Mariner students plan Florida field trip

Mariner Middle School is set to get out of the school building and into the wild. The Florida Everglades to be exact.

“This is something we need to explore because it's another thing we can offer our kids,” said Mariner Principal Fred Best. “This could be another selling point for our school.”

Best said focusing on academics would be a plus for Mariner, which loses students when they choose to go to Sussex Academy.

Seventh-grade science teacher Carly Zych researched a program through WorldStrides DiscoverNow! which offers a four-day program in Florida. Founded in 1967, WorldStrides offers educational trips across the country and outside the United States to Costa Rica and Iceland, according to its website.

The Florida trip would feature a Habitat H2O course, giving students a chance to swim with manatees, snorkel in a river and dissect a shark.

“This is like an overnight trip on steroids,” Zych said.

Zych said the trip would be open to 40-50 eighth-graders who would fly to Florida the day after school lets out.

The cost is about $1,500 per student and parents pay directly to WorldStride. Zych said there would be plenty of opportunities for students to raise money to defray costs, and the program offers financial aid to families whose adjusted income is less than $85,000 a year, she said.

“This is a great enrichment opportunity,” Zych said.

Through the program, she said, students would receive valuable hands-on experience that fits in with Mariner's seventh- and eighth-grade curriculum. Lessons on watersheds and ecosystems offered during the program are in line with national learning standards, she said.

“I think this is a way to make our school more competitive,” she said.

With school board approval, Zych said, students would take their first trip in 2016. The board may take action on the trip at its Thursday, Feb. 12, meeting.

Zych said she welcomes any contributions or sponsorships from the local businesses or the community.

For more information on programs offered, go to www.dn.educationaltravel.com.