Hatch students begin Oceans Week February 13

Two widely respected marine organizations have partnered with Hatch School to present a week of interactive educational programming geared toward understanding and protecting the world’s ocean environment.

Scheduled for the week of February 13th,  the Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association and Gulf of the Farallones Marine Sanctuary are providing special support for this unique interdisciplinary program, which will engage students grades k-5 in a range of exciting, hands-on activities.

"Whether through math, art, reading, science or just hanging out for a night of conversation and ocean-friendly film, our whole school will basically be immersed," said Dru Devlin, a Hatch parent volunteer who also works at the Farallones Marine Sanctuary Association. "It makes sense to integrate our marine environment with the curriculum, much as it is integral to the fabric of our coastside community life."

Students will be taking field trips to visit the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Visitor Center at Crissy Field in the Presidio; learning about water safety and wetland birds from rangers based at Half Moon Bay State Beach; watching a Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary-sponsored puppet show performed by parents; and participating in presentations such as the GFNMS "SharkMobile" and The Marine Mammal Center’s "Wonderful Whale" exhibit.

Personal responsibility and stewardship will be a special focus for fifth-graders, whose specially designed curriculum will include the perils of marine debris and other ecological threats as well as ways that students can roll up their sleeves and help keep beaches and oceans clean.

On February 9, the whole community is invited to join in Hatch’s first-ever "Family Ocean Night at the Movies,"which will include a presentation by local surfing instructor Dave Alexander and a feature presentation of the Academy Award-nominated documentary, "The Living Sea," narrated by Meryl Streep with music by Sting. Local writer and filmmaker Gail Evenari will also show clips from her current project about sea turtles in Mexico.

"The idea is to bring alive the critical role our marine environment plays - whether as a source of food, habitat, amusement or beauty," said Devlin, whose son is in the second grade. "Exploring and celebrating our oceans is a lifelong pursuit.  Why not start inspiring our children now?"