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Lasalle Secondary School students sleep with the sharks
“This was one of the most memorable life experiences of my time in high school.”
Believe it or not… students from Lasalle Secondary School’s Specialist High Skills Major (SHSM) in Energy slept with the sharks last week. They had the distinction of being the first public group to spend the night in the Shark Tunnel at the new Ripley’s Aquarium near the CN Tower in Toronto. It all took place on Thursday, January 9th, 2014, where, nestled in sleeping bags, they stared up at the…. fish!
“All forms of fish were literally swimming around us, including sharks,” said teacher Liane Esau, who leads the SHSM in Energy program at Lasalle Secondary School. “It was an eerie and mesmerizing experience. To be the first is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” She added: "This is my favourite field trip in more than 14 years of teaching and I have been on many field trips.”
The underwater tunnel is part of the dangerous lagoon that features different species of sharks, including Sand Tiger, Sandbar and Reef Sharks. The aquarium also houses saw-wielding sawfish, barracudas, moray eels, spadefish, tarpon and green sea turtles.
"The feeling of being surrounded by massive sharks while I slept was really frightening. I loved every second of it," said Keagan LeBreton. "It was an amazing experience that I really enjoyed,” added Erica Younger. “My favourite part was sleeping in the tunnel, surrounded by sharks and other amazing creatures. It was definitely something I would do again if given the chance.”
"This trip was extremely fun! You got to see many different types of fish, which was really cool. We were able to touch the sea rays and that was awesome. I absolutely loved this trip to Ripley’s Aquarium," said Marla Betts. "This trip was one of the coolest trips I’ve been on in high school. What an awesome experience!" added Alyson Beland. "My favourite part of this trip was the kelp forest. I just lied down by it and watched it for a long time. It was so relaxing and peaceful," added Brooklyn Cashmore.
Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada is a world-class aquatic life facility, the first of its kind in Ontario, whose mission is to foster environmental education, conservation and research, while simultaneously providing entertainment for visitors of all ages.
“In addition to learning about the diversity of the species and participating in a scavenger hunt, students learned about the different careers involved in the building, maintaining and running of an aquarium,” said Esau. “They also visited the CN Tower, which provided a study in contrasts. What an amazing experience!”
"It was fun. I enjoyed visiting the CN Tower’s glass floor and learning more about its structure. Sleeping under the sharks was also cool, but it is hard to sleep with a huge shark staring at you," said Itunu Osifeso. "Honestly, this was the best trip I have been on in years. I had so much fun and learned so many things," said Kevin Coffyn.
"I had such a great and fun experience. Seeing new things and creatures. I couldn’t have asked for a better trip," said Katlin Elliott. "This was one of the most memorable life experiences of my time in high school," added Kylie Guenette.
Students enrolled in the Specialist High Skills Majors in Rainbow Schools participate in a number of reach-ahead activities. SHSMs are a bundle of 8 to 10 courses in selected fields. Rainbow District School Board offers SHSM programs in nine sectors – Arts and Culture, Business, Construction, Energy, Environment, Health and Wellness, Information and Communications Technology, Manufacturing, and Mining.
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Media Contact:
Jeff McKibbon, Principal, Lasalle Secondary School,
Rainbow District School Board, 705-566-2280.
Lasalle Secondary School had the distinction of having the first public group spend the night in the Shark Tunnel at the new Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto. Sleeping among the sharks were, front, from left, Keagan LeBreton, Erik Levesque, Jesse Menard, Ivan Conrad, Jody Lao, Mayrichelle Bautista, Brooklyn Cashmore, Tori Wells, Drayden Pelltier, and Sierra Nicholas; second row, from left, Brittney Schutt, Marla Betts, Itunu Osifeso, Kevin Coffyn, Marissa Nazaruk, Lindsay Armstrong, Susan Jones, Liane Esau, Alyson Beland, Erica Younger, Megan Forest, Dana Rickard, Chawna Ramsey, Chandler Ross; and back, from left, Chase Davidson, Ray Gorzynski, Katlin Elliott, Kylie Guenette, Aaron Anderson, Matthew LeMay, Viginia Gordon, Ryan Lavalley, Chelsea Sherrington and Alex St-Pierre. Lost in the sea of faces are Carinna Belcourt, Nicole Belanger, Courtney Castonguay, Sydney Robbins and Areej Salem.
Lasalle Secondary School students, from left, Virginia Gordon, Ryan Lavalley, Matthew LeMay, Alyson Beland, Kevin Coffyn and Erica Younger in the Shark Tunnel.
This is so real… you can almost touch them! Lasalle Secondary School student Sierra Nicholas seems to say as she reaches out to the underwater world around her.
Teacher Ivan Conrad gets a bird’s eye view of a shark.
Silhouetted among the fish are Lasalle Secondary School students, from left, Chelsea Sherrington, Courtney Castonguay, Alex St-Pierre, Chawna Ramsey and Dayna Rickard.
Students in Lasalle Secondary School’s Specialist High Skills Major in Energy learn about the ancient art of Gyotaku fish printing to create reusable bags that will help the environment for years to come.
Lasalle Secondary School students settle in for the night, from front to back, Itunu Osifeso, Brittney Schutt, Marla Betts, Mayrichelle Bautista, Jody Lao and Brookland Cashmore.