Raton Intermediate School

I (Amellia Veyna) am in my first year as the 6th grade science teacher in Raton. Before starting my position, I secured a position in a cohort from Purdue University called the TRAILS Program. The program is collecting data to show that outdoor, place-based learning is more effective than the typical textbook in a classroom format most common today. I am currently using this program to get students outdoors at Sugarite/Lake Maloya here in Colfax County. The students are looking at creating two biomimicry lessons; one of which involves creating their own bait to fish with and testing it. We will be going up to the Lake Maloya area multiple times during the school year. Having the opportunity to go outdoors is widely beneficial to their learning experience and something I would like to continue to incorporate during my time here.