Our district received five GPS units in late April and we’ve wasted no time connecting them with classroom instruction! Students across Roanoke County used them this spring, hunting for facts, hidden in their school yards, that were linked to their classroom studies.

This summer our budding Geocaching passion will take on a whole new dimension.

Shortly before the end of the school year, 4th graders at Green Valley Elementary School were introduced to Geobugs.  They learned that our Geobug was planted nearby and that, with any luck, Geocachers would find it and help it travel north.  The final destination is Ms. Deyenberg’s Class in Alberta, Canada. The students will study the Geobug’s travels in their 5th grade World Studies class next  year. 

Ms. Deyenburg’s class placed Flop, the Dalgliesh Dolphin this spring,too, with a final destination of S.W. Virginia where students in Roanoke County and Salem City will welcome her arrival. 

To date, both of these travel bugs have been picked up and are moving in toward their final destinations. In the meantime, students will be able to study the places that the Geobugs have visited and in the end, video conference with Ms. Deyenberg’s class to discuss the project.

In the meantime, Tina Coffey, Ms. Deyenburg, and I are following the progress of the Geobugs and keeping our fingers crossed that we’ll have all sorts of information to share with students when they return to school next fall.