularly? Is there a topic you would like us to cover? Do you share it with others?
Please email us your
questions and comments.
Informational DVDs and BC SPCA merchandise available at shop.spca.bc.ca
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