Bloomington High School South, The Gothic, 2014, Page 20

Description:	This was not a normal classroom.There were no carpets, desks, orchalkboards. There were no books,projectors, or overhead lights. In fact,there was no building at all. Students inMrs. Amanda Figolahs APEnvironmental Science made naturetheir classroom at the BeanblossomBottoms Nature Preserve inNorthwestern Monroe County for afield study in soil quality and forestry.In its inaugural year, APEnvironmental Science, or APES as itwas affectionately known, offeredstudents the chance to study both therelationships between organisms in theenvironment and environmental issues,man-made or natural. And rather thanonly instruct from a book or aPowerpoint project, Figolah often hadthe students interact directly with theenvironment. This hands-on,experience-driven approach toteaching was uncommon in schoolsand one of the few of its kind at South.And many of the APES students, likejunior Emily Schafer, thought it wasthe most interesting part of the class.We get to do a lot of outdoorwork, she explained. Field trips makeclass more entertaining andinteresting.Throughout the month ofSeptember, they took multiple trips toClear Creek to do water testing. SeniorLia Simons father, Dr. Thomas Simon,helped the class test pH and oxygenlevels, as well as the nitrate levels inthe water.Hes a clinical professor, so hetakes students out in the field to learn,explained Simon. Since field work ishis specialty, Dr. Simon was able tobring an experts eye to the subject athand.The diversity of subject matterwas another appealing aspect ofAPES. In addition to studying soil,water, and forestry, in the spring,were going to Morgan Monroe StateForest to do weather monitoring, saidsenior Zachary Truelock.At less than a year old, APES hadalready left its mark on South: theyencouraged students to use tap waterinstead of bottled water by sellingreusable bottles at a reduced priceduring lunches. And while it might nottake place in a classroom, it gavestudents a worlds worth of informationto explore — literally.-LUCILLE POWERSnumber ONEin FUNOn September 13, Panther ActivityCouncil hosted the first pep rally of theschool year. Here is a by-the-numberscomparison of the event.varsity footballathletes81TEAMS RACED IN RELAYi IN RELAYf6ur50%student bodypresent60other boysvarsity athletesTEAMS CHEATED IN RELAY<m70czcoTHREE50%left beforethe rallydata collected at pep rally
Source:	http://cdm17129.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/hs-bloomsouth/id/9126
Collection:	Bloomington High School South

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