Field Report for Harry Hall Creek Jan. 15, 2010

On the 15th of January our class went to Harry Hall Creek. Hank Lentfer came with us. He gave us two invertebrate nets! Invertebrate nets are nets that have very fine mesh in the bottom to catch very small insects on the bottom of the stream.

Hank told us a lot of things about Harry Hall Creek like, every winter since he has lived by the creek (15 years) he has not seen it frozen! Also, he and his daughter have seen salmon spawning in the creek.

A surprising thing was that the temperature of the water was 40˚F! Compared to the Glen’s Ditch temperature, (36˚F) that’s pretty warm! Another surprising thing was that the water was flowing 39 inches in three seconds!

When we got to Harry Hall Creek the weather was rainy, wet, dreary, and dark! We had no success with the nets. We caught nothing.

When we got back to the school, we had to wait five days before we could test the dissolved oxygen (according to the kit…), but, after five days we tested it and we got 5 ppm.

We all had a great time!

Trying out the macro mode on our camera!

The view of the sky from the banks of Harry Hall Creek

Timing The Velocity at Harry Hall Creek

The Beautiful Bottom of Harry Hall Creek!

Group Picture at Harry Hall Creek!

Paragraph a Week Homework Assignment

Assignment: I Have a Dream Too

Your assignment this week will be to write persuasively. Write one paragraph responding to the following questions: If you could change one thing about the world today, what would it be? Why do you think it should be changed? How could it be changed? Use the paragraph template to plan your paragraph. Don’t forget to turn in a rough draft with your final draft.

Due: January 15, 2010

3rd, 4th and 5th Grade Newsletter

Geography and Spelling Bees
The Geography Bee is Friday! All 4th-8th graders are required to participate in the Geography Bee. There are practice quizzes online at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geobee/

The Spelling Bee is January 29th. All 3rd-8th graders are required to participate in the Spelling Bee. This month, for spelling words, students will have words from the official Spelling Bee list that will be used during our school bee.

Science
We have a field trip to the Crane Flats on Friday morning to collect data! We will be collecting data from one of the ditches that drains the Crane Flats.

PE (Climbing Wall)
This Thursday Van Swanson will teach our class basic climbing skills in the gym on the climbing wall. Please read over the release form in the Red Folder and sign it to give your permission for your child to participate. If you have any questions about this please do not hesitate to ask.

Goldilocks and The Three Bears
The K-5 will be performing Goldilocks and The Three Bears on February 26th at 7pm! In today’s Red Folder there is a CD with all of the songs that we will be learning for the play. There is one CD per family.

Paragraph a Week
The paragraph of the week assignment this week is, “I Have a Dream Too.”

Words of the Week: adamant, forensics, comatose, litigation (These are some words from the songs we are learning for Goldilocks and The Three Bears!)

Field Report for Glen's Ditch Jan. 8, 2010

Hi, from the 3-5 grade class! On Friday, our first trip of the year, we went to Glen’s Ditch to collect data. The average salinity was 5ppt, the average air temperature was 6°F! The average velocity of the water was .68 fps and the depth was 8 ¼ inches.

The first thing Jordan noticed on the bank when we got to Glen’s Ditch was a small, dead stickleback! We caught nothing in our traps or with the net.

When we headed out of the school and when we arrived at Glen’s Ditch the weather was groggy and dark.
Almost everyone got some part of their body wet!

When we emptied out the backpacks back at the school, everything was soaked, including the pencils, the stopwatch, and the nature books!

Our class has a question for anyone reading this: Do you think our measurement for the velocity is accurate with .68 fps (feet per second)? Thanks!

The 3-5 grade class

The Data Collector

Taking the temprature at glens ditch

Dead Stickleback

3rd, 4th and 5th Grade Newsletter

Welcome back to school! I hope everyone had a great holiday and is well-rested.

Reading Homework, Fabulous Friday and Bingo!
We are starting something new for reading homework—we will be playing Reading Bingo! The game sheets are in the Red Folders. Students can record books of different genres on these sheets. Once they have a bingo (five in a row in any direction) they can bring their sheet in and receive a free book and Bear Bucks. They can bring in a bingo at any time. This is a great way for students to explore new genres. Please continue to record reading minutes in your child’s planner. For reading homework they are required to read 25 minutes four times a week. This reading also counts, and is required, for Fabulous Friday.

Geography and Spelling Bees
The Geography Bee is January 15th and the Spelling Bee is January 29th. All 4th-8th graders are required to participate in the Geography Bee and all 3rd-8th graders are required to participate in the Spelling Bee.

This month, for spelling words, students will have words from the official Spelling Bee list that will be used during our school bee. The entire list is in the Red Folder. The words at the Spelling Bee will start easy and then gradually get harder.

Science
We have new science books! We will be cracking them open for the first time tomorrow! On Friday we will be going to Glen’s Ditch to collect data for our year-long study on watersheds. We take a field trip every week—Glen’s Ditch every other week and then a different river, creek, or ditch within the Gustavus Flat’s Watershed on the alternating weeks.

Important Dates
Geography Bee—January 15th
Story Hour—January 18th
Spelling Bee—January 29th
Play (Goldilocks and the Three Bears)—February 26th 7pm

Paragraph a Week
There is no paragraph assignment this week.

Word of the Week: brackish