SPECIAL EDITION: Fort de Soto 2022
|
|
This video takes you to Fort De Soto where the French American School of Tampa Bay spent an action-packed week in April 2022!
It was a fast-paced week loaded with activities - biking, pétanque, croquet, flash dance, studying sea life, rollerblading, track and field, scavenger hunt, sand castles, art, fishing - you name it, we did it!
Thanks go to our school staff, families, and students who did a fabulous job making our third annual week at Fort de Soto a reality – Bravo to all!!!
|
|
Beach Challenges:
What is sand? Where does it come from? What can you do with it?
The children discovered some of the properties of sand and faced some other challenges:
How do you lift a bucket full of sand using only a shovel?
How do you build a sandcastle without it collapsing?
How can you make the highest tower?
How can you measure time with sand? With water?
All of these challenges were brilliantly met by students of all ages at FASTB.
|
|
Why is Fort de Soto Beach's sand so unusually white and soft?
The sand is not mixed with coral, gravel, or shells like most other beaches in the country. Surprisingly, the sand came from the Appalachian Mountains, mostly made up of microscopic quartz crystals that have been washed down into rivers, out into the Gulf of Mexico, and then up onto the shores of Fort de Soto State Park. It's not surprising that the beaches of Pinellas County are often ranked #1 in the country!
|
|
Horseshoe Crabs and Rattlesnakes!
|
|
The Rangers at Fort De Soto were very welcoming and spent a lot of time with our students as they got to know a little bit about their surroundings. Whether talking about horseshoe crabs (above) or rattlesnakes, the sessions with the rangers were very informative and fun. Thank you to Park Ranger David Harshbarger for facilitating this project and to their staff for making it great!
|
|
Our Olympic Games were thrilling: FASTB students excelled in running, jumping, throwing, and sandcastle building!
|
|
Sea Turtles at Fort de Soto
|
|
Orienteering at Fort de Soto
|
|
Learning the basics of using a compass and following a map, students worked with parent Massimiliano Dosi (above), to find their way around the park.
|
|
Exploring the natural world has become a rare occurrence in children's daily lives, despite the fact that this type of investigation leads to new discoveries, ideas, and questions. Outdoor exploration is a method of instruction with massive benefits. Congratulations to Magali and Maeve for engaging our students in art projects that merged with nature.
|
|
It was a fast-paced week loaded with activities like biking, rollerblading, and pétanque!
|
|
The "Boulhommes" Challenge
|
|
Students are engaged in inquiry-based learning when they make real-world connections through discovery and high-level questions. It's a method of teaching that encourages children to solve problems and learn via experience. Inquiry-based teaching, from the perspective of the teacher, focuses on bringing students beyond general curiosity into critical thinking and knowledge.
Challenge offered to the students:
The boulhommes are small men in the shape of balls. They live in holes dug into the sand. After a big storm, some baby Bulhommes have been swept away, they have to cross the pond to find their families.
Students will have to help them by building a boat:
- That will support a "bulhomme" without him drowning!
- That will carry the "bulhomme" across to the other side (about 15 meters)
- That can be propelled by the wind and/or by a propeller.
- Which must be aesthetic
- Which will have to be built by the team
- It must remain within a set budget allowance. Student groups are able to sell the parts in good condition to the store for half the price, or to another group for the price a price they determine. The negotiations were fun and sometimes tricky!
|
|
A Pirate’s Life for FASTB!
Fearless young sailors joined Fort De Soto’s very own pirate (Emmy!) to go on a Treasure Hunt! They showed bravery, intellect, and agility to follow the clues left by Le Capitaine La Mer. After deciphering the clues, and thanks to color-changing potions, we are glad to report that FASTB’s crew was victorious, the treasure has been found!
|
|
From 500 AD to 1500 AD, the Tampa Bay area of Florida attracted a wide variety of visitors to its shores. Some of the first were the Tocobaga Indians, who enjoyed the bounty of the harvest from Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The savory clams, oysters, conchs, whelks, and fish taken from the pristine waters must have been delightful as well as plentiful.
|
|
We also took advantage of the nearby Gulf Pier to explore fishing and the various species present around the pier.
|
|
Kindness and Collaboration
|
|
Take a risk. Go outside. Be adventurous. Be Kind!
The French American School of Tampa Bay is proud of its students and its community for displaying such a cooperative spirit during the week spent at Fort de Soto. Great support was offered from the parents who assisted during the elaborate activities prepared by our dedicated staff!
The power of kindness and community could be felt along the beautiful shores of Fort de Soto! Merci beaucoup!
|
|
The French American School of Tampa Bay
2100 62nd Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
Telephone: (727) 800-2159
|
|
|
|
|
|
|