SIS students get Junior Rangers badge at AMP

Fourth grade students of Saipan International School were very proud to all earn their first Junior Ranger badges at American Memorial Park. Eddie Cao shouted, “This is the best day ever!” He has proudly been wearing his badge since we went on the field trip.

Students who love to explore can earn Junior Ranger badges as they discover nature’s treasures throughout the U.S. national parks. The parks want to foster the natural curiosity of kids by offering a free educational program. The National Park Service’s Junior Ranger Program is a great opportunity to have fun while learning about nature and wildlife, and many of the badges can be completed at home or online.

The National Parks system offers a wonderful opportunity to all 4th graders in the United States through the Open Outdoors program. Part of this program is each child gets a special pass to visit National Parks throughout the year for free with their families. All fourth graders can get a year’s worth of free park admission! Every year, beginning Sept. 1, all students in the fourth grade can get an Open Outdoors pass. You can fill out the form at www.everykidoutdoors.gov.

Many of SIS’ students won’t be able to travel to the mainland this school year to take advantage of this program, but after earning their first badge at AMP they have made it a goal to see how many other Junior Ranger badges they can receive throughout the year. The next class badge will be the Night Explorer badge.

SIS students were lucky to take part in the Open Outdoors for Kids Program.

“It was created so fourth graders, and their families could discover our wildlife, resources, and history for free. Our country is full of dazzling landscapes where you can play and learn. They protect our wildlife and resources. They let us look into the past and protect our history. Keeping them public supports a healthy planet,” said SIS headmaster Dr. Ron Snyder.

Through this program, SIS fourth graders were able to have rangers come to school to teach a lesson about the National Parks system as well as our own park right here on Saipan. We were then able to go to the park and make a stop at Sugar King Park to learn more about the history of World War II on our island.

“The students left so excited with all they learned and eager to learn even more about other parks in the near future,” added Snyder. (PR)