A few Berkshire High School students had the opportunity to attend a bird banding experience at Black Swamp Bird Observatory...
Field Trip to OSU’s Stone Lab
A few Berkshire High School students had the opportunity to attend a bird banding experience at Black Swamp Bird Observatory and a two-day aquatic science field trip program at Ohio State’s Stone Laboratory in Put-In-Bay with high school science teacher Katie Ritts. Students participated in a two-hour science cruise on a research vessel, as well as laboratory practice that included exploration in limnology, geology and biology and culminated in fish dissection.
As extension activities, the students also enjoyed a program on herpetology, which is the study of reptiles and amphibians, and a climate walk in which they investigated the impact of climate change on the Great Lakes and energy sustainability.
Ski Club Signups
Enjoy the winter snow this season and join Ski Club at Alpine Valley/Boston Mills and Brandywine. The program is open to students ages 8 (by Jan. 1, 2017) through eighth-grade at Ledgemont Elementary School and Berkshire Junior High School.
The Ski Club will ski/board on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. starting on Jan. 7. Members get five consecutive weeks of lessons from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and then are welcome to continue visiting the ski resorts on their designated day and time at no additional charge with their membership card.
Sign up online at http://www.alpinevalleyohio.com then go to Groups & Clubs, Club Program and then Member Registration. Login is “ledgeberk” and password is “member.”
For those with their own gear, the heavily discounted member cost is $159, and for renters, the cost is $223.05.
Out of Classroom Learning
Students in Mrs. Kriz’s third-grade class at Burton Elementary School had a fabulous experience learning about the evolution of transportation in the early 20th century. On Oct. 18 as an extension of their pen pal program with Brooks House Assisted Living Facility in Troy, students learned about Henry Ford and the many ways his innovations were pivotal in shaping the entire automobile industry and in many ways, life in America.
They watched a few short videos about Henry Ford, his early Model Ts and Model As and assembly line production. Then, Brooks House director Fran King along with assistant Marlene Zeigler presented a variety of photos and led discussion. They also shared brief interviews they conducted with Brooks House friends, capturing stories from these wonderful primary sources about their experiences with these early automobiles.
After the presentations, students met Mr. and Mrs. Kirby in the front parking lot and every student had the chance to look at their beautifully restored Model A and even sit inside. Lively discussions and a flurry of questions and answers were prompted by their first-hand experience with the Model A and its current owners.
The class followed up with some additional study and discussion of assembly line production and Henry Ford as an innovator and inventor. Finally, students created their own assembly line in the classroom, “manufacturing” candy cars.
Submitted
Berkshire High School students recently went on a two-day aquatic science field trip to Ohio State University’s Stone Laboratory in Put-In-Bay.
Submitted
Burton Elementary School third-graders get first hand experience learning about and seeing a restored Ford Model A car thanks to its owners, Mr. and Mrs. Kirby.
