It was the school's 14th annual Oceans Week, an event designed and coordinated by parents, when the Pacific Ocean becomes a giant classroom.
"By fifth grade, they're experts in ecology, conservation, and the coastal community they live in," said fourth-grade teacher Jan McFarland Brown. "And it builds every year."
 Fourth-grader Britta Stretch works on the new mural at Farallone View Elementary School Thursday. The work was part of Oceans Week at the school. |
"We learned not to pollute," said fourth-grader Gillian Majocha. "Animals can die from pollution."
Chief parent coordinators Beverly Garrity, Theresa McNaughton and Nina Greeley, along with more than 100 parents, supporters and guest instructors, presented a busy week. Activities and topics included art and science projects, water safety, ocean recreation, storytelling and more. A visit by Rock Steady Juggling with an "H2O Yeah!" and a cleanup of Montara State Beach rounded out the week.
For the fourth time, artist and mom Rebecca Ellis drew a mural depicting ocean life which students painted on an exterior wall.
"We had an assembly about sea otters," said fourth-grader Samantha Hernandez Thursday afternoon as she painted a red sea urchin on the mural. She was referring to guest speaker Steve Shimek, executive director of The Otter Project. "You learn to save them, and not use oil a lot."
Near the office, art teacher Julie Mell directed kids to put together hundreds of straws, CDs and recycled plastic jar caps into a giant fish which illustrated recycling as well as art. "It's a statement on how much plastic we use and waste," she said.
In one corner of the quad, Kenny Howell of California Canoe and Kayak and friend Neil Merrilees kept an eye on kids climbing onto a Hobie catamaran, kayaks and a dugout outrigger they'd set up. "We wanted kids to see boats that are human-powered, green, wind-powered and they can use in this environment," said Howell.
The boats underscored ecology for third-grader Alice Murray. "This teaches us we shouldn't use too much oil," she said. "Not only motors or gas - we don't need them. We just need the strength to paddle."
In another corner of the quad, parent John DiNapoli shouted to be heard over an exuberant crowd of kids three deep around foam models he'd built of Pillar Point Harbor and Montara Mountain and beach, including measurements to scale for a couple of miles around.
"They're getting a concept from map to scale model ... of their whole orientation and the truth of how little they are" on the vast coastline, he said. "Hopefully they'll look at it and say, I know what this is and where it is."
Garrity called the event a success. "The theme is to preserve the oceans where we live," she said. "The hope is they will better understand conservation, pollution prevention, the impact of pollution on the environment and a sense of how they can participate in preserving the oceans."
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