named Snorkel from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium thanks to Spanish Club advisers Kirsten Anderson and Veronica Miller. (Photo courtesy of the Levittown Public Schools)
The global pandemic did not stop Jonas E. Salk Middle School’s Spanish Club advisers Kirsten Anderson and Veronica Miller from following through on their students’ wishes.
Prior to the closure of schools, members of Jonas E. Salk Middle School’s Spanish Club in the Levittown Public Schools planned to raise money to adopt a turtle.
After doing some research, the students narrowed down where they wanted to send donations and adopt to three organizations, including the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida.
The students planned to raise money for all three by making and selling turtle charm bracelets and other turtle-themed items during school.
Due to the quarantine, there was no opportunity for the club to raise the funds, but Anderson and Miller wanted to show the students that they could still make a difference.
Together, the teachers donated $60 so that the school could have their own turtle to follow
on his journey to recovery.
Anderson followed the Clearwater Marine Aquarium on social media and noticed that they were offering personalized videos with an animal of your choosing for adoption.
With their donation, Jonas E. Salk Middle School adopted a 3 year old loggerhead sea turtle named Snorkel and received a video from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium featuring the animal.
The conservation center rescues injured and sick sea turtles, nurses them back to health and releases them back into their habitat.
“This aquarium does terrific work for rehabilitation of animals and education of
visitors,” said Anderson. “We know we can’t fix the fact that we can’t go to school right now and we can’t follow through with our club’s plans this year. But, we wanted to show our students that we could think outside the box and follow through with taking action to save sea turtles, which was important to them.”
