Ross sixth-graders excited for upcoming Foothill Horizons field trip and science lessons
For many
sixth-graders, some of the most anticipated lessons of the year are the ones
about natural history in their science classes. The reason? They lead up to a
field trip to the Foothill Horizons
outdoor education camp.
In the
pre-COVID world, that field trip for thousands of middle school students took
the form of a four-night adventure each spring at the 143-acre facility in
Tuolumne County. The pandemic obviously changed that. Many of last year’s
sixth-graders – including those from Hughson Unified – did not get to go because
their trips were scheduled after campuses shut down in mid-March.
That will
change later this month when more than 100 Hughson students will become the
first group from Stanislaus County to return to the outdoor center since last
spring. There will be no overnight stay in the cabins because of COVID.
Instead, it will be a quick day trip, with four or five hours of
boots-on-the-ground lessons sandwiched around an hourlong bus ride each way.
Still, Ross
Middle School Principal Mary La Rosa said her students are eager to explore the
same trails, hills and creeks at the Foothill Horizons facility that many of
their older siblings – and, in some cases, even their parents – have
experienced years before. La Rosa herself said she still has the wooden
necklace with her name on it each student receives from her own trip years ago.
“I’m excited
for them to see what this place looks like,” La Rosa said. “It’s so cool.
They’ll get to spend a day in the hills with a naturalist.”
Permission
slips are in the mail for parents to sign and return by Feb. 16. Hughson
students whose last names begin with A through L will be go Monday, Feb. 22;
those whose last names begin with M through Z will attend Wednesday, Feb. 24.
La Rosa and three teachers will accompany each group.
Unlike in
years past when students were charged $250 each for a five-day stay, there is
no cost this year. The district will use government COVID relief funds to pick
up the entire $8,000 bill.
“We’re just
trying to bring some normalcy back to our kids,” La Rosa said.
The package
includes more than just the field trip. Before Christmas, students in teacher Adrianna Rodrigues’s five sixth-grade science classes were treated to a Zoom
lesson with a Foothill Horizons naturalist about a king snake named El Rey.
They saw online photos of the snake’s internal organs and bone structure,
learned how to tell if it’s venomous (it’s not) and were able to ask lots and
lots of questions.
“The students were highly interested,”
La Rosa said.
Additional
natural history lessons will follow the field trips. A naturalist will be on
the Ross campus on Feb. 23 and again Feb. 25 to continue in-person instruction
for hybrid students in Rodrigues’s classes. Hybrid students as well as
full-time distance-learning students learning from home those days will be able
to see and participate in those lessons via the district’s Owl computers. The
week will conclude with a final naturalist-led lesson on animal skull
adaptations for all sixth-grade science students via Zoom on Feb. 26.
Foothill
Horizons is part of the Stanislaus County Office of Education (SCOE), which La
Rosa credited along with Foothill Horizons staff with working hard to make the
spring field trips happen even in the COVID environment – for Hughson’s
students as well as others in the area.
“I call this a COVID blessing,” La Rosa said. “I try to
find the silver lining in it. I was super happy that SCOE put together
something like this.”
Lessons
cover ecology, geology, and plants and animals native to the foothills.
The goal, according to the Foothill Horizons website, is to
provide “an
interactive outdoor science experience, a collaborative learning environment
and personal growth opportunities through individual challenges” to develop “respectful
global citizens dedicated to stewardship in their communities and beyond.”