Month: April 2013

Categories
Environmental Education

Aquatic Adventures

By Jeremy Holman
Upper School Science Teacher, Lakehill Preparatory School

On April 17 – 19, Lakehill Preparatory School’s ninth grade class traveled to Galveston for the annual Ninth Grade Biology Trip. Following is a blog post detailing their adventures.

The Galveston marine biology trip was a big success despite the unusually high spring tide and a cold front that knocked 30 degrees off the thermometer in just a few hours.  Students spotted a number of dolphins while aboard the Seagull II, and got an up-close look at a ship made of concrete.  It did actually float at one point, but when the hull cracked, there was no way to repair it.  Now it sits in the shallow water off to the side of the Houston Shipping Channel, and is home to endangered birds.  Ironically, it represents a reversal of ecosystems; we took their homes, now they claimed one of ours.

The trawl net hauled in several animals our students had never seen alive, let alone held in their nervous hands.  We caught several sheepshead fish (they actually have nubby teeth that kind of look like human teeth), a dozen or so squid that readily blended into the hands of students as they tried to examine them more closely, a small sea robin (which can walk along the bottom using modified fin appendages), and a flounder–a fish that lays on its side and physically migrates one eye so that both eyes end up on the same side of their body.

Kayaking in the estuary was a bit rough the first day due to windy conditions, but on the second day, we became semi-pros as we navigated narrow channels in the salt marsh to get into the nesting sites of herons, egrets, and other marine birds.  Using seine nets, we captured comb jellies, shrimp, crabs, and a variety of juvenile fishes including red drum, silversides, and even yellowfin tuna.  The snails were out in high numbers grazing on the freshly sprouted stalks of cordgrass, but oysters and fiddler crabs were surprisingly hard to find this year.

With nesting season in progress for the Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles, our students learned first-hand how difficult it is for a turtle that is adapted for the sea to lumber out of the surf and up to the dunes, dig a hole with only their flippers, bury their eggs, and return to the sea. The students did just that—sort of. With backpacks full of sand and water, they raced twenty yards on their bellies using their outstretched arms and legs like flippers, dug holes with their feet, and buried chicken eggs in the sand.  We lost a lot of chicken eggs by the next day, but it was an exciting lesson on sea turtle reproduction.

We ended the trip at Kemah instead of the newly constructed Pleasure Pier, as it was closed due to high winds. We had a great time feeding stingrays and screaming our heads off on the wooden roller coaster and other thrilling rides on the boardwalk.  All in all, the students learned many things, enjoyed a lot of new experiences, ate some great food, and had a boat-load of fun.

 

Categories
Summer Camps

Adventures in Teaching

By John Trout
Fourth Grade Teacher
Director of Summer Camps, Lakehill Preparatory School 

Why do we teach?

There is no universal answer to this question. For some, it’s an unrelenting passion for their field. For others, it’s a desire to take part in the building of the next generation of great minds. Still others may have a hard time putting to words the sense of pride and connection to the world they feel when working with young minds. For me, the answer has always been fairly simple: I can’t imagine loving anything else as much as I love teaching.

There are many reasons I love what I do, but one of the biggest is, frankly, it’s a lot of fun! Few professions allow you to earn your keep while having such a good time, and the days fly by so quickly when you’re teaching that when you glance at your clock, you’re not wishing the minute hands would move faster, you’re wishing you had more time! I’ve learned over the years that this feeling is contagious, too, and that the more fun teachers have in the classroom, the more enthused and engaged the students are. Learning happens best when learning is fun!

Take summer, for example. When people learn that I’m a teacher, they often remark, “Must be nice having your summers off!” Teachers hear that all the time! But when I think of summer, I don’t think of lying back poolside watching the days slide by, escaping the tedium of the workplace. Instead, I think of summer camps, and of all the smiling faces I get to see all summer long as director of Lakehill’s Summer Camps. The secret, though, is that it’s not just the kids’ smiling faces that I’m thinking of; it’s the teachers, too!

As fun as it for the kids to do a crazy science experiment, stack Lego bridges with weights until they collapse, and perform in a play, it’s as much fun for the teachers helping them learn and grow. You see the happy kid moments captured on film on our SmugMug account week after week, but what you don’t see are the ear to ear grins, nor do you hear the laughter and cheer of the adults behind the camera. We’re definitely having as much fun as the kids!

So, while you’re escaping from the office, sunning on the beach this summer, if your thoughts happen to turn to me or the other summer camp teachers, shed no tears of pity for us. We’re having as much fun as you are! And, when your child comes home from camp at the end of the day full of stories and excitement to share, remember that we’re at home, too, sharing with our families the joys and adventures of the day.

Categories
Learning and Leading

The Garden Of Life

By Patti Brooks
Lower School Coordinator, Lakehill Preparatory School

I recently had an eye opening experience…I planted my first vegetable garden!  Many of you probably are thinking, “What? Your first garden at 68 years old?” Well, this old dog has proved she can learn some “new tricks” (or maybe just figure out some obvious analogies.)
The whole experience has showed me that gardening and teaching have a lot in common:
  • The soil has to be ready in the garden, just like the atmosphere in the classroom has to be conducive to growth.
  • The seed that is planted must be nurtured daily, just like a child’s family and teacher nurture and encourage daily.
  • The little sprout that pokes through the ground causes so much excitement, just like that first successful Spelling Test!
  • The chance of bad weather and hungry bugs threaten the safety,  but can successfully be dealt with just like the occasional recess disputes are settled.
  • The mature plant is so proud to display its edible root, leaf, or stalk, just as the proud child beams on Awards Day each Spring.
In planting my first round of vegetables, I learned that growing a successful garden is very similar to nurturing and helping a class of second graders achieve success. And much to my own delight, both of these experiences are extremely rewarding!