Trout Release!

Check out the slide show of our trout release!

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Multicultural Day

Would you believe that right here at Skillin School in South Portland, Maine, we have over 30 countries represented? This means that either the students themselves were born in other countries, or one or both parents were. We learned a bit more about some of these countries recently, thanks to Mrs. Holland, our ELL teacher.

We had guest speakers from other countries ranging from elementary school students,  middle school students, college students, and parents. We learned about other countries' geography, customs, and culture. Gatthuk Pan, a USM student from South Sudan told us about coming to the U.S. thirteen years ago from a refugee camp.

Angely, from Mrs. Clark's class, along with her brother Luis, from Mrs. Blaisdell's class, demonstrate a traditional Peruvian dance while their little sister looks on.

At the end, the whole school went into the gym for a flag parade. Just in our classroom alone, we have 13 countries represented! They are Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Sudan, Egypt, Croatia, Cambodia, Uganda, The Bahamas, Peru,

The Phillipines, and The U.S.A.

As they say at Disney World, "It's a Small World After All!"

Augusta Slide Show

As promised, here is the slideshow from our Augusta trip. We had a great day day, thanks to all the wonderful parents who were able to help out! Enjoy!

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Testing the Waters

Since January, we have been raising brook trout. They arrived in the eyed egg stage, hatched into alevin with their yolk sacs, and are now turning into fry, which is when they must be released, because they need to find their own food.

We are excited because this year, we will be releasing our fry right in South Portland, in the aptly-named Trout Brook. Before we do that, however, we need to make sure that Trout Brook is a suitable environment for our trout.

Later this week, we will visit Trout Brook to do some water quality testing. We will test temperature, dissolved oxygen, ph level, and turbidity. We will also look to see what macroinvertebrates are living there, as they can tell us a lot about the quality of the water. Watch this video to learn more!




Visit this site to explore more  water topics! Project WET Activity Pages

Augusta

The Augusta Trip is this Friday,

April 27th.

Please be at school at 8:00.

The bus will leave at 8:15.

The whole Skillin 4th grade will be going to our state capital, Augusta, this coming Friday. We have a tight schedule and in order to fit everything in, we must leave at 8:15, so please be here at 8:00. If you normally ride the bus in the morning, you will need to get a ride to school. We will be back in time for regular dismissal.

This coming week we will be learning about government. Jane Eberle, one of South Portland's state representatives, is coming to Skillin on Wednesday afternoon to talk to the 4th grades about her job and how state government runs. On Friday, she will meet us in Augusta to give us a tour of the State House and take us through the process of how laws are made, including guiding us through a mock debate. We will have lunch at the museum, followed by a 30-minute guided museum program, and time to explore in small groups. Look for a slide show of our trip next week!