Washington Jesuit Academy

FEBRUARY 2013

LIVE Food Chain!

WJA students learning about the food chain.

Over the past month our friends from Earth Conservation Corps (ECC) presented special programs to our Buddy Bison students.

ECC's Daryl Wallace visited several D.C. schools with a LIVE food chain featuring raptors, snakes, and small mammals.  Washington Jesuit Academy (WJA) welcomed Daryl and his programs.  

Click here to read some of the students reflections of ECC visist.

Thank you Daryl and the ECC for bringing park experiences to our students during the cold winter months!

OCTOBER 2012 

Making no Bones about celebrating Fossil Day on the National Mall

My friends from Washington Jesuit Academy celebrated the 3rd annual Fossil Day in DC by visiting the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.  Fossil Day is a day when kids can have fun at our parks learning about our planet and the animals that walked it millions of years ago. 

During their trip, the kids saw dinosaurs that lived in North America long before we did and we were given a VIP tour of the storage and research rooms where all the bones are kept - there were over 3 million fossils down there!  They even got to see a real triceratops skull, a raptor claw, and even some fossilized dino scat (dino droppings) that was over 75 million years old!

Outside the museum at the National Mall, the National Park Service, Maryland Dinosaur Park, and the National Science Foundation had education stations where we got to learn more about fossils.  My buddies sifted for fossils of shark teeth, coral, and ancient shells.  The park rangers even had a replica skull of one of my ancient bison ancestors that my friends took a picture with.  Thanks to all my Washington Jesuit buddies and the Fossil Day volunteers for a fun day of exploration!  To view more photos from the day, click here!

 DECEMBER 2011

WashingtonJesuit Academyand a Horse Named Steely Dan

Officer Mariea Clowers – a Buddy Bison Ambassador – rode into Washington Jesuit Academy on her horse Steely Dan to give the students a presentation about her role with the National Park Service. Officer Clowers and Steely Dan work together to protect citizens in Washington D.C. when they gather for parades, political rallies, and demonstrations. The students were impressed by Steely Dan’s crowd control maneuvers and Officer Clowers’ equipment (which they got to try on).

Most importantly, Officer Clowers discussed the importance of making good decisions and told the students of WJA that if they continued to work hard and be dedicated park stewards, they will one day become leaders in their community.

Students from Washington Jesuit Academy with Buddy Bison Ambassador Mariea Clowers and her horse Steely Dan.

OCTOBER 2011

Fun on Fossil Day

On October 12th, Students from Washington Jesuit Academy joined Buddy Bison on the National Mall for the 2nd Annual Fossil Day as part of Earth Science Week. In the shadow of the Washington Monument, these students rummaged through rocks looking for all kinds of fossils, from shells to shark teeth!

Park rangers and volunteers taught the students how to identify their findings and helped them analyze the skeletons of alligators and birds. They even had the chance to create their own miniature bird feeders by covering pinecones with nuts and honey. When it started to rain, the students escaped into the Museum of Natural History where they studied more skeletons and other ancient artifacts.

Click here to see more photos from the 2nd Annual National Fossil Day.