Batten down the hatches! On Thursday, June 18, 7th graders from Old Rochester Regional Junior High School, and those apart of the Supplemental Courses Offering Personal Enrichment program, or S.C.O.P.E., took part in a voyage not often seen on the Seven Seas; the sailing of cardboard boats.
The week-long enrichment program, described as an alternative to the ORR Survival program, sees students collaborate on hands-on projects that push their creative minds to develop new ideas. The cardboard boat race is one such endeavor, and Kathy Gauvin, Health Teacher at ORRJHS, told us the race has gone on for the last 16 years.
Students work together to design and construct a small boat using cardboard and duct tape that they then race at the Mattapoisett YMCA. They are not powered by some electric engine, but by the students themselves who are also sitting in and paddling the boats!
It challenges students to solve complex problems, work together, and think outside the (cardboard) box. Overall, it was a great way to share some laughs while learning to solve problems. “We hope S.C.O.P.E. becomes one of the memories our students look back on fondly from their time at ORR” Gauvin said.
By Sam Bishop