First graders on the Bolles Lower School Ponte Vedra Beach Campus explored the night sky after school on Jan. 10 during a Starry Night evening event aimed at stoking students’ curiosity and inspiring them to learn about the universe.
Bolles lower school science teacher Carolyn Houston organized the event with grade 1 teachers Brittany Hetland and Monica Morton, who took groups of students and parents around multiple interactive stations. Ponte Vedra Beach Campus learning specialist Kathy Rawlins also enriched the students’ experiences throughout the evening.
The grade 1 students enjoyed learning about the winter constellations with Ponte Vedra Beach Campus librarian and media specialist Christina Karvounis and lower school guidance counselor Sherry Bowen while admiring their own rendition of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” prominently displayed in the classroom. The Bulldogs worked with lower school art teacher Kimberly Thomas to show the motion and direction of marks while recreating this piece. Ponte Vedra Beach Campus health coordinator Angel Fuentes and her sister, Bolles junior Gabby Glisson ’25, also led an activity using Oreo cookies to explain the lunar phases.
One of the highlights of the evening was made possible by two high school volunteers with the Northeast Florida Astronomical Society (NEFAS), who brought and set up telescopes for the students to observe the constellations, planets and more. Houston said a few lucky students saw Messier 42, a nebula located within the sword of Orion hanging from his belt.
