Earlier in October, as students at Sewickley Academy walked into school, the youngsters noticed images of goats on their lockers.

They were puzzled until they looked out the window.

The meaning behind the pictures came into full view.

Eight live goats were grazing in the ravine behind the early childhood building.

“Their arrival was a surprise to students,” said Jerilyn Scott, head of the lower school. “They were wondering what all the photos were about, and then they saw them. We have made the most of having the goats here. They are so cute. The students visit them daily. We’ve used them as teaching tools. It’s experiential learning here for us.”

JoAnne Klimovich Harrop | Tribune-Review Sewickley Academy Pre-K student Sahana Dua watches as Iggie the goat eat hay on Oct. 25  

The physical education teachers and a science teacher taught about goat digestion and their four-chambered stomach and compared it to human digestion and nutrition.

The fifth graders interviewed the goats and are writing stories from the goats’ perspective. They also calculated the area and perimeter of the animals’ enclosure. Third graders used multiplication to calculate the number of hooves and ears.

The Spanish teacher taught goat body parts in Spanish.

In music class, the students are learning to echo and match pitch by echoing the bleating of various goats.

The teachers and students made sure the goats had fresh water and dry hay.

A community goat day was held Oct. 16 where people could meet the goats.

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The goats were rented from Have U Herd Goatscaping, a company based in Collier Township owned by Rainy Laux.

She attended a question-and-answer session about goats with the children. She said goats are therapeutic to watch. She owns 21 of them and rents to individuals as well as other schools such as the University of Pittsburgh.

“I love what they are doing at Sewickley Academy,” said Laux, who picked up the animals Oct. 26. “My kids have enjoyed being with their kids. And I can’t wait to read what the students are writing from the goats’ perspective.”

Laux said the goats she leases are socialized and not aggressive. Some are shy, but they are comfortable around people. It’s time for them “to go home,” she said because cold, damp weather is not good for them to be outside all the time. They need shelter to protect their hooves.

The idea for the goats came from kindergarten students brainstorming ways to get rid of the Asian Knotweed in the ravine. They had ideas such as building a machine to rip it all out, or tying a string to each seed and pulling it.

JoAnne Klimovich Harrop | Tribune-Review Sprite was one of the goats helping to clear out the ravine behind the early childhood building at Sewickley Academy.  

A kindergarten teacher suggested the idea to rent the goats. Kindergarten teacher Ellie Greaser contacted the school’s director of building and grounds, Jim Miller, and he was all for it, as were the students. The adults were excited about the goats, too, Scott said.

Everyone is sad to see them go.

“They are very enthusiastic eaters,” Scott said. “They work really fast. We predicted it would take about three weeks for the goats to clear the ravine, but they cleared it in only two weeks.”

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