The unmanned sailing vessel, The Osprey that Kent School launched in June has made landfall near Pembrokeshire, Wales. A hiker walking along the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path saw and posted a photo of it on the Kent School, Inc. Facebook page. A second beach visitor followed and posted a note that he had found the time capsule. Since it was discovered on the beach, The Osprey has been transferred to Ysgol Greenhill School in Tenby, Pembrokeshire. The Greenhill School posted a photo of their school students in an assembly with the vessel. They plan to open the capsule later today.
Kent School’s Head of School, Nancy Mugele said, “I have been in touch today with the Head Teacher at Greenhill School. They will hold an assembly later today to open the time capsule. The Kent School Community is eager to watch the opening live. We hope this a start of a global friendship between our schools.” Mugele continued, “It is wonderful that this landfall happened just days after our participation in Global Collaboration Day. It will provide another experience for our students to interact with peers from a different part of the world. These teaching and learning opportunities are memorable, invaluable and help us to fulfill our mission to . . . ‘foster the growth of honorable, responsible, citizens for our country and our diverse world.’”
This project was made possible with the partnership of Educational Passages and representatives of Kent School’s Parents Teachers and Friends (PTF). The vessel, launched from New Jersey in early June is equipped with a GPS so students and friends of the project can track the Osprey’s progress across the Atlantic Ocean.
According to the Educational Passages website, “Learning can be fun and very involved as these little boats voyage across the oceans and along the coasts. When one is launched it is not sure where it will end up and what it will encounter on its voyage. To date there have been 13 launches with one boat on its second voyage.
Exciting…you bet! We hope to continue to expand and provide knowledge and adventure to the next generation of sailors, but also provide thought-provoking exercise to budding mathematicians, meteorologists, marine scientists, naval architects, informational technologists and the web content producers & journalists who bring you this information.”
Data from The Osprey’s voyage will be incorporated into curricula throughout the school this academic year as students explore mapping, longitude and latitude, geography, oceanography and a myriad of other topics associated with a journey across the Atlantic. Nancy Mugele, Head of School said, “We are deeply grateful to the PTF for spearheading this project. As a community who values lifelong learning we can gain important insights into our world when we research it in relevant ways. The Educational Passages project and The Osprey will foster global understanding amongst our students, teachers and new global friends. We look forward to a continued dialogue with our friends at Greenhill School in Tenby.”
Chuck Engstrom says
How long did it take to get there?
Greenhill School is in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales, and their website starts out in Welsh, a real learning challenge all by itself:
Shwmae a chroeso i wefan Ysgol Greenhill.
F’enw i ydy Mrs Jan Kingston ac mae’n fraint ac anrhydedd i mi fod yn Bennaeth Ysgol Greenhill.
Gobeithio bydd ein gwefan yn rhoi blas i chi o’r profiadau dysgu, y ddarpariaeth all-gyrsiol a’r amrediad eang o gyfleoedd sydd ar gael i sicrhau llwyddiant ar bob lefel i bob disgybl yn Ysgol Greenhill.
Christine Betley says
You can follow the Opsrey’s (and other boats) course at: https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/drifter/drift_ep_2016_1.html It was launched on June 15.
Marty Stetson says
This is such a neat project, thanks to the Spy for covering the story. Hopefully you will give us a follow up after the time capsule is opened. It will be interesting to see what those across the sea have to say about what was in it – “What was in it”, let us know in your next installment.