Report
on Our Schools-June, 2000
Freeport
High School
Trout in the Classroom at Freeport High School
Freeport School District has taken the opportunity to
work with the Long Island Chapter of Trout Unlimited to give Freeport High
School students a unique, hands-on learning experience.
The “Trout in the Classroom” program is an
ongoing education program that promotes student understanding of cold
water resources through the challenging task of raising trout in the
classroom from their earliest stages to adulthood. The three hundred eggs
that are being raised are known as brook trout and were supplied from the
Cold Spring Harbor Fish Hatchery. Part of the curriculum will be the
maintenance of the water supply necessary for healthy trout.
The class is learning how to keep the water conditions at the
perfect temperature, very clean, and swiftly moving.
Freeport
Magnet High School Authentic Research and Project Impact
Students enrolled in the Authentic Science Research
classes at Freeport High School have begun research studies related to
Project Impact. They are conducting research on a college and graduate
school level. The ultimate goal of these projects is to reduce the
potential damage to the Freeport community due to flooding caused by
natural hazards. The results of their studies would help facilitate
Freeport’s plans for natural disaster damage prevention and reduction.
Use of the Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to
create and manage data would be an essential component of these
studies.
Mr. Jay Tanski, a coastal geologist with Sea Grant (a
joint program between Cornell University and Stony Brook SUNY) has offered
his expertise to assist students and their teachers in research related to
Project Impact. One project of great practical and scientific interest
related to coastal processes, erosion and flooding, deals with the impact
of increasing sea level caused by global warming on coastal ecosystems and
habitats. The question of whether the dredging of Jones Inlet affects
tidal hydraulics and water level fluctuations in the bay environment is
the topic of another project. The development of a low coast method to
quantify the extent and magnitude of flooding associated with storm events
in the village and correlating it with the tidal gauge located in Hudson
Bay will be explored. The effect and control inlets have on the
hydrodynamic processes in the bay and their influence on biological
activity is also being studied.
Other research will involve a variety of original and
unique research projects involving the environmental, biological,
ecological and chemical impact of natural disaster damage and changes in
tidal water flow. Studies correlating tide heights and army core dredging,
the life cycle of clams and other marine life, and stress on bridges will
be made. A weather station may be set up and data collected. There are
many other possibilities for additional research topics.
Students will give presentations of their findings to
their class, Freeport High School, the school district, and at regional
and statewide symposia including the Long Island Science Congress
competition. Further research will utilize DIALOG research service
databases. Their presentations will incorporate visual presentation
techniques (e.g. Microsoft Power Point). During their senior year,
students will apply to enter their projects in the National Intel Science
Competition. Geographic Information System (GIS) technology would assist
these endeavors and benefit the community of Freeport.
Senior Citizen/12th Grade Participation in Government Project
