Newman Science Teachers to Present at Education Symposium

Three Isidore Newman School science teachers have been asked to present at the Louisiana Environmental Education Symposium in February. Lisa Coulon, Elaine Sevin, and Jennifer Williams will present “The Science of Service Learning” to the education professionals attending the symposium. The teachers collaborated on a presentation about the Newman Science Department’s work with the LSU Coastal Roots Program, UNO’s Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Studies, and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation and how these partnerships have benefitted students by having them interact with scientists and with nature. The Environmental Education Symposium is scheduled for February 22-23 at the Baton Rouge Marriott Hotel.

 

Jennifer Williams, Lower School Science Chair, and Fifth Grade Science Teacher Elaine Sevin have worked for several years with Louisiana State University’s Coastal Roots Program, which is involved in coastal habitat restoration in South Louisiana. Through the program, Newman students in second and third grade science classes grow native wetland seeds into seedlings and collect data on tree growth for the wetland scientists at LSU. Third, fourth, fifth, and seventh grade students then plant the trees in wetland areas. Last year, the students planted trees in Jean Lafitte National Park to help restore degraded wetland habitats. Newman has participated in the Coastal Roots program since 2006.

 

Ms. Williams also works with another restoration project with the University of New Orleans’ Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Studies. Through this partnership, third grade students grow, monitor, and collect data on smooth cord grasses and dune grasses. Working with UNO scientists, the students plant the grasses around Lake Pontchartrain and Bayou St. John to restore these habitats. This year the students travel to Bonnet Carré Spillway/LaBranche Wetland to plant 700 cypress trees as part of the Coastal Roots Program. The School has signed a 10-year agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers to restore the hardwood-bottomland forest around the spillway area.

 

Lisa Coulon, who teaches science in Newman’s Middle School, has integrated service learning into a year-long project conducted by all of her sixth grade students. In cooperation with the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, the students take part in the Water Watch service learning program, through which they learn about water quality, pollution, and freshwater lake ecology. Throughout the year, the students take measurements of water quality from Bayou St. John and other locations to see how water quality varies based on temperature, season, and location. Students, parents, and faculty also participate in the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation’s Annual Beach Sweep, which collects and catalogs litter from New Orleans area neighborhoods. In addition to removing waste from more than 100 miles of local streets, the project helps students learn about at the amount and variety of waste that is washes into the lake each year.  

 

Service learning in science and other subjects is an important part of Newman’s curriculum. Through service learning, students see the real-world application of the subjects they study, they interact with members of the wider community, and they learn how their actions can impact the world that they live in. It is an honor to have our teachers selected to speak at this conference, and we hope that their ideas will be shared, discussed, and implemented at other participating schools.