Saugus High students enjoy trip of a lifetime

SAUGUS – Two years may have been a long time to wait, but patience earned Saugus High School students the trip of a lifetime to the Galapagos Islands.Biology teacher Krista Hoey recalled teaching her freshmen about Charles Darwin?s theory of evolution and his famous work on the islands and how many from the class asked if they could take a trip there. At the start of this year?s February break, 11 juniors from that class, along with three seniors and three sophomores, finally landed in the Galapagos Islands off of Ecuador.While Hoey said the trip wasn?t all about science, the students did get to put their lessons to work – conducting physics experiments to measure the impact of force at the Equator and seeing all the plants and animals unique to the area that Darwin had studied. The students also worked on their Spanish-speaking skills and learned about the native culture of South America.Hoey said a real highlight was to “be able to get up close and personal with the wildlife,” swimming with sea turtles, seeing iguanas and the only non-cold- weather penguins in their native habitats, as well as sea lions everywhere they looked. “We took a lot of good pictures,” she said happily.The trip was the first of its kind from Saugus, since most trips abroad are based in Western Europe. It also marked a series of firsts for many students, said Hoey, from the first time flying out of the country, first time on a boat, first time snorkeling or during one highlight, the first time taking a salsa lesson.Hoey said for many, it was an eye-opening experience to travel to a part of the world where they couldn?t wash or drink from running water.Hoey said her students “absolutely loved it,” and that they want to return next year to visit the other islands, but Hoey said the $4,000 expense will make that difficult. She will be presenting a plan to the School Committee this week for Saugus students in 2016, as well as showing a slideshow of pictures from February?s trip.