Settling In...

        Our transition to our new school has been a whirlwind of excitement. It feels as though we are just settling into our new environment and routines. Our Brook Trout are also adjusting well to our classroom tank. The students patiently endured the waiting. The smiles on their faces say it all!

Tricky Transitions

  Navigating through tricky transitions and  changes can be  difficult.We all know this to be true. But, our class has discovered through the process of raising Trout in the Classroom that the transitions and changes can also be very exciting and rewarding! It is one of the things that keeps me engaged in the process of raising Brook Trout in a classroom aquarium year after year for the past ten years.

             

     Each year offers a truly new set of obstacles to overcome.  We knew coming into this year that the obstacles would be more difficult as we are in the process of consolidating our elementary schools requiring us to move our trout tank over our Christmas break. It was important to allow the students the opportunity to see each of  the wonderful transitions the trout endure to survive during the moving process. 

      I developed a plan and began to gather equipment to set up a temporary tank in my basement to move the trout into until my classroom was available. That sounds very simple, but in reality presented many challenges. Please do not ask my daughter how many times she found me mopping the basement floor  problem solving the equipment issues.  Below is a picture of the second tank that now occupies a portion of my basement.

     This year after receiving our box of eggs leaking with the majority of the eggs already dead,  we were worried  that we may not have any trout make the full transition to be released in the spring. We have been pleasantly surprised so far. We lost a significant number during the first week as they acclimated to the new environment. However, things seemed to have leveled off.  We currently have 30 active alevin just beginning to test the skill of swimming.  This thrills the students as the egg and initial alevin stage are not very exciting. In fact, it is a challenge to convince the students that the trout are alive during these stages because there is not much action to see. 

We are eagerly awaiting the swim-up phase and the first feeding so the students can become more involved in caring for the trout. It is so much fun to watch their excitement when they first get to feed the trout!

 Once the trout make the transition to swim-up fry and eat successfully,  we will move them using insulated  bait buckets with aerators to my basement tank. I have been testing the water for both tanks to ensure a smooth acclimation. It is important to keep both tanks at the same temperature and within similar water quality parameters for ph, ammonia, nitrates, and nitrites.

Over break we will tear down the tank at Lack Tuscarora and move it to my new classroom at Juniata Elementary School.  Getting the tank set up over break will provide enough time for the beneficial bacteria to build again allowing the tank to cycle.

Unsure of how the fragile trout would survive during the moving process, we needed  a backup plan to ensure that we have some trout to release in the spring. The Trout in the Classroom Program agreed to send another shipment of fry that will arrive at the end of January.   This is great news allowing us to share the learning experience as our classroom gains new students on January 3!

This tricky transition will be a mirror image of our classroom as we consolidate trout and schools hopefully thriving through the obstacles and transitions.  Learning to go with the flow and problem solve is the key to growing for myself,  the students, and the Brook Trout. Thanks goodness we all can learn, grow and change together with time and effort.

Scrambled Eggs!

     Today as the UPS man delivered our box of Trout eggs, he said I have bad news...the box is wet. Well, hopefully there is a little water left inside was my reply...thankfully there was.  I imagined our eggs being jostled about as they traveled from the hatchery in Belefonte. Apparently this scrambling was a little too much for some of them to tolerate because there were 126 white eggs that did not survive the journey to our tank. I placed 180 healthy eggs in baskets to float on the top of our tank to keep a close eye on their transition from egg to alevin to swim up fry. The students were so excited!

Tomorrow we will place the nonliving eggs on our plants as fertilizer. We made a sign to share our news with the whole school.

Trout in School...Still Cool!

     Ten years ago, I remember the feeling of butterflies in the pit of my stomach as we awaited the arrival of our very first shipment of Brook Trout eggs. I knew very little about Trout and even less about how difficult it is to raise them in an aquarium.  We were the first school in Mifflin and Juniata County to participate in the Trout in the Classroom program so my father-in-law and Penns Creek Trout Unlimited walked hand in hand with us through the journey that continues today...raising Brook Trout through Trout in the Classroom.

 

     The students' excitement for the program helped to ease my nerves and soon became the fuel to ignite a passion I never expected. This passion keeps me trying to defy the odds each year. It seems fitting that this year as we celebrate 10 years of Trout in the Classroom, we will be closing our little school and consolidating requiring us to move over the Christmas break into Juniata Elementary School.

 

     Just another opportunity to once again rise to the challenge and conquer the odds of survival as we attempt to keep enough trout alive to release on May 11, 2018! Hoping not to let these beautiful faces down! May the odds be ever in our favor!

Trout in Two Classrooms?

This year marks our tenth year with the Trout in the Classroom Program! In typical Lack Tuscarora style, we hope to make this year’s experience extra special as we will share our trout with the other first grade students at Juanita Elementary School when we consolidate in January.

Let that soak in for a moment. We will receive our eggs as usual the first week of November. Battle our normal obstacles of ich, fungus, and equipment failures. Then tear the tank down, move the water, fish, and equipment. Then hope the trout survive this transition to be released on May 11, 2019 by the first grade students at our new school-Juniata Elementary.

One thing I love about this program is that each year is a unique experience with its own set of obstacles. This year will be sure to provide many problem solving opportunities as we will develop a plan to move our tank to our new classroom. Stay tuned to keep abreast of our adventures!

My students are eager to help make this our best year ever!

Room to Grow!

   I have been busy treating our trout tank for ick...with the help of several students and faculty. We are hopeful to have it under control...We notice it as we were getting ready to move the smaller trout out of the basket we put them in to protect them from the larger trout...

Below is a picture of one of the trout with the "white spots" that are typical for the disease.

 So thankful to have discovered tank dividers...thanks to a friend our trout now have more room to grow and swim!  Check it out!

Lack Tuscarora Elementary TIC 2018

Sharing Smiles!

     We have been learning about making predictions during our reading groups so I couldn't resist having some fun with the students. Our trout books arrived this week. I was very eager to share it with the students, but decided to build the anticipation a bit.  I wrapped the box with wrapping paper and a bow and placed it in the room waiting for the students to notice. It sat most of the day without a comment. Then finally a student noticed. I told them we would be writing predictions during kid writing  about what it could be.

     A glimpse into the world of first grade...being March 16 with a leprechaun on the loose at Lack Tuscarora Elementary school...three students predicted it could be a leprechaun. Other predictions included a toy, goodies, markers, reading books, Foxy, or a  kitten. There were three whom accurately predicted it was our trout books.

   I just love seeing their faces when they see the book for the first time. It makes me smile. I wanted to share the smiles with you! Enjoy!

Love the smiles!

Fish Tales 2017-2018

    
     We have been busy writing nonfiction and fiction stories to publish in our class book as a tribute to our Trout in the Classroom Program. It is a lot of work, but it is so much fun to see the student's faces the day the finished book arrives.
    I always enjoy discovering the impact this program has had on the students through their writing. I love seeing evidence of their learning hidden in the stories.
    One of my favorites this year was when a student included our incidence with fungus in his fiction story. He had Spider-Man Trout save a fish population by treating the water with salt pellets. Pretty creative, it makes my heart happy.
    We will be holding a book showing at our Trout Release at Lost Creek Golf Course on Saturday, May 19, 2018. We have endured two power outages this year to date without losing fish. The school district has a generator on hand to hopefully prevent a repeat of last year's loss of the entire tank 10 days prior to release day. Hoping things continue to go well until May!

Trout Adoption 2018

  Our second shipment of trout were scheduled to arrive on January 17, 2018. Due to a snow day, they were not delivered until January 18, 2018.  Against all odds, they have endured the transition and extra ride in the UPS truck so far. We have also adopted a shipment intended for Thompsontown Elementary who was unable to receive the shipment due to equipment failures. We were more than glad to accept their shipment. Hopefully, we can keep them all alive until May 19, 2018!

     To prevent another issue with fungus, I added some salt pellets to the tank to knock off any fungus they may have brought with them. It also seemed to help them adjust the new environment. So far so good, we have not lost any. I made a special basket to protect them as I feared the remaining trout from the first shipment may try to enjoy them as a snack.

Happy New Year 2018!

 

Happy New Year 2018!

 

  It appears that we have the fungus issue resolved. The few remaining trout appear healthy and strong.  I have replace all the sponges in the tank in an attempt to remove all the fungus from every nook and cranny of our tank. We have not lost any trout over the Christmas break! This alone is cause for celebration. I know of others who have lost their entire tank and remember all too well the feeling.  We are scheduled to receive another shipment of fry at the end of January...and we will begin writing our trout book! So much to look forward to in the new year!

Fryday...battling to survive!

   Many TIC programs this year are battling a fungus that is decreasing our trout  populations. Despite our best attempts to remove the visible fungus and dead fry...the war rages on! It seems to be a losing battle.
      Our trout tank here at Lack Tuscarora has dwindled to approximately 30 fish fighting to survive.  We continue to lose around 5 fish per day.
    Finding humor in life is my survival technique...I can relate to this little guy as I have struggled to keep my head afloat this week....He just will not give up! Neither will I. I am inspired by his spirit. Hang in there everyone...it's almost Fryday!

Swim-up Fry...

 

 

     Our trout are growing stronger every day. We had several escape the hatching basket which had me a little concerned because it is more difficult to get food down to them when they are on the bottom of the tank.

   Two of my strengths as a first grade teacher are patience and persistence. Both have paid off as we now have several  fry strong enough to swim-up to the top of the tank. This is so exciting to see. They look so tiny now, but they will quickly grow. Take a peek!

 

 

     Wishing you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!

First Feeding TIC 2017

    We are so excited to share that we have swim-up fry searching for food! We even have a few that have jumped out of our hatching baskets and are on their own in the  BIG tank...we will do our best to get food down to them as they are not yet strong enough to swim to the top of the tank! Stay tuned to see how we make out!

Active Alevin!

 

 

 

 

     To help ease the idea of losing fish as we experience survival of the fittest first-hand, we place our nonliving trout on our classroom plants as fertilizer. We are hoping to have enough trout alive for each student to release one during our school-wide release scheduled for May 19, 2018 at Lost Creek Golf Course.  Above on the left is a container of the trout that died during the shipping process. On the right, two students are fertilizing our plant.

 

 

     Literally overnight our Brook Trout eggs hatched into alevin. The students really enjoy this stage of the life cycle because it is something most have never experienced. Some refer to this stage as sacfry because the trout have a yolk sac that sustains life during this phase, but the official name is alevin.  It takes some convincing for the students to believe that the trout are alive during this phase because mostly they simply lay there contently... as I like to say...fat and happy. Unless there is movement or light near the tank, then they scurry to hide. The students love to see this. Below is a short video of the alevin attempting to hide. As they grow, their bodies will become larger and the yolk sac will absorb. This is referred to as buttoning up. Once it is gone, we will begin to feed them 2-3 times a day at first. It will be a long few weeks waiting until we can feed them. The students are so eager.

 

 

 

    

Halloween Treat!

What a treat...our Brook Trout eggs arrived on Halloween... The students were so excited. We checked the temperature of our tank to determine how long the eggs would need to acclimate.

 Our tank was 54 degrees.

The eggs arrived in a Styrofoam box packed with dry ice. The temperature of the water inside the bag of trout eggs measured 58 degrees. We allowed the bag to float on the top of the tank for 1 hour before separating living and nonliving eggs.           

                This year's shipment contained 349 total eggs. Some of them had already hatched into alevin. There were 82 eggs that did not survive the trip from the hatchery in Bellefonte, PA leaving 267 living eggs to be lovingly place in our trout tank.

             The eggs and alevin below appeared to be struggling so I placed them in a separate basket to prevent any bacteria from harming the other eggs in the even that they did not survive the first night at Lack-Tuscarora. As you can see their color is a little gray. They should be peachy/pink like those above. I just had to give them a chance to survive...Hoping to see them looking better in the morning.

  

I place a sign over the tank to help keep the Brook Trout from being stressed in the busy hallway and to help keep out the light until the trout transition to swim-up fry and begin to eat. This should occur right before Thanksgiving break.

Just for fun, I gave the students a pack of Swedish fish candy. The students were thrilled to have the trout arrive on Halloween...it was definitely a treat!



Trick or Treat...Take a Peek into First Grade at Lack Tuscarora!

 

     Each day we are getting closer to the arrival of our Brook Trout which is scheduled for Oct 31 or November 1. It makes me smile just thinking of the fun the students will have learning through this project. It also means that we will soon begin our Trout Book Project and yes another smile!

     In order to prepare for this, we have been doing a lot of modeling of the writing process together as a class. Then I allow time for independent practice of the skills I have introduced. I model both fiction writing and nonfiction writing and discuss the differences. I often use science to integrate nonfiction writing through our "Foss Science" Journals.
 



 

Shared  Class Writing


 

     Above you will see a fiction writing that the students generated about SpongeBob. They love using the Smart board and I love it  too because it often gets students involved who otherwise may not be willing to try to write. They were so proud of this writing and illustration. I have been encouraging them to add more details to their illustrations so we can see the story in the picture. The students didn't want me to erase it so I told them I would take a picture. I couldn't resist sharing.

 

     We are exploring air in science. We are learning that air takes up space and that compressed air can move things including water. I loved hearing the students giggle when we moved the water from the bottle by compressing air through the syringe. We followed with a nonfiction modeled writing journaling our learning.

      We ended this week with our PBIS reward of bird watching...we even saw a stray Monarch Butterfly. Some of the students insisted it was our butterfly B. Before we went outside to explore...we took a peek at our trout tank to notice the compressed air we add to the tank so our Trout will survive. Tricking the students into learning by making connections...I love it!

   

 

 

Check back to see if we receive our treat on Halloween or are tricked into waiting until November 1!

B is for Butterfly!

On September 14, 2017 our Butterfly named B emerged from the chrysalis. The students were thrilled to release her on the day of our school bug fair. B did not want to fly free from the jar that had been her home in our classroom. It took some encouragement, but she eventually flew to a nearby bush in front of the school. Hopefully, by now she has made it to Mexico for migration.

We predicted that our butterfly would fly to the flowers behind us. However, B flew to a  taller bush.

Life Cycles....Cycles of life...

     As I begin preparing for another fun year of
learning in our first grade classroom, I naturally reflect over the previous year. The highs, the lows, the ups and the downs of last year led me to remembering that on my son's birthday we lost our entire tank of beautiful Brook Trout. Definitely a low for all of us here at Lack Tuscarora! But in the true spirit of our school, we planted our trout in our school garden seeking to help the students see that life truly goes on in cycles.  We must endure them all...

    Mr. Hart's flowers benefited from the burial of our trout. The trout were planted in a line where the marigolds are growing. The Indians were on to something for sure! Last week on the first day of school we planted alfalfa and grass seeds. The alfalfa sprouted first with the grass following. Again this year we will fertilize our plants with our brook trout that do not survive. However, I am truly hoping never to have to hold a burial of our entire tank of trout 11 days before our release date.

    

  The students were so excited to see the seeds sprout.

    At the foundation of learning about life cycles, is the concept of change... Learning to accept change can be difficult for us all, but the results can be something truly amazing. Mr. Mitchell, our new principal, brought us this jar containing a caterpillar and some milk weed. I brought it home over the holiday weekend expecting to replenish the milk weed. However, that was unnecessary as it began to build its chrysalis on Saturday. I cannot wait to show the students on Tuesday! This year we will not only release trout, but hopefully a monarch butterfly that we have yet to name.

     Our trout tank is eagerly awaiting the arrival of our Brook Trout eggs due the first week of November. Another year of adventures in learning await as we learn how to navigate the cycles of life while learning first hand about life cycles! Check back to share our journey.

Thank You Penns Creek TU Chapter 119 AND Lost Creek Trout Club

 

Penns Creek TU donated T-shirts to my first grade class. They truly are wonderful sponsors!

It will be hard to convince the students to release fingerlings next year after releasing these beauties! Thanks for saving the day Lost Creek Trout Club...