The classrooms of Southside are buzzing with activity as we are anxiously waiting for spring to finally show! It is hard to believe that the school year is winding down, but learning is still in full swing.
Mr. Chernesky’s class continues writing poetry. Currently, his students are working to create Haikus, a prescriptive style of poetry that uses only three lines with the first and third line having five syllables and the second line having seven syllables. Not only are the students challenged by the brevity of the format, but some interesting conversations have arisen over just what comprises a “syllable.”
Students are also working with “magnetic poetry” to create poems on the board. Students then use their iPads to take a picture of the poem. The finished poems are being displayed as a collection in the hallway. Finally, students have been working with iMovie and their iPads to create “trailers” of children’s picture books. The trailers offer a multi-media presentation complete with sound and take the viewer through the story told in the picture book. We’ve had a lot of fun making them and the results have been inspiring.
Mrs. Reed’s fourth grade science classes have enjoyed their class pet, Chomper, the leopard gecko. Mrs. Reed received a grant called “Pets in the Classroom” in the fall to purchase the gecko and to purchase a tank and a few necessities. We spend a bit of time each week researching the needs of our gecko as well as finding out interesting information regarding the care of owning a pet gecko. The students and parents help care for her by purchasing mealworms and crickets to feed her, by taking turns caring for her during long weekends and vacations, and with the daily care in the classroom. Mrs. Faulkingham has another gecko that comes to visit occasionally. The students enjoy seeing the two geckos interacting!
While we are studying different ecosystems, and the living and non-living things that interact within different ecosystems, we have decided to begin our own animal research projects. The students are busy investigating what would be an interesting animal to study. We will work for the next few weeks on this research project, culminating with an in-class presentation including a visual aid, a written report, and a short oral presentation to their classmates. We are looking forward to this special activity and each becoming an “expert” on a particular animal.
Ms. Melvin’s class has been composting since last fall. They are composting food scraps from lunch in big bins outside and composting with worms inside. In September, students learned about vermi-composting by creating a worm bin of shredded paper with the help of Angie Wotton from the Southern Aroostook Soil and Water Conservation Service. Students have learned what scrap foods are appropriate for worms. They feed the worms and spray them bi-weekly. By fall 2015, there should be 4 to 5 pounds of nutrient rich soil to add to any school plants. Hannah Wiggin and Kaitlyn Kenney are composting waste vegetables and fruits at home with their own worm bins.
The class has been collecting waste food from the cafeteria and composting in a large compost bin outdoors. Students collect, weigh, and record the weight of the appropriate food scraps. Rather than the scrap food being taken to the transfer station, it is being turned into rich soil. This saves the district ten cents a pound. While this is difficult to do during the coldest winter months, we will be starting again soon.
In November, Emilia Wilkins, Konnor Lynds, Kadan Neureuther, and Hannah Wiggin visited Mrs. L. Fitzpatrick’s and Mrs. Kirk’s classes at HES. These four young teachers taught second graders what can be composted from food scraps, and taught them how to use the new compost bin grade 3 donated to them.
Mrs. Shelly Bouchard invited Bode Allen, Damean Denbow, Emilia Wilkins and Kaitlyn Kenney to teach her high school students in the “Breaking Ground” class how to vermi-compost with worms.
All the student volunteers make these activities run smoothly. They are learning to care for the earth and sharing their knowledge with others. The materials purchased for these activities are provided by a grant through the Maine Community Foundation.
