William Larkin thought it was cool to see a real seahorse. The Luxford Elementary student was one of about 150 special guests to visit the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center on June 7.
“My teachers said I was doing very good work,” the fourth grader said.
The annual “Oceans of Success” field trip was sponsored by retired Virginia Beach Circuit Court Chief Judge Thomas Shadrick, and Kevin Biniazan and Jeffrey Breit of the law firm Breit Biniazan.
Everyone gathered in the aquarium’s theater before venturing through the exhibits.
Kevin Biniazan applauded the third through fifth graders from each VBCPS Title 1 elementary school who were selected to attend because of improved academic performance during the school year.
“If you work hard, you can achieve anything you want to achieve,” he told them.
Aquarium Vice President of Science Education Chris Witherspoon asked the students some questions: “Who likes sea turtles? Who wants to see sharks? Who wants to touch a ray?”
Many raised their hands.
They first met Thanos, a 3-year-old red-tailed boa constrictor. The aquarium’s animal ambassador team explained that the reptile is native to the tropical forest areas of South and Central America and could live to age 40, weigh up to 30 pounds and grow to be 13 feet long.
Then it was off to explore the world of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and beyond, divided into groups of sharks, sea turtles, crocodiles and sea horses. The self-guided tour provided close-up looks at thousands of animals within educational hands-on habitats, from fish to sea turtles, Komodo dragons, a crocodile, snot otters, hermit crabs and lots more.
Jenny Morgan watched as the students enthusiastically touched stingrays in the touch-pool area. Morgan said she is grateful her daughter Cam, a Newtown Elementary third grader, was rewarded for working hard this year.
“I’m just proud of who she is becoming and showing how much of a good citizen she is.”
The young VIPs were also treated to lunch.
The Point O’ View Elementary crew said the pizza was delicious. Fifth grader Liam Doyle was glad to be chosen for the field trip. “I started practicing more, like fractions,” he said.
His classmate, Ezequiel Suarez is from Spain, and was chosen to participate in the excursion for the second year. “I feel great like all the hard work is for something,” he said.
Bayside Elementary gifted resource teacher Heather Schweitzer said the children were “100% excited” about the end of the school year excursion. “They understand that hard work really pays off and to keep trying.”
Green Run Elementary fifth grader Carter Wiggins asked about the difference in the color of the ocean near the beach and farther out to sea.
His classmate David Lemos had the answer: “There’s less sediment farther out,” he said. “We learned that in class.”
Their science teacher Michelle Pressley and school counselor Rebecca Pierre-Louis smiled. “We are letting them see what we learned in person,” Pierre-Louis said. “They have worked so hard, stayed focused, persevered and didn’t give up.”
