Science-filled Monday!

Today was a day filled with science [and rain, but it's winter in Washington so that's no shocker!].

Today we continued our exploration of food chemistry by looking at how our food actually moves through our body - the digestive system!  We watched a quick video that talks about the parts of the digestive system and the job that each part has.  You can view it at home HERE.  We looked at what inputs go into our body as well as what comes out - and yes, there is more than just poop (though the kids found it much funnier to think poop was the only thing!).  On your planner for tonight, write the two types of energy that come out of our system for bonus points!

This afternoon we took at look at different nutrients we haven't studied yet.  So far today we looked at fat, protein, and carbohydrates (starch and glucose).  Today we broke into small groups and became "experts" on a vitamin or mineral that is important to our body.  Students made posters that explain how the nutrient is helpful to our bodies and what foods contain the vitamins or minerals.  Unfinished posters are coming home tonight to get finished and ready to present tomorrow - be on the lookout for those!

Tomorrow is also our first "walking" trip to the North Beach ravine.  PLEASE make sure that students are dressed for the weather - we are going rain or shine! - with rain boots, an extra pair of socks, and waterproof jackets.  Hats and gloves are encouraged as well!

Have a great evening and stay dry out there!

Guest Blogger and Quick Announcements!

Just wanted to give a couple of quick announcements and reminders before we get to our guest blogger for the week.

• Book Orders are coming home today and I will be submitting our order on Friday.  Please return them ASAP or order online for an easy way to have a bigger selection of books!  This month has some EXCELLENT choices to take a peek!
• Wednesday is a two-hour early release here at North Beach so students will be out at 1:35pm
• Thursday is our field trip to Garfield High School to see "The Neverending Story" performed by the Garfield Drama group.  It's sure to be a great performance so make sure your student is here on time so we can leave on time for the performance.  If you signed up to be a chaperone, I will be emailing you later this week to let you know about details.

Without further ado, here is our guest blogger, Ashton!

P.E.

By Ashton

                Lately in PE p4 has been doing some more fitness testing. In November we finished our last fitness test, the v sit and reach. One of the fitness tests is called the pacer where you run as fast as you can while still keeping a good pace and not getting warn out. Another one is called curl ups where you lie down and you try to lift your body up without your hands. One we did recently is called the push-up test where you do as much proper form push-ups as you can. We did the v-sit- and- reach test too where you push a metal piece as far as you can while keeping your legs straight. I’m glad everyone tried their personal best and did well. Nice job everyone!

Write PE on your planner to get bonus points!  See you all tomorrow!

Field Trip Flashback: Carkeek Park Salmon Search

I FINALLY got these pictures off of my camera and read to post!  Earlier this year all of the 4th graders went to Carkeek Park for our first trip there to have the salmon search - basically we went and learned more about the parts of a salmon, learned what salmon need to be healthy, and saw some salmon at the end of their life cycle in the stream through Carkeek. This was such a fun field trip and the kids were really interested in the salmon dissection, which was a new feature this year!  Students had two feelings about the dissection: either excitement or disgust, which made for a very interesting time at the dissection station!  :)

First we identified and labeled parts of a salmon together...

Then, it was time for the salmon to come out!  The salmon is from the Issaquah hatchery where we visited earlier this year!

First we saw the salmon gills...

And then we opened the salmon up to see the insides!

The boys in the group were REALLY into the dissection.... the girls on the other hand.... not so much.  

Then we all got to use popsicle sticks and gently poke at the parts of a salmon to learn more.

These were some salmon in the stream near the end of their life cycle.

Lastly, we played a game where we simulated being salmon and running through our life cycle.  As a salmon, only about 2% survive through adulthood in order to spawn - it's a tough life for a salmon!  

Write SALMON on your planner for Thursday to get bonus points for your group.  Bonus points started over so let's get those table points up!  

Also, as a reminder, students came home with book orders today!  Book order books make great holiday gifts.  If you're interested in ordering books for holiday gifts, please let me know and I can arrange a discrete pick up for you to get the books home and still have those surprise faces over the winter break.  Book orders are due Tuesday, December 10th by 4 pm.  PLUS, this month when you spend $10 you get a free book of up to $5 value!  The coupon code is attached to the book order forms that came home Wednesday.  Happy ordering!

Shrinking Bigfoot Assembly and Reminders!

The wonderful people from Seattle City Light came to North Beach to help us learn about conservation of resources and how we can choose renewable resources on a daily basis.  The assembly was FANTASTIC and pretty funny!  Here are some pictures from the show:

Our own Lily P. got to help the squirrel friends explain what more carbon does to our environment!

Lily B. got to demonstrate what hydropower is - do you know?

And Harrison was wind power, a fantastic renewable resource!

He's grooving with the presenters!

Check out this video of our squirrel friend during the assembly!

Write SBF on your planner for tonight to get bonus points!

Reminder: book orders are due next Thursday by the end of the day so hopefully they will be here by the time we get back from conference week.  Also, tomorrow is our field trip to Carkeek Park - remember to dress for the weather, it will be cold and maybe rainy but we will be outside either way!  :)

Issaquah Fish Hatchery

Our first field trip was a huge success and a lot of fun!  Off we went to the Issaquah Fish Hatchery and learned a ton about salmon.  4th grade is so lucky to be the group at North Beach that gets to raise salmon from eggs to fry and it is a super fun experience!

We split into groups and got a great tour from the wonderful FISH volunteers.

Salmon were actually swimming up stream and trying to spawn in the river.  

We learned that as the salmon started coming in from the ocean, their body emits a certain chemical that starts to break down their bodies before they are even dead.  Their fins turn white because they are actually starting to decompose while they are alive!

The salmon here had already spawned and died.  Ask your student why we should leave the salmon there to decompose in the river instead of removing it.

The salmon tried as hard as they could to jump over the weir and get upstream.  Their brains literally only are programmed to get to a place where they can spawn at this point so they get pretty beat up.

This is the salmon ladder that the salmon climb up to get to the spawning tank.

This salmon was pretty beat up.  All of the white portions are parts that are starting to decompose on the salmon.

Greg, our amazing volunteer, showed us the life cycle of a salmon.

You know it's been a good field trip with Lily B. and Lily P. are fast asleep on the bus ride home!