The Lakehill Upper School biology classes traveled to Galveston Island on October 4-7, to dive a little deeper into their studies.
While in Galveston, students had the chance to explore a salt marsh to collect comb jellies, a sting ray, and a variety of small fishes, shrimp, crabs, and mollusks by dragging a long seine through the waist-deep water. Using trowels and a suction pump, they found mole crabs, brittle stars, and ghost shrimp in the inter-tidal zone of the beach at Galveston Island State Park. They also collected squid, lizard fish, and other specimens with a trawl net in the deeper water of the Houston Shipping Channel.
Students toured many of the smaller channels of the estuary in kayaks, allowing them to get a closer look at this important ecosystem. Here, they learned how some egrets use their wings to create shadows on the water to help herd schools of fish into shallower water, making it easier to snatch their prey.
This year, sponsor Jeremy Holman added a shark dissection and lecture to the trip, allowing students to learn first-hand about the physiology and behavior of sharks.
The class also visited the Houston Museum of Natural Science containing one of the best paleontology halls in the world, and spent time at Brazos Bend State Park where they observed alligators in their natural environment. They toured the George Observatory, where they performed a space station simulation to land on Earth's moon and Mars, and viewed the rings of Saturn, the bands on Jupiter, and a quadruple star system through the lens of a telescope. On the last day, they visited the aquarium on the Kemah Boardwalk where they touched and fed dozens of stingrays and a guitarfish.
"I loved learning more about the ecosystems from hands-on experience," said junior Stella Palmer. "The shark dissection was amazing, and helped us learn more about the anatomy of a marine animal." Junior Zoe Herrman enjoyed kayaking in the estuary. "The scenery was beautiful and I really enjoyed working together with my classmates as a team."
About Lakehill Preparatory School
At Lakehill Preparatory School, we know that bigger is not always better. Lakehill is -- and always has been -- small by design.
Our school combines a strong, engaging academic program with a kind and inclusive community. A small student body offers a greater opportunity for each student to experience academic and leadership growth. Students develop a strong sense of belonging, and pride in their community, their school, and themselves.
Community spirit is encouraged in our small school environment. Strong relationships develop between home and school, and school leaders are far more involved with individual students than in a larger school setting. Lakehill staff pride themselves on knowing every child by name.
Lakehill builds an atmosphere of respect, accountability, collaboration, and mentoring between students and teachers, and provides the resources and learning opportunities that empower students to be architects of their own education.
Visit our website at lakehillprep.org for more information.
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