St. Rose Students Become Official “Frog Watchers” Through Community Science Partnership

As many of you know, frogs have taken on a life of their own in our middle school lab this year. So when students in grades 6–8 learned about a program being offered at the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary, excitement spread quickly. What began as simple interest turned into something much bigger: a hands-on conservation initiative that connected our students with scientists across the country.

After reaching out to the sanctuary for more information, families were invited to participate in an evening training session — and the response was incredible. Nine students attended in person with family members from 6:00–8:30 PM, while additional students joined via Zoom as part of a national training session of 41 participants. In fact, the entire in-person sanctuary event ended up being exclusively St. Rose students and families — essentially our very own private training!

The program was led in partnership with experts from the Yale Peabody Museum, the The Maritime Aquarium, and the Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo. Students learned about ten frog species native to Connecticut, including how to identify them by physical traits, habitat, and — most impressively — their distinct calls. After completing a short quiz, our students aced it!

Participants are now preparing to complete an official assessment through the Beardsley Zoo, earning certification as “Frog Watchers” by scoring 80% or higher. Once certified, students may register nationally to contribute to FrogWatch USA, a community science initiative affiliated with the Akron Zoo.

As part of this program, students will collect weekly data and submit observations that directly assist scientists in monitoring frog and toad populations and wetland health. They learned how to use the Beaufort Wind Scale to measure wind speeds, how to assess frog call intensity, and how to record precipitation, temperature, and species identification. Their data will contribute to real scientific research — an extraordinary example of authentic, applied learning in action.

Laura King, Director of Programs and Events, and Ken Elkins, Director of Education and Partnerships at the sanctuary, were deeply impressed by our students’ engagement and knowledge. We are incredibly proud of how they represented St. Rose — not only with enthusiasm, but with professionalism and a genuine commitment to conservation.

Congratulations to our student participants:

Ava Gordon (Gr. 7)

Alessandra Maurina (Gr. 7)

Olivia Tokarczyk (Gr. 6)

Nolan Hall (Gr. 6)

Henry Mesinger (Gr. 6)

June Murphy (Gr. 6)

Ryan Halstead (Gr. 6 – Zoom)

Arabella Fappiano (Gr. 6)

John Monckton (Gr. 8)

Madalynn Haddad (Gr. 8)

We are also excited to share that Ken Elkins has offered to partner further with St. Rose. He is eager to visit our school to design a program tailored to our needs and welcomes grades 3–8 to participate in programming at the sanctuary, our neighbor right around the corner near the post office. With his extensive experience working with the Audubon Society, this partnership holds tremendous potential for expanding environmental education opportunities for our students.

This event was more than a lesson about frogs, it was a lesson in stewardship, scientific inquiry, and community engagement. We hope you will join us in congratulating these students for volunteering their time and representing St. Rose with such excellence.

We can’t wait to see (and hear!) what happens next in our wetlands.