TISC SSL Fall 2017- 5,500 Smiles and Counting !

Set Sail Learn, our experiential STEM program for San Francisco 4th graders, passed the 5,500 “smiles” milestone during the Fall 2017 Session.  Students learned about history, ecology and renewable energy. And buoyancy by building and testing their own watercraft!

654 4th grade students attended one of the 25 Set Sail Learn classes at Treasure Island Sailing Center during our just-completed Fall 2017 session. These youngsters came from 13 San Francisco Unified School District schools.

SSL Final Numbers-min

On Wed., Oct 25, 2017 we had 29 students from the Francis Scott Key Elementary School. Since the start of the program in Fall 2013, students from this school have come every Fall session (except 2015), with a total of 9 classes and 273 attending our SSL program!

Each class had the option of studying Ecology of the Bay, Renewable Energy (with a focus on wind power) or Watercraft Engineering (with a focus on buoyancy).  Along with these studies in our activities center, students sailed in RS Venture or J24 sailboats.

Kids-J24_1-min

Girl-J24_1-min

Students from the Francis Scott Key Elementary School connected with crabs as a way to learn about the Ecology of SF Bay.  Ecology-journal-min

Alec-students-crab_1-min

Alec-students-crab_2-min

A class from the Sutro Elementary School learned about the origin of sea breeze…

Seebreeze-min

… and then built “wind cars” as part of their study of Wind Power.

Wind-car-building-min

Testing and racing the “wind cars” was the most fun!

Wind-car-testing-min

Wind-car-racing-min

Set Sail Learn classes alternate interactive discussions and study in the activity center with sailing on Clipper Cove.

Big smiles from “hands on” not only in the classroom activities but also on the tiller, actually driving J24 sailboats.

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Kids-J24_2-min

At the conclusion of the Fall 2017 SSL session, 5,526 SFUSD students have attended 212 Set Sail Learn classes at TISC on Clipper Cove. They represented 39 schools over the last five years.

Regards from On the cove,

Alec L., with thanks to Luxine for the SSL pictures

In the wake:

The grant received from St. Francis Sailing Foundation last fall was a game changer for TISC and SFUSD 4th graders. It officially launched the program; enabling the jump from pilot to a fully staffed program that delivers over 45 classes per year – at no charge to the schools.

The StFSF grant funds about half of the classes. TISC raises the other half through public and private grants along with individual donations.  Each SSL class costs approximately $1,500. If you are able and inclined to make an investment in the future of our children, please consider making a donation to the TISC annual fund – every donation helps no matter how much you are able to invest. If you act by December 31, 2017 your donations, up to $12,500, will be matched dollar for dollar. You can DONATE HERE.

Along with the Growth in our Set Sail Learn program, other TISC programs or activities sponsored by TISC have also grown.  The graph below shows the usage of Clipper Cove by TISC students and sailors, kayakers and paddlers who use TISC as a Launching Point for New Horizons.

TISC Users on Clipper Cove

You can check out more of the 5,000 Set Sail Learn smiles in the posts below.