William Floyd HS Science Students Bring Local Rivers to Moriches Elementary School

LongIsland.com

Students enrolled in the Research Program and the advanced placement Environmental classes at William Floyd High School recently visited fifth-grade students at Moriches Elementary School to lead a series of interactive activities focused on determining ...

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Moriches, NY - June 5th, 2014 - Students enrolled in the Research Program and the advanced placement Environmental classes at William Floyd High School recently visited fifth-grade students at Moriches Elementary School to lead a series of interactive activities focused on determining the health of two local bodies of water, the Carmans and the Forge Rivers.

In preparation for this day of collaboration and mentoring, the high school students visited both rivers and collected various samples; then under the leadership and supervision of Dr. Amy Meyer, William Floyd High School research teacher and advanced placement Environmental teachers Dawna Cintron and Anne Ippolito, worked on developing a series of interactive activities focused on river health, water quality and river life.

High school students worked with the fifth graders on seven interactive river-based activities, including: a river food chain, wetland fragmentation, limnology (the study of the biological, chemical and physical features of lakes and other bodies of fresh water), the effects of oil spills, ecological succession of a wetland, macroinvertebrates (creatures lacking a backbone) and watershed pollution.

“The older students were well prepared and knowledgeable on the intricacies of the rivers,” said Dr. Meyer. “The fifth-grade students had excellent questions and provided a very rewarding and enriching experience for the high school students.”

This collaboration is part of an overall effort to reach out to the district’s younger students to introduce them to the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Enrichment Program early in their academic careers and give them a glimpse of the fun and rewarding opportunities that await them in high school and beyond.
 

Pictured: Katerina Grein (left) and Ryuhei “Ron” Ko****a (right) discuss the Carmans and Forge River wetlands with Moriches Elementary School fifth graders. 

 

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