Site Visit Information
Field trips are a very important part of the magnet. How
can one study the environment without being IN the environment?? It's more than textbooks now… The district sets strict deadlines for paperwork so make sure your child meets those and wears appropriate clothing. Parents can pay for trip
in cash to the teacher or online at the www.southplantation.org website with a credit card.
We always need chaperones to take an airboat ride or sit
on the shore, so register at www.getinvolvedineducation.com
so we can call you. Information about trips can be found below.
can one study the environment without being IN the environment?? It's more than textbooks now… The district sets strict deadlines for paperwork so make sure your child meets those and wears appropriate clothing. Parents can pay for trip
in cash to the teacher or online at the www.southplantation.org website with a credit card.
We always need chaperones to take an airboat ride or sit
on the shore, so register at www.getinvolvedineducation.com
so we can call you. Information about trips can be found below.
2018-19 Upcoming Trip Forms
Experimental Science 2
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Experimental Science 1
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Freshmen Examine the Everglades Up Close
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Upperclassmen Trips - Experimental Science 2, 3, 4
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Weedology Kicks off the 2018-19 School Year
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Block scheduling added 30 minutes to each class period thus enabling longer on-campus field trips. Weedology was the perfect opportunity for the Paladins to learn with personnel from the Youth ERnvironmental Alliance or YEA!
After lectures about invasive plants and the opportunity to study samples close up, students took their learning to the South Plantation campus so they could remove the weeds. Throughout the day, numerous classes with students in every grade worked to clear out the invasives starting around the magnet building. Later in the year more native plants will be added to the gardens that were begun at the end of the 2017-18 school year. |
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YEA! Partnership Helps Make SPHS Campus Go Native
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Bringing what is learned in the classroom to actual sites is part of the curriculum of Experimental Science 3 Honors classes.
The 3-part hands-on, place-based educational experience consists of two school-based experiences and one off-site field trip delivered by the Youth Environmental Alliance (YEA!). All programs tie directly to the curriculum and provide new and engaging ways to learn key content. School-based programs will be delivered on campus during normal instructional time. Cry of the Water In the fall, YEA! personnel provided an interactive classroom experience that engaged students to use Florida's ecosystems as case studies to facilitate their awareness and empower |
them to make conscious decisions about protecting the planet.
Site Visit: Hugh Taylor Birch State Park For the second step students spent all day in the field to learn more about local flora, fauna, and ecosystems; engage in sustainable fishing practices and take part in ecosystem restoration by enhancing habitats for pollinators. Think Globally, Act Locally Culminating the program students engaged in habitat stewardship on school grounds. After learning the principles of Florida-friendly landscaping, students identified an area on campus in need of remediation and transformed it into a “NatureScape” featuring native plants that are both wildlife and people friendly. |
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Freshmen Finish Swimming Assessment for 2018
Visiting History Miami Museum Freshmen in Honors English spent the day in Miami learning more about the history of South Florida. Special emphasis covered the Everglades and the influence of local Native Americans.
Students in Jessica Reeves' classes examined ancient bones, shards and relics from Florida's earliest inhabitants as part of the magnet English curriculum. |
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Freshmen Begin Water Safety/HOPE Certification
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Just as the weather began to turn colder in October, freshmen dove into the pool at Fort Lauderdale High's Aquatic Complex after a short bus ride.
First they had to show they knew how to swim, and then they had to swim a distance unaided, float on their back for a predetermined time and tread water for several minutes. After they proved their competence, they |
divided into teams and swam relay races. Then the all had the chance to go off the diving board.
Those who had difficulty swimming, were taught to swim by the coach and magnet coordinator - a certified swim instructor. Some student returned for addition lessons to make sure if they fell out of a canoe they could save themselves. No one complained about the cool weather because they stayed in the pool. |
Scientists Get Wet Slogging in the Everglades
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Florida's rainy season created deep water for the freshmen as they traveled to Holiday Park to experience the Everglades up close and personal.
After a general orientation including a historical interactive presentation, the students broke into two groups: one went slogging and the other went a airboat ride and data collection. On the boat, they identified and counted |
wildlife including numerous birds. They they sampled and tested the quality of the water at three different locations miles apart.
When thye returned to the outdoor lab, the identified invertebrates found in the water they collected. The sloggers broke new ground in a deeper section of Holiday Park creating very wet students. |
Sophomores Review Restoration and Agriculture
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Part of the Everglades Restoration curriculum covers how farming has affected the water in the Everglades.
After a year's absence, students returned to tour the Stormwater Treatment Area (STA) on US 27 as they observed the Best Management Practices (BMPs) of U.S. Sugar based in Clewiston. An informative tour of the STA managed by the South Florida Water Management District (not normally open to the public) gave them a first-hand look at how the pumps distributed the renewed sheet flow of water to the southern |
Everglades. SFWMD personnel explained what had to be in in the event of hurricane or drought conditions.
Students observed the return of wildlife to the area as the cleaner water flowed south. Then they boarded the bus and went to the sugar cane fields where they learned how the BMPs of U.S. Sugar have helped improve the water quality beyond what is prescribed by federal regulations. They sampled fresh-cut cane and toured the Clewiston museum before returning to school. |
Juniors Spend the Day Working at Birch State Park
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As the King Tide raised the waters of South Florida, Juniors in Experimental Science 3 became extremely wet as they went fishing in the Intracoastal and restored the habitat of the land.
After they reviewed fishing regulations they learned as freshmen, they had a morning of successful catch-and-release fishing. Next they reviewed their lessons about the exotic plants that constantly try to take over the |
local landscape as well as the native vegetation including mangroves who help combat the rising tides.
After lunch and a nature walk, they spent the rest of the day removing the exotics and replacing them with native plants before returning home wet but satisfied. They worked alongside personnel from YEA!: Youth Environmental Alliance and teacher, Dr. Jody Berman. |
Freshmen Complete Water Safety/HOPE Curriculum
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In the fall, freshmen completed a swimming assessment program at Fort Lauderdale High's aquatic complex. In May, they completed the second half of the magnet physical education (HOPE) class with small craft safety. Over three days, all the ninth graders went to Broward
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College's Tigertail Lake with Coach Kincaid and polished their canoeing skills from paddling to rescue.
All students needed to be prepared for the trips over the next three years in the Everlades' River of Grass. |
Juniors continue to explore Everglades National Park
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For the first time in the 14 year history of the magnet program, all the students in the Research 3 and 4 classes toured Everglades National Park from the Flamingo entrance at Florida Bay to the main visitor's center on one trip.
As they made stops along the way to observe the different habitats and wildlife, they used their senses to explain what they learned about the park first hand instead of in textbooks. Students also needed to document their writing with photographs at each location and they used cameras as well as their phones to do so. The two busloads of students started at opposite ends of the park and ate lunch along the way. Before returning home they stopped at a popular stand to enjoy smoothies and milkshakes as well as tropical food. |
Freshmen Begin Environmental Study at Shark Valley
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Just before the Thanksgiving break, the 160 magnet freshmen spent the day in the Everglades at Shark River Valley Slough. Three trips were needed for all the students to attend.
After watching the National Parks video on the bus, the students completed a worksheet covering the Bobcat Boardwalk and took the 17-mile tram ride. Students saw alligators of all sizes, Blue |
Herons, Tricolored Herons, Ibis, Anhingas, Red Shouldered Hawks, Turkey Vultures and other birds and reptiles.
Observations were the theme of the day. Instead of the traditional data-filled worksheet, students practiced their observation skills beginning on the bus ride and throughout Everglades National Park. |
Research I/II Students Tour Cane Fields
 Judy Sanchez
For the past 14 years, freshmen in the first theme class of the magnet, Research 1 and II, have toured the U.S. Sugar Corporation in March.
Guided by Judy Sanchez from U.S. Sugar, students saw how the Storm Treatment Area adjusted the water flow to the Everglades, helping to purify the water coming from the Kissimmee chain of lakes. |
Then they went to Clewiston and observed a harvest of sugar cane fields. In the planned burn of the cane fields, the leaves were burned off before the cane was harvested and sent to the plant via train. At the mill, the sucrose was extracted, and the sugar was stored in large warehouses before being purified.
Students collected sugar from the warehouse and took home stalks of the cane. |
Research Juniors Help Miramar Pinelands Park
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On three different days in January 2015, students in the Research 3-4 classes including dual enrollment, helped Broward County Parks personnel remove non-native invasive plants from Miramar Pinelands.
The 157 acres of Miramar Pinelands encompasses a unique combination of wetlands, flatwoods, prairies and slash pine forests. The |
juniors learned more about native plants as they helped remove the most invasive species. This three-day clean up focused on reducing the number of Rosary Pea and Balsam Apple plants. Read the newspaper story:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/plantation/fl-cn-invasives-0208-20150205-story.html |
Limnology Seniors Travel to Riverwoods
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The Everglades Watershed begins in central Florida at the head of the Kissimmee River. Through the years the river's flow was changed due to population and economic needs at the expense of water quality and the flora and fauna of the Everglades.
However, with the focus on Everglades Restoration, the oxbows of the river returned due to the removal of dams that were built to make the river a straight canal for commerce. At the end of January 2015, 15 seniors in the Honors Limnology class had the opportunity to see the restored habitat at Riverwoods (FAU's |
Center for Environmental Studies) to study how the new changes in the flow affects the wildlife. (Limnology is the study of freshwater ecosystems.)
During the two-day trip, they tested the water quality of the river, counted wildlife, dipped for aquatic invertebrates, and studied the landscape and wetland plants. After dinner they enjoyed a wildlife presentation about snakes and alligators before departing to the Kissimmee Prairie for star and moon gazing with an astronomer. The day ended with a campfire and s'mores. |
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Wheelabrator turns trash into electricity
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As part of the Honors Environmental Science curriculum, sophomores and juniors to see how Wheelabrator South Broward turns household waste into power. For 12 years, what the facility does has been an important part of the magnet program.
After a video, plant professionals showed the students the facility from the crane room to the control room while explaining safety features and career opportunities. |
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AP Environmental Science students study at Zoo Miami
More than 150 AP Environmental Science students studied the biodiversity at Zoo Miami in November 2013. In addition to completing a worksheet covering the different habitats in the zoo student documented their visit by completing a photo project.
Students show swimming skills for Everglades trips
Freshmen began their trips with the Water Assessment. Because swimming safety is critical to trips in the "River of Grass," all students must be able to swim. The assessment took place at Fort Lauderdale High's new swimming complex the first week in November over three days.
Several freshmen are on the varsity swimming team, and Logan Downey won the state title in diving.
Several freshmen are on the varsity swimming team, and Logan Downey won the state title in diving.
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Coastal Explorations with the Science Eye
In early November, sophomores and juniors enrolled in Honors and AP Environmental Science explored the tide line and coastal habitat at John U. Lloyd State Park in Dania. The strong winds in early November made data gathering difficult, but the students continued their sampling and analysis under the guidance of the Science Eye professionals.
The trips involved three areas: understanding tides, winds and currents; what is caught in the tide line as the high tide recedes; and the flora of the sandy habitat.
The trips involved three areas: understanding tides, winds and currents; what is caught in the tide line as the high tide recedes; and the flora of the sandy habitat.