4th and 5th grade students at Del Obispo Elementary School gaze wide-eyed at the large amounts of Play-Doh spanning their desks, put on by  SJHHS high students. This is just part of the fun in teaching the elementary kids about run-off pollution problems at Doheny Beach.

This is what eighteen SJHHS students get to organize and work with as a part of a new ROP course offered this year by Brenda Oldroyd, Youth Teach-to-Learn Environmental Science.

This educational endeavor develops skills in environmental science and in elementary education–preparing these high school students for a possible career in teaching. Able to work with elementary-age children and advance their skills in science, they are receiving hands-on experience through an opportunity not many high schoolers get a chance to have.

“On a weekly basis students are brainstorming lessons, practicing them on each other, and preparing materials to take to the elementary classrooms,” Oldroyd explained.

She is currently earning her ROP credential and hopes that this class will continued to be offered in the future.

Oldroyd discusses the importance of this Youth Teach-to-Learn class as it “offers curriculum to teach environmental science to elementary students.”

One of the students, Faith Grady (12), explains that, “I plan on possibly becoming an 8th grade science teacher and this class is giving me exposure to this career path.”

Common activities the students engage in are organizing science vocabulary words and printing posters to enrich the learning environment and add fun to the overall experience.

With the small class size, it is an intimate environment that allows the students to ask more questions and give personal attention to the elementary students. Three to four students are assigned to each classroom.  

The high school students look forward to visiting Del Obispo Elementary School throughout the semester. Currently they plan on making a November 19th visit. During second semester the class will include more field trips, such as going to the Ocean Institute in Dana Point.

Grady expressed both excitement and apprehension about their upcoming trip,“I don’t remember what it was like to be a 4th or 5th grade student. I’m nervous that they might be difficult to manage, but I can’t wait to meet them.”