News From South Otago High School

Last week, the Year 13 Biology class went to the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre in Portobello. The aim of the three day trip was to study the half, smooth or common shore crabs for an internal Achievement Standard. The course was facilitated by Steve Cutler at the centre, who got the students to study the environment and features of the crabs. They then went on to collect a huge amount of information about the crabs so that they could complete their internal. All of the students got over their fears of handling the crabs (even Leonie- almost)!

We stayed in the Lodge on Quarantine Island in the evenings, totally cut off from the mainland, where we all enjoyed exploring the island and bonding with the rest of the group. No one really minded the composting toilets! It was fantastic to see the students getting the opportunity to work like real Scientists, and I was really impressed by the levels of focus all the students had, and the excellent results that everyone managed to collect. Well done guys!