As I was preparing a shopping plan around 10:30 a.m on Black Friday with my sister-in-law, Mr. Berry called to let me know the power had gone at Lack . Not exactly what I wanted to hear, but I was so thankful that he called to let me know so that I could attempt to move our alevin to one of our other schools in the county that participates in our TIC Program. I gathered my 2 aerated buckets and had decided that even if I could not connect to move the alevin to another school, I might be able to take them to the stream and rig up some type of basket to keep them in temporarily until the power came back on...
Because our tank still has the foam coverings on and the heat is down in the building due to Thanksgiving vacation, the tank remained at a cool 54 degrees even with the power off for around 3 hours. All the alevin were alive and well when I got to the school! So much to be thankful for...
I syphoned water from the tank into the buckets and made a make shift basket by wiring two baskets together. Just as I placed the basket in the aerated bucket to transport them, the power came back on! I was so relieved. So I placed them safely back into their normal home and returned home. Every year a new adventure with TIC... I didn't really want to shop on Black Friday anyway!!
Friday, November 23, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
And the fun begins...2012
What an exciting day! We received our shipment of brook trout eggs yesterday while I was at a conference. Naturally, I could not wait to get back to the school to make sure they made it safely into our tank that has been patiently awaiting their arrival since the first day of school!
After the tedious process of separating the living and nonliving eggs, I placed 273 eggs into the tank. We have had approximately 10 hatch into alevin already. I removed 5 that did not make the adjustment to the new environment. I had two reliable helpers (Valerie and Karter) place them under our flower garden in front of the school to enrich the soil. We have been learning about how plants and animals provide needs for each other in our science lessons. What a perfect way to make these lessons come to life!
One little boy in my class raised his hand today and said, I just can't wait to see what we are going to do next. We do so many fun things! I hope not to disappoint... days like these really motivate me to find new ways to get the students excited about learning.
From past experience, I know that it will not be all smooth sailing. Check back to see what adventures we get into as we attempt to raise brook trout once again at Lack Tuscarora Elementary!
After the tedious process of separating the living and nonliving eggs, I placed 273 eggs into the tank. We have had approximately 10 hatch into alevin already. I removed 5 that did not make the adjustment to the new environment. I had two reliable helpers (Valerie and Karter) place them under our flower garden in front of the school to enrich the soil. We have been learning about how plants and animals provide needs for each other in our science lessons. What a perfect way to make these lessons come to life!
One little boy in my class raised his hand today and said, I just can't wait to see what we are going to do next. We do so many fun things! I hope not to disappoint... days like these really motivate me to find new ways to get the students excited about learning.
From past experience, I know that it will not be all smooth sailing. Check back to see what adventures we get into as we attempt to raise brook trout once again at Lack Tuscarora Elementary!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Trout Release 2012
Thanks to all who helped make our release day a success! What a beautiful day we had. We were able to release 38 fingerling into the stream. We tested the water ph which was 7.0 and temperature of the stream was 51 degrees. This made it an easy transition for our trout.
The 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students participated in a bug study lead by Ms. Stark from the Juniata Conservation District. She brought two faithful assistants who helped the students identify macroinvertebrates gathered from the stream. We also examined a leafpack to identify the bugs which were attracted to this habitat. In addition we created 3 leafpacks which were placed in the stream. We will return to the park to check and log data on the water quality of the stream as indicated by the macroinvertebrates found in the leafpacks in a few weeks.
In the afternoon kindergarten, first, and second grade students joined us to complete a variety of educational activities. Juniata High School's Ag teacher, Ms. Morgan brought several high school students. They assisted Mrs. Winey with the trout release as well as ph and temperature measurements. They also lead a Project Wild Game Station which the students really enjoyed.
East Juniata's Ag teacher, Mrs. Glick brought nine students who lead a scavenger hunt station. Our students really enjoyed working with the older students.
The DCNR crew helped students plant trees in the park. We greatly appreciate their support. They willingly provided facilities for the students to use the restroom and wash their hands at the park.
Our local sponsor Penns Creek TU provided the opportunity for the older students to learn to cast a fly rod and examine fishing gear. They also assisted with the bug study.
Check out the video of the release activities!
The 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students participated in a bug study lead by Ms. Stark from the Juniata Conservation District. She brought two faithful assistants who helped the students identify macroinvertebrates gathered from the stream. We also examined a leafpack to identify the bugs which were attracted to this habitat. In addition we created 3 leafpacks which were placed in the stream. We will return to the park to check and log data on the water quality of the stream as indicated by the macroinvertebrates found in the leafpacks in a few weeks.
In the afternoon kindergarten, first, and second grade students joined us to complete a variety of educational activities. Juniata High School's Ag teacher, Ms. Morgan brought several high school students. They assisted Mrs. Winey with the trout release as well as ph and temperature measurements. They also lead a Project Wild Game Station which the students really enjoyed.
East Juniata's Ag teacher, Mrs. Glick brought nine students who lead a scavenger hunt station. Our students really enjoyed working with the older students.
The DCNR crew helped students plant trees in the park. We greatly appreciate their support. They willingly provided facilities for the students to use the restroom and wash their hands at the park.
Our local sponsor Penns Creek TU provided the opportunity for the older students to learn to cast a fly rod and examine fishing gear. They also assisted with the bug study.
Check out the video of the release activities!
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Trout in School...So Cool!
Can you believe that the school year is coming to an end? It is amazing to me that on Thursday, we will be heading to Karl B. Guss Park to release our trout! Just wanted to share a picture of my class with their "real" book! What an awesome job they did on our book! They are so proud of their work and so am I! Hopefully, we will have good weather for our release. We have been busy making preparations for our release. Check back soon to see some pictures and a video of the activities of the day.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Trout In School... So Cool!
Time is escaping me...the students here at Lack Tuscarora Elementary have been busy becoming published authors! By the end of January, we hope to ship our book "Trout In School ... So Cool!" to Scholastic for publishing. The students have worked very hard on this project. It has been a great motivation for improving our writing skills. I am very proud of them. I will have a copy of the book available at our curriculum fair in May if anyone is interested please feel free to stop in and check it out.
Our fish are doing well so far. Of course we have lost fish through the process of development, but we seem to have settled in at a tankful of around 70-80 fry. The students really enjoy feeding the fish. However, we have limited our feedings to twice a week to help keep the water quality less troublesome. The more we feed the fish, the more waste they produce which leads to more difficulty in maintaining good parameters for the water quality so in this case less is definitely more. We have lean and healthy trout here at Lack!
As soon as I ship our book off, it will be time to begin the planning process for our release day. It is scheduled for May 17, 2012. Through the writing process, it was evident how much the release day means to the students which fuels my desire to begin the planning. Last summer, I took a course offered by the Leaf Pack Network. I am eager to incorporate some ideas from the workshop into our release. I also look forward to working with the community members from DCNR and the Conservation District to plan another fun filled educational day at Karl B. Gus. Hoping all will go well and we can keep enough trout alive to release again this year.
This year we have Juniata High School again participating in the program. Unfortunately, they are experiencing some of the difficulties we had last year with equipment failure. They lost all of their trout. We may be shipping some of our fish to them for adoption. We look forward to having them share in our release day again. Our elementary students really enjoy sharing the day with the older students. It is also a great opportunity for the older students to share what they have learned throught the program with the younger students.
Thompsontown Elementary School has also had a difficult first year in the program losing most of their fish also due to equipment difficulties. Mrs. Grundon has fallen in love with this program as I have. I do not believe her difficulties will keep her from seeing the benefits especially on the release day.Keep us in your thoughts as we hope to have some trout to relase in May. We have been blessed so far, but have a long way to go until May.
Our fish are doing well so far. Of course we have lost fish through the process of development, but we seem to have settled in at a tankful of around 70-80 fry. The students really enjoy feeding the fish. However, we have limited our feedings to twice a week to help keep the water quality less troublesome. The more we feed the fish, the more waste they produce which leads to more difficulty in maintaining good parameters for the water quality so in this case less is definitely more. We have lean and healthy trout here at Lack!
As soon as I ship our book off, it will be time to begin the planning process for our release day. It is scheduled for May 17, 2012. Through the writing process, it was evident how much the release day means to the students which fuels my desire to begin the planning. Last summer, I took a course offered by the Leaf Pack Network. I am eager to incorporate some ideas from the workshop into our release. I also look forward to working with the community members from DCNR and the Conservation District to plan another fun filled educational day at Karl B. Gus. Hoping all will go well and we can keep enough trout alive to release again this year.
This year we have Juniata High School again participating in the program. Unfortunately, they are experiencing some of the difficulties we had last year with equipment failure. They lost all of their trout. We may be shipping some of our fish to them for adoption. We look forward to having them share in our release day again. Our elementary students really enjoy sharing the day with the older students. It is also a great opportunity for the older students to share what they have learned throught the program with the younger students.
Thompsontown Elementary School has also had a difficult first year in the program losing most of their fish also due to equipment difficulties. Mrs. Grundon has fallen in love with this program as I have. I do not believe her difficulties will keep her from seeing the benefits especially on the release day.Keep us in your thoughts as we hope to have some trout to relase in May. We have been blessed so far, but have a long way to go until May.
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