Students used pumps to extract yabbies, or small crustaceans, from the sand. They also found shark teeth. Pictured from left is Amelia Shores, Matthew Aurs, Jeffery Conley and Waylin Brown.
Submitted photo
CHARLOTTESVILLE – Shark Week took on a whole new meaning for a group of Eastern Hancock Middle School students this fall break.
A group of 41 middle school students and 17 chaperones traveled to the University of Southern Mississippi at Ocean Springs in October to participate in a coastal science program.
Students went on a sharking vessel: they baited hooks, tested water quality and even got to tag a shark.
“The trip was amazing,” said Erin Harmon, a sixth grade teacher who organized the trip. “The students learned so much and had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Some of our students had never seen the ocean, never ridden on a boat, or many of the other experiences we had those few days. They got to experience living in a dorm for a few days, learning on a college campus, and were exposed to several different career opportunities.”
This was the first year for the trip, but the school’s fascination with sharks started two years ago when the sixth grade team started “Shark Week.” All subjects collaborated to learn different lessons about sharks.
While Harmon teaches English, she’s always loved the ocean and the principal encouraged teachers to have “passion projects” and teach about what they love.
“One of the main activities was a Zoom meeting with Dr. Jill Hendon. She is the lead shark researcher at the University of Southern Mississippi,” Harmon said in an email. “Our students were so excited about that opportunity, I asked if they offered field trips or other options for interested students. She set me up with the Marine Education Center that is a branch of the university. Our goal was to introduce marine biology as a potential career opportunity for students.”
Students also learned about marshes, bayous and island ecology. They collected specimens, kayaked at Davis Bayou and dissected sharks in a lab. Students got to stay in dorms on campus and even have class in college classrooms at the Marine Education Center.
The Eastern Hancock Education Foundation funded a small percentage of trips through the grant, but the majority of families funded their own students’ experience.
“I hope they had fun, and it opened their eyes to careers they didn’t know were out there,” she said.
