Port Aransas Independent School District elementary school students wrapped up their annual Ocean Week celebration Monday, May 19. It is a special learning experience that has been going on in the coastal community dating back to the 1990s. While Ocean Week celebrations have not been consecutive every year, staff brought this educational themed week back in recent years.
The week-long event at H.G. Olsen Elementary School focuses lessons, field trips, and projects on the world's oceans, giving students a deeper understanding of their coastal environment, living along the Gulf right here in Port Aransas.
"We focus on the beach that's right in our backyard and it's something that you can't just do anywhere else. So, these kids are growing up with something that they're gonna hold onto for a long time, and they're gonna have memories for a long time of their little island home," Yvette Jimenez, an H.G. Olsen Elementary School Special Education Teacher, said.
Mrs. Jimenez's son, third grader Alejandro Jimenez, is one of many students who participated in the annual tradition this year.
"I've been making like octopuses that can like glow in darkness," Alejandro Jimenez said.
For Gaylann Speegle, the Port Aransas ISD Dyslexia Specialist who organizes the event each year, Ocean Week serves an important educational purpose.
"So, Ocean Week is a week where we embrace the island that we live on. We live and we learn here, but a lot of students don't actually know a little bit about the ecosystems," Speegle said.
Students in pre-K through 5th grade received special presentations from scientists at University of Texas Marine Science Institute (UTMSI), created ocean-themed arts and crafts, completed research projects on marine life, and even got their hands dirty dissecting squid.
"I've learned about my home and the sea creatures that I haven't even known about yet," Alejandro Jimenez said.
The tradition spans generations in Port Aransas, with some current teachers having participated in Ocean Week during their own elementary school days.
"When I was a student here back in the late 80s, 90s, we had oceans week here at the elementary, and it was something we looked forward to every year," Jimenez said.
As a proud Port Aransas ISD alum and now a teacher at Olsen, Yvette Jimenez feels nostalgic seeing her son participate in the same tradition she enjoyed as a child.
"And also the stuff that she learned from a very long time ago that she can remember and teach me," Alejandro Jimenez said.
When Neighborhood News Reporter Erin Holly asked about his favorite part of Ocean Week, Alejandro enthusiastically responded, "I get to learn new stuff about our home!"
Speegle emphasized that the goal of Ocean Week is to teach students to cherish their unique Port Aransas environment.
"It's important for our students to learn about the ocean and surrounding bodies of water because we live here, and because we live here, we have to respect it, and in order to do that, we have to learn about it," Speegle said.
Parents visited the school Monday night to see all the ocean artwork that students created throughout the week. Staff at H.G. Olsen Elementary School hope to continue the Ocean Week tradition for many years to come.
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