Maple Leafcutter Insects

      Today Paul and Sandal Cate visited us and taught us about the Maple Leafcutter Insects. They are fascinating creatures. They make a casing on a sugar maple leaf that is like a sleeping bag by chewing a circle in a leaf and "gluing" it to another section of the leaf with a spider like webbing. We were lucky to be able to find many of the insects on leaves and on the ground in their casings.  Students observed and drew them in their Nature Journals. We also saw some larva enlarged on a special microscope and monitor that the Cate's brought in.

Please ask your child what they found.

Science Fair

     Wow! That is all I can say is, "Wow!"  The students did an AMAZING job on the Science Fair.  I'm so proud of them. I could tell that they worked really hard on the exhibits. They were all very well done and very unique too.
 
     Mrs. Giammusso's second grade, Mrs. Parker's 2/3 class, Ms. Gallagher's third grade and Mrs. Shedd's 4/5 class all came to see the exhibits. Our students did a stellar job of sharing with others, what question they investigated, how they conducted the experiment and what their results were.
The class also shared their experiments with their classmates today and will finish up tomorrow.

    I hope you get a chance to see the exhibits in person. If not, here are photos of the projects.

Explorer Photos

      On Friday we went to the Maker Space and decorated their explorer head.   They will be displayed in the hallway. Here are some photos of their designs.

Marco Polo

Vasco da Gama

George Washington

Hernado Cortes

Samuel de Champlain

Vasco Nunez de Balboa

John Cabot

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado

Hernado de Soto

Henry Hudson

Ferdinand Magellan

Jacques Cartier

Francisco Pizzaro