Mr. Bernia’s students in his Animal Science class will be raising broiler chickens from Sept. 28 to Nov. 5.

With this being the third year Bernia has raised chickens with his class, the process has become somewhat of an annual occurrence at Saint Louis High School. “I was looking for a hands-on experience to help students learn about nutrition and digestion,” explained Bernia on the inception of the project. “I like taking care of them,” Shared student Briana Howard, “It’s cool to connect to nature.”

The students will be feeding, watering, weighing, and caring, in other words; raising these chickens over the weeks they are present at SLHS. This serves as an obvious development of agricultural skills, as being responsible for live animals is no small task. According to Bernia, “Students get to learn about the livestock industry and apply scientific skills with mathematics to solve real-world problems. The school benefits from cross-curricular engagement in learning and helps us promote our Agriscience program.”

Yet this is a three-part project; students will be responsible for raising infantile chickens before choosing their own best chicken and presenting it to judges and answering questions regarding the process. Finally, students have the option to butcher their own broiler– a process not typically afforded to just anybody. The resolute of this process is certainly sound, leading to 25 of the processed chickens being donated back to those in the Saint Louis community who need them. Between caring for said chickens, applying arithmetic, problem-solving skills, and simple agriculture work experience, students in Bernia’s class are treated to an experience that is plainly not available in any other course at SLHS. According to Bernia, “The chickens will be on sale for the community towards the end of the project, though the price is not yet confirmed.”