Ocean Shore School dives into Pacific once more

In one hallway, kindergarteners display their pictures of a seascape on the wall. The seventh- and eighth-graders teach the younger students. Those lessons involve a lot of fun facts about the theme with games and trivia questions.

During Oceans Week students visit the beach to learn  about the local deep-sea environment.

“I taught at the beach,” said Ekah. “They are learning about deep-sea fishing.”

Ellison said she taught a class about the giant octopus and giant squid. The posters that line the walls are made from recycled materials. They said each class has depicted the human impact on the deep sea as part of the lesson.

“That’s what Oceans Week is all about,” said Ellison. “They think about it. I love to see the school decorated.”

Another hallway was dedicated to the problem of plastics, one of the biggest ocean polluters. Clothing is the leading cause of that threat to the ocean.

“We researched that,” said Ellison. 

All the murals at the school have been painted by the students. The fourth- and fifth-grade classes have a science lab they use for experiments. Outside the classroom there is a diagram about different kinds of fish.

“This is all about the fishing,” said Ekah. “We were giving them activities and fun facts and trivia.”

They are keeping up-to-date on the latest discoveries in the fish world. For example, the Yeti crab was discovered in 2005.

“Not everything has been discovered,” said Ellison.

“The whole school does a deep dive,” said Principal Jeanne Bellinger. “This is the first one since 2019. It’s never the same. Having the older kids teach is good leadership training. They learn how hard it is to teach.”

Ekah said they were mapping the sea floor and the shoreline in one of the lessons so students can see where they are. 

Kids learn from hands-on experiences, said Ekah. The sand can show how pollution has affected our beaches.

The older students taught the younger ones about marine snow. They were very surprised to learn that term was part of the marine environment. Marine snow is a shower of organic material falling from upper waters to the deep ocean. Sometimes the phenomenon continues for weeks.

Escarpment is defined on a board in the hallway. It’s a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion. The continental shelf is described. Elephant seals are put on the local map of the area along the San Mateo County towns and beaches.

There are so many questions challenging the students. For example, who invented scuba?  That would be Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan.