Teachers Sink or Swim in Boat Races
As the finish line for 2018 gets closer and closer, the students and staff in Marine Biology at Palos Verdes High School paddle to the finish line of the pool. An anticipated tradition, the Marine Biology class puts on a project that can be enjoyed by the whole school.
These students have spent the past few weeks putting together ideas, designs, and boats. They were instructed to choose a theme and stick with that theme for the decorations of the boat and the “costume” of the pilot. These are not the typical boats you would find sailing the seas: the boats were made entirely out of cardboard and duct tape. The goal of the race is to get the boat to the other side without sinking.
Many students express their excitement for this hands-on project and are glad the whole school gets to see the final product. The race was even given an extended lunch to guarantee enough time for the staff members to make it to the other side.
Junior Cassidy Amberg shared a highlight from the project, “It’s something fun to do with my friends, and it gets the whole school involved!”
Each group had to choose a Palos Verdes High School staff member. Each staff member who was chosen to be a pilot was willing to wear what the students requested them to wear and to get wet.
Senior Alec Berry expressed, ”It was exciting when Ms. Mogilefsky agreed to pilot our boat [The Flexmobile], and we’re all looking forward to seeing how we do in the final race.”
The Marine Biology Students were thrilled to have a fun, unique, and hands-on project that allows them to express what they have learned in class.
“I think what I am looking forward to is putting all of the creative minds within my group together to create a really good boat that will float and also hopefully win,” Senior Ella Polischeck said. “I am interested to see how the boat will turn out just being able to use the two objects, but excited to see what my team and I end up putting together.”
Thanks to the students’ creativity, the teachers’ willingness to go in the pool on a cold day, and their cheering peers, the 2018 boat races ended on a fun note. The winner on the Boat Races was Mr. Shapiro and his team! The boat races left the students excited to learn more and take their creativity to the next level.