Gilbert's Under the Sea Library Night

In celebration of Gilbert’s year-long “Under the Sea” theme, over 200 parents, students, and staff were treated to a visit by Yakima Valley College biology instructor, Jerred Seveyka. The evening began with ocean poetry reading by 5th grade students, then 5th grade teacher, Andrew Van Quill gave a dramatic reading of The Boy and the Whale by Mordecai Gerstein. Mr. Van Quill and paraeducator, Judy Hein, also brought their deep-sea diving suits and equipment to share with students. Mr. Seveyka talked about the remarkable qualities of octopus and other cephalopods along with his media presentation. In his lab, he had transitioned the circadian rhythms of tiny dinoflaggelates so they would exhibit bioluminescence at our Library Night. We marveled at them with all lights off!