The OSCM welcomes the High Seas High School

by OSCM

30 November 2020 / Mindelo
The Ocean Science Centre Mindelo welcomes the High Seas High School

For the first time the sailing school project “High Seas High School” stopped over in Cabo Verde at the port of Mindelo on the 30th November 2020.
Every year up to 30 high school students from all over Germany and other countries board the Johann Smidt - a tall ship rigged as a topsail schooner- to sail from North Germany via the Canary Islands, across the Atlantic, into the Caribbean and back to Germany. During the almost seven-month-long sailing trip, the students both study the high school curriculum and learn to operate the boat.
The reason for this year’s stopover at the island of São Vicente was to meet and exchange with local students from the Escola Salesiana in Mindelo. Their goal was to brainstorm joint project ideas and to build a future classroom collaboration between the two schools. The OSCM welcomed the High Seas High School and the Escola Salesiana and provided the platform for a fruitful student exchange. During this first meeting, the students got to know each other and discussed their viewpoints on the importance of our oceans and the need to keep the marine environment healthy. Furthermore, the students discussed potential topics for joint classroom projects with the focus on three Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s, see here: https://sdgs.un.org/goals): No. 13 "Climate Action", No. 14 "Life Below Water" and No. 6 "Clean Water and Sanitation". To round off this first classroom meeting, the students enjoyed a detailed tour of the OSCM and jointly visited the local shrimp farm Fazenda de Camarão in Calhau. At the end of this first gathering, the students from the Escola Salesiana visited the Johann Smidt sailing boat in the port of Mindelo. Overall - and despite the difficult pandemic situation - this first encounter was very successful and will hopefully be the foundation for a long and successful classroom cooperation. The OSCM is looking forward to functioning as a supporting platform for this promising and unique future cooperation.

 

Students at the OSCM High Seas High School students at the OSCM. Students at the shrimp farm Fazenda de Camarão in Calhau
High Seas High School students visiting the Ocean Science Center Mindelo and the shrimp farm Fazenda de Camarão in Calhau.

 

For further information on the High Seas High School and the Johann Smidt visit the websites here:
https://www.lietz-nordsee-internat.de/de/high-seas-high-school/bewerbung_das-segelnde-klassenzimmer.html
www.clipper-djs.org/johann-smidt

 

The journey can be followed here:
http://www.hl-aktuell.de/projekte/hshs/hshs2021/blog/

 

Contact / Project Organisation: Nathalie Moritz, nathalie.moritz@highseashighschool.de