Norwalk Catholic School Offers Marine Biology Courses

Marylisa Boose writes in the June issue of the Catholic Chronicle:

NORWALK—How many high school students learn to propogate, or grow, coral and how to take care of saltwater tropical fish, a shark, a hermit crab and an eel?

Norwalk Catholic School (NCS), in the second year of its marine biology program, offers those opportunities and others. High school students also take care of five fresh-water tanks in the elementary school and give the younger students tours of the five salt-water tanks in the high school to spark an interest in marine biology at the lower grades.

NCS offered marine biology for the first time last year with a class of only four students. This year, 30 students signed up for the program so Mike Wasiniak is teaching two sections of the course.

Mr. Wasiniak gives much of the credit for the success of the course to Scott Lee, a friend who is a construction worker by day, but has always had an interest in marine biology. He built the five tanks at the high school and helps to maintain the program.

One reason Mr. Wasiniak was able to add the marine biology classes to the science program at NCS is the addition built onto the school two years ago. The science classrooms were expanded to add the latest equipment and Mr. Wasiniak’s classroom, which had a tank 3 feet high, 3 feet wide and 2 feet high, had room for more tanks.

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My Comments:
You learn something new every day. I'm fairly active in the Norwalk Catholic School system (in addition to having kids in the school, I'm on the NCS Early Childhood/Elementary Advisory Board), and this is the first I've heard of this Marine Biology program.

And before you ask, yes, NCS is also big on promoting Catholic identity. In fact, the entire Diocese of Toledo is involved in a Catholic school initiative that seeks to build Catholic identity within the diocese's Catholic schools:

... In the fall of 2007, Bishop Blair scheduled regional meetings with the priests of the diocese. These meetings emphasized the importance of the Catholic identity of our schools. It is clear that the “Catholicity” of our schools is of primary importance. Schools need to demonstrate their effectiveness of passing on the faith to students. This seems to be calling us to focus on specifically what is happening in the classroom with the students...

If you want your kids to get a good quality (and fairly affordable) Catholic education, I invite you to come to the Diocese of Toledo, and to Norwalk Catholic School in particular.

That's how our family wound up here.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
May Crownings Yesterday ...

Norwalk Catholic School's Mrs. Cindy McLaughlin Announced as a Golden Apple Award Recipient by Diocese of Toledo

Catholic Schools Week 2008 - "Catholic Schools Light the Way"

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe Celebrated at Norwalk Catholic School

Norwalk Catholic School on The Golden Compass

Two Toledo Diocesan High Schools Ranked Among Nation’s Best (Only 2 Schools in Ohio to Make List)

Yesterday: Norwalk Catholic School's "Spirit Day"

Back to School - 1st Day of Kindergarten