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Students designed and built ‘sight tubes’ used to helping onlookers look at a designated object of observation without any guess work…these tubes are similar to the ones found in places like the Grand Canyon to locate points of interest. For example, one wildlife observer locates an bird of prey, and instead of indicating about where it is, the onlooker can look in the attached sight tube and locate the object of observation.
Ray High School has a fairly new biology–based elective class.
The Wildlife Sciences class started in the 2015-2016 school year and is now in its second year. Ramon Rubalcaba started the class by himself and wrote the entire curriculum.
“We were looking to give students some additional options for electives,” he said. “I introduced the idea of wildlife science.”
Rubalcaba said it was a concept that he came up with on his own, and had the entire curriculum and class mission all written out before the class was introduced. But, there are some schools around the state that could be teaching the same general class/ideas that he is teaching the students, according to Rubalcaba.
“Other schools are probably teaching this (subject); not under the same concept or the same name,” he explained.
The class has a main emphasis on Biology/Zoology animal science.
“I base my entire curriculum on conservation and wildlife which was started by President Roosevelt,” he said.
He said the class started with 14 students, but this year gained 15 students. Seven students from the previous year were allowed to return however, Rubalcaba said.
“I did allow seven students to come back, in advance status,” he said. “They all have special projects they are working on. I had 15 new students come on for a total of 22.”
According to Rubalcaba, the class’s curriculum isn’t harder or easier than the other elective based classes and it is open to any students who want to join.
“It’s available to all (high school) students who have an interest in wildlife science,” he said.
“It (the curriculum) is very ‘pro student,’” Rubalcaba added.
Students get a compass reading toward Teapot Mountain.
Students who come and join the class usually have an appreciation for wildlife such as: fishing, hiking and getting an outdoor sense for wildlife such as finding eagles, wolves, etc.
The class has had many projects that they worked in during class, Rubalcaba said. They have made their own flies for fly fishing, which a couple students took with them fishing and even caught some fish, he said.
For a special day trip, on Oct. 5, 2015, the class took a trip to Woods Canyon Lake to learn more about the wildlife there.
Other future projects the class is trying to do, Rubalcaba said, include: putting up eagle roosts, a student is trying introduce the Arizona pup fish back into Kearny Lake and he said he wants to do a bat workshop with the Arizona Game and Fish.
Rubalcaba said this is a class where the skills they learn can be used outside of class and even when they’re done with school.
“For the rest of their lives, they are going to be involved with the wilderness and outdoor things,” he said.
Rubalcaba said the class has turned out as successful as expected.
Rubalcaba said that students who take the class have learned a lot especially those that went to woods canyon.
“I had a student who told me ‘I have never done anything like this in my entire life. Thanks for showing me a whole other world’,” he said.
Article by Joshua Delauder
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