“When a shark eats food that it can’t digest, like a turtle shell or a tin can — this is a neat party trick — it can vomit by thrusting its stomach out its mouth and pull it back in,” Angela Henry said.
The Jefferson Elementary gym — packed with more than 100 SAFE BASE students — erupted in amazement. They had just eaten free breakfasts as part of the District 257’s summer meal program.
“Who do you think a shark’s biggest enemy is?” Henry asked the students.
“Humans,” a girl responded. She was correct.
“Just in the U.S. and Canada, approximately 40 people are killed each year by …..?” Henry prompted.
“Sharks!” several students blurted out. Nope.
“Pigs,” Henry answered, adding that is six times the number of people killed by sharks worldwide.
This was no ordinary classroom. School was not even in session. But that did not keep students from learning more about sharks.
This was SAFE BASE, USD 257’s summer and after-school program for elementary and middle school students. Today they are on a trip to the Oklahoma Aquarium in Tulsa after spending Monday through Wednesday learning about marine life.
The program, which is just finishing its 16th year of operation, is almost entirely funded by grants. Henry, the program’s director since July 1, 2000, estimated over the course of those 16 years, $10-$12 million has been brought into the community through those grants.
The largest expense is staff. Just for the summer program, there are five certified teachers, three community instructors, one master gardener and nine tutors.
Supplies, like those for Cindy Williams’s cooking classes, are another expense. Williams is an enrichment instructor for SAFE BASE and a paraprofessional at Iola High School.
On Tuesday, the students made an easy, healthy snack that will be taken with them on their trip to Mount Rushmore and other national parks next week.
The snack, called no bake energy bites, was made with honey, peanut butter, oatmeal, organic flaxseed, vanilla, chocolate chips and graham cracker crumbs. Williams said the snack is nutritious because it includes antioxidants, Omega-3s, fiber and iron.
The kindergarten and first-grade students measured and mixed the ingredients before rolling them into balls. They took turns adding ingredients and holding the bowls while others stirred.
One batch had to be thrown out because a student licked the spoon while mixing ingredients.
