RE LOG - Spring 2017

40 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2017 On Campus RE’s AP Environmental Science classes have assisted with water-quality sampling in Biscayne Bay and the Coral Gables waterway as part of a novel partnership with a research university and environmental non- profit. The students set out aboard the school’s research skiff about once a month to visit three locations in the Coral Gables waterway and one at a Biscayne Bay station near Mercy Hospital. RE science classes have done similar sampling previously, but never as part of real-world re- search projects. The students of Cecilia Calleros ’94 and Scott Erdmann agreed to help with a Biscayne Bay water- sampling effort that recently saw a funding cut, volunteering to collect samples for the Biscayne Bay Water Watch, a community- based non-profit devoted to the environmental health of the bay. The organization has organized volunteers throughout Miami- Dade County to ensure a continuation of the critical water-quality sampling. The students are also contributing to an entirely new sampling effort in the Coral Gables waterway, partnering with the Coastal Systems Program at the University of Massachusetts- Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology and Biscayne Bay Water Watch. The goal is to learn more about waste seeping RE Band thrives in 20th-anniversary season The 20th-anniversary season of the Ransom Everglades band program under director Jon Hamm has been marked by great music and achievements. The RE Combo won honorable mention for the second year in a row at the prestigious Berklee High School Jazz Festival in Boston in February, distinguishing itself among 127 schools from 15 states, just weeks after two RE Combo members – Jacob Tie- Shue ’18 and Joon Kim ’17 – performed in All- State concerts in Tampa. Ben Arriola ’18 , Rafi Jimenez ’17 , Ryan Tie-Shue ’18 , Luca Gonzalez-Abreu ’18 , Leo Menninger ’18 , Jacob Tie-Shue and Kim traveled to Boston, helping Ransom Everglades on Feb. 11 become one of only two schools from Florida to win a medal. At the Florida Music Association conference in Tampa Jan. 14, Jacob Tie-Shue performed on bassoon with the 11-12 symphony orchestra and Kim played with the jazz band on tenor sax. The RE Combo also earned straight A’s at the district championship for the eighth consecutive year, advancing to the state event in Pompano Beach on March 31, and 21 Ransom Everglades AP science clas engages in real research into that waterway in the hope of implementing protective measures. Roland Samimy ’86 , senior research manager at the UMass Coastal Systems Program, and Lisa Krimsky, director of the Biscayne Bay Water Watch and Florida Sea Grant agent with University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension in Miami-Dade County, have assisted RE’s classes, teaching students how to properly collect and catalogue the samples. “The students get to use this data for the purposes of their classes, but at the same time they put it into a real-world context,” Samimy said. “This has to be done a very specific way. They have to do it correctly, otherwise the data becomes meaningless.” The students will take measurements monthly through the end of the school year – and perhaps beyond. They are collecting data on temperature, pH, salinity, and dissolved oxygen. Water samples will be analyzed for total nitrogen, total phosphorus, ammonia, silica and chlorophyll A. “We need multiple years of data in order to show trends,” Samimy said. “We’re looking to have the AP Environmental Science kids do this year after year after year.” musicians showcased their talents during the District 20 High School Honor Band concert Jan. 21 at the Lewis Family Auditorium. The concert included a guest appearance by renowned conductor Colonel Arnald D. Gabriel.