The sharks were a big hit for Poly’s Intensive Studies students during their first field trip of this school year.
Student Alexis Rojas was uncomfortable at first when it came to actually petting the sharks, but according to senior Kendall Cascell, towards the end of the trip Rojas “was petting the sharks like nobody’s business.”
Intensive Studies teacher Indira Jimenez explained how the idea of taking a trip to the aquarium became reality.
“It was a free scholarship that we obtained,” Jimenez said. “They gave us a workshop of different animals, where they live and their different habitats, and a free tour of the Aquarium of the Pacific.”
Jimenez said that she invited Cascell and senior Abigail Brown to be a part of the field trip on Wednesday, November 7 because of their International Ambassador project dedicated to the special education program at Poly.
The focus of the project is to give students in Intensive Studies classes the chance to diversify their activities with interests, and the aquarium field trip served as an activity for those students fascinated with marine life.
“We got to explore the aquarium and then the students broke up into two different classrooms and got to look at some parts such as turtle shells, shark teeth, and sea otter fur,” Cascell said. “It was an activity to get the students to think how the items on the different tables were similar.”
After analyzing the anatomy of marine animals, the students explored the pools where they could touch, interact, and observe sea creatures.
Many students enjoyed the sharks, but according to Cascell, sophomore Paula Thuong loved the seals.
“Abbi and I called Paula the seal whisperer,” Cascell said. “The seals only came out for Paula and followed her inside of the tank.”
Brown added that the seals would just watch Thuong through the glass.
The most memorable experience, according to Jimenez, was watching her student’s reaction when touching and feeling the different sea animals.
In the end, the students had the chance to explore different interests, and Brown explained that it was enjoyable to see students including Rojas and Thuong interact with a marine world outside of Poly.