FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE				April 1, 1996

Contacts:	Aaron King	(831) 647-4257
		Liz Love		(831) 647-4255

Schools Focused on Ocean for 
–Sanctuary Week”

	A Santa Cruz area school is encouraging their students to 
think more about the ocean this week, particularly the local 
marine environment encompassed by the Monterey Bay National 
Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS).  New Brighton Middle School has planned 
a wealth of Sanctuary-related activities to take place throughout 
the week.  The curriculum activities as well as the teacher-
training leading up to this week's "Sanctuary Week" have been 
funded by a consortium of sponsors, including the Monterey Bay 
National Marine Sanctuary office.

	At New Brighton Middle School, a kick-off assembly for the 
week featured the Boogie-Down Jugglers, who entertained students 
while teaching about water pollution.  Sanctuary Week activities 
also include fish and squid printing, making a coral reef quilt 
and Inuit mask-making and storytelling.  On Friday, a school-wide 
fair will be held featuring interpretive displays and 
presentations from local environmental organizations.  Students 
will also display classroom projects, Web Pages, multimedia 
reports and posters.  Some students will participate in beach 
clean-ups.

	About 400 schools around the country use this program to help 
teach their students about the ocean world.  The UC Berkeley, 
Lawrence Hall of Science MARE Program organizes the schools, and 
helps them locate local sponsors for the activities and teacher 
education workshops.  Additionally, they provide on-site work, 
helping teachers implement the new curriculum, particularly 
during the week that the schools choose to focus on the oceans.  
"We've found that the on-site training is essential.  Weêve 
noticed nearly 100% better implementation if we've been able to 
work with the teachers and get them comfortable with the 
curriculum," says Roberta Dean of MARE.



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	New Brighton Middle School's experience with MARE has been 
very favorable, according to eighth grade science teacher Sue 
Sager.  "In our school it has given us a curriculum focus," she 
explains.  "A lot of us [teachers] live here because we're 
environmentalists.  This program gives us a chance to teach the 
process to kids.  It gives the kids an idea of how special this 
area is."

	For more information on MARE, call (510) 642-5008.









































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