{"id":11305,"date":"2023-06-12T14:03:15","date_gmt":"2023-06-12T18:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=11305"},"modified":"2023-06-12T14:03:15","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T18:03:15","slug":"touching-rays-and-greeting-skinks-vbcps-students-celebrate-oceans-of-success-at-virginia-aquarium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/touching-rays-and-greeting-skinks-vbcps-students-celebrate-oceans-of-success-at-virginia-aquarium\/","title":{"rendered":"Touching rays and greeting skinks, VBCPS students celebrate Oceans of Success at Virginia Aquarium"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0-David Schleck<\/em><\/p>\n

More than 150 students participated in the Oceans of Success Field Trip at the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center as a reward for improving their academic performance this school year.<\/p>\n

Students met a skink named Godzilla and a crow named Russell. They watched turtles, sharks and other marine life swim and dive around them. They learned about ecosystems in the Chesapeake Bay and the importance of being good stewards of the environment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Dr. Aaron Spence<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chris Witherspoon, the aquarium\u2019s vice president of science education, and Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence congratulated the students for earning a spot in the Oceans of Success field trip. The participants included students from grades three through five representing 14 Title 1 schools.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a reason we call it Oceans of Success,\u201d Spence said. \u201cWe\u2019re celebrating your success this school year. You have a lot to be proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trip was sponsored by Retired Chief Justice Thomas S. Shadrick of the Virginia Beach Circuit Court, and Jeffrey A. Breit and Kevin Biniazan of Breit Biniazan Trial Lawyers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Kevin Biniazan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Biniazan spoke about how his family moved to the United States from the Middle East, and it wasn\u2019t easy to learn how to speak and read English when he was in kindergarten.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was nervous at first,\u201d he said. \u201cAre any of you nervous when you have to read out loud? You\u2019ll learn to overcome that feeling through hard work. I used to practice by reading the newspaper to my grandfather. Now, for a living, all I do is stand in front of people and talk. That\u2019s what attorneys do. And we read a lot, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several students from Seatack Elementary An Achievable Dream Academy shared some thoughts their favorite parts of the field trip:<\/p>\n