BUFFALO, N.Y. — A class from Build Community School went on a field trip to the zoo and for many, this was their first time ever.
"Every once in a while, you get a group that just really touches your heart and when I tell you these third graders, in my 15 years teaching, are just all amazing 26 amazing kids. And the love they just have for learning, I just had to make it come alive," Colleen Malysza, a third grade teacher at Build Community School said.
After Ms. Malysza got an ok from the school officials to take her students on a field trip, she took them to the Buffalo Zoo.
"A lot of our kids have never been to the zoo," she said.
And some of these kids have never even been on a field trip before either.
"We have students from five different countries, as well as a little boy who is straight from Syria and he doesn't even speak English. He speaks Arabic and he is having the best day ever," she said.
Ms. Malysza knew there may be a financial aid barrier so she went ahead created a GoFundMe. Four hours later, they were fully funded.
"A lot of our families would have never been able to have the funds to go. So, honestly, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, because the zoo is expensive, it's like $13 a kid, but because of Buffalo and the wonderful community that it is, we were able to go and they were able to go for free," she said.
And after a long day at the zoo, and with only a few days left before summer, Ms. Malysza says she is going to be sad to let them go.
"I tell them I'm going to fail them just so they can stay. Just seeing their faces and their enjoyment, and like a 'polar bear.' It was amazing because when are they going to do that again," she said.
"It was a 1000/10 trip," one of Ms. Malysza's student said.
