Melanie Weitz always has had an appreciation for the ocean, but she really fell in love with its mystery when she went to Seacamp at Big Pine Key in the seventh grade. In May, she will return to that same camp — but this time as a Shiloh Charter School language arts and reading teacher — with 32 of her middle-school students.
“Students can learn better when they can be hands-on and actually learn more than just reading it in a book,” Weitz said. “It’s like nature’s classroom.”
But the camp is a hefty $619 per student. So Weitz, teachers Jon Bull and Donelle Casselman and her students started brainstorming fundraising ideas. So far, they have raised $8,000 by asking businesses to buy a T-shirt sponsorship, through which their logo will be placed on trip T-shirts.
With $12,000 still to raise, Weitz hopes a Feb. 1 spaghetti dinner and art auction will help them reach their goal.
The 340 art pieces in the auction were made by Shiloh students. The elementary grades created class projects, decorating canvases with handprints and stars.
Middle-schoolers who wanted to create an art piece also were invited to contribute. The individual paintings will be sold for $15, and the classroom paintings will be put in a silent auction. Some of the students were asked to paint art based on a theme. For Martin Luther King Jr. Day, they painted dreams inspired by King’s famous speech.
“This is the first time we’ve done something like this,” Weitz said. “We thought this would be a really good way to teach the students about artwork and fundraise at the same time. They don’t really get a big opportunity to do a lot of art.”
Tickets for the spaghetti dinner are $5. Most of the food has been donated by local restaurants, including Jess’s Gourmet Pies, Outback Steakhouse, O’Brien’s Irish Pub, Sweetbay Supermarket, Johnson’s Barbecue and Parkesdale Farm Market.
“We couldn’t do it without the support of our community,” Weitz said. “We are so blessed to live in such a great community.”
All 120 middle-school students were invited to go to Seacamp. Weitz expects the number of students who sign up to increase next year.
“Once the kids hear about it from other students, they’ll want to go and have that experience too,” Weitz said.
The students will arrive at camp May 3 and stay through May 6. During their time, they will participate in hands-on labs, such as collecting sea creatures and observing them, studying the mangrove trees on site and even snorkeling.
“The kids are actively learning the whole time they’re there,” Weitz said.
Weitz remembers her time at the camp. She went in January, when it was “brutally cold.” She had to go in the water and collect cassiopeia jellyfish for a lab in which the students counted the number of times the squishy invertebrate responded to outside stresses, such as adding sand to their tanks. Weitz uses her memories to inspire her students.
“They are so excited,” she said. “It’s fun to watch their relationships grow with each other. They are already sea campers. Seacamp is just the destination, but the journey is important. They’ve worked hard to fundraise together, and none of the parents could sit down and write a check for $615.”
The learning continues even after camp. The students will be able to write about their experiences through the many descriptive writing exercises in Weitz’s classes.
IF YOU GO
Spaghetti Dinner and Art Auction
WHEN: 6 to 8 p.m. Feb. 1
WHERE: 905 W. Terrace Drive, Plant City
TICKETS: $5
CONTACT: Shiloh Charter School, (813) 707-1060, or Melanie Weitz, Melanie.Weitz@sdhc.k12.fl.us