BY LINDSAY VANHULLE
lvanhulle@record-eagle.com
May 07, 2008 04:00 am ABOARD THE MANITOU -- The six students sat on a bench, eyes squinting out at the crisp blue waves of West Grand Traverse Bay, as the schooner Manitou softly rolled back and forth. The ship was somewhere in West Bay, close enough to shore that the green tower of the Park Place Hotel could be seen in plain view, but far enough away that Power Island was more than just a spot on the horizon. Harvey Norris knew exactly where they were. An instructor on the school ship Manitou, Norris mapped out the precise latitude and longitude of the ship and asked the children how they would direct themselves home. "Do me a favor for a second," Norris asked them. "Everybody close your eyes." He paused as the students, all fourth-graders at Norris Elementary in Greilickville, followed his cue, and then spoke softly. "That's what it looks like at night." Navigation suddenly became much more important. And so did the trip. It was the first time Norris, a Schoolship volunteer for nine years, ever worked with students from Norris Elementary -- the school that bears his family's name. And it was the last time the Leelanau County elementary students ever would sail together as a school. About 30 students set sail early Monday aboard the Manitou, chartered through the Inland Seas Education Association. The Schoolship program gives students hands-on science and geography lessons as they participate directly in steering the ship, navigating its course and identifying several species of plants and animals. The program started in 1989, making this its 20th season. Norris students have participated at least seven times. The school will close at the end of this school year as part of Traverse City Area Public Schools' district restructuring plans. "It's sentimental, of course," fourth-grade teacher Lindsay Annelin said. "I also think it's a celebration, and important for them to do this one last year." Not only that, but it's educational. The trip aligns closely with the students' environmental curriculum in science, and Great Lakes geography and Michigan history in social studies. And local history in Harvey Norris. His great-great-grandfather, Seth Norris, came to the United States in 1852 on a ship similar to the Manitou. The family received some local acreage, and in the mid-1870s his great-grandfather, Martin Norris, gave a tract of land to the township for a school. "There's been a Norris here ever since," Harvey Norris said. "It was a good day. They're good kids." To hear the students tell it, learning from him made everything a bit more relevant. "It's just kind of cool thinking about all the history back then, and that his great-grandfather was part of that," said Devan Gorton, 9. "I liked that I learned so many different things."
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Photos
The 114-foot-long schooner Record-Eagle
Norris Elementary fourth-grader Angelica Rodriguez wears goggles while helping to test pH levels of bay water. Record-Eagle
From left, Norris Elementary fourth-graders Alex Lock, Anahi Ramirez, Libby Graves and Angelica Rodriguez listen to Inland Seas Education Association volunteer Myrna Yeakle speak about the biological and anatomical composition of a typical Lake Michigan fish aboard the Manitou. Record-Eagle
Crews and deckhands aboard the 114-feet-long schooner Manitou prepare for a fourth grade class from Norris Elementary on Monday morning in Elmwood Township. Educators with Inland Seas Education Association hosted a variety of real life experiments centered around the biology and ecology of Grand Traverse Bay. Record-Eagle
Fourth-grader Danny Merchant raises his hand to ask a question of Bill Foster about a water sample he and his peers are examining on a television.