International Plastic Quilt
The EcoAction team created squares today with plastics both from the school and home. Look for the finished quilt on display during Earth Week!
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
2013 Rieke Tree Planting
On March 22, the 1st-5th grade students helped plant 15 trees on the campus. These trees were donated as part of the Portland Tree Migation Program through Portland Parks and Recreation. Each class and their buddies met with Wilson Ecology students for an interactive lesson about tree before heading outdoors. We luckily missed the sleet and snow that day and had wonderful blue skies and lots of smiles.
Thank you Portland Parks and Recreation, Wilson High School, and the Rieke students, staff, and volunteers for this fun experience! If you have any pictures from the event that you would like to share, please email them to jamie.repasky@gmail.com
On March 22, the 1st-5th grade students helped plant 15 trees on the campus. These trees were donated as part of the Portland Tree Migation Program through Portland Parks and Recreation. Each class and their buddies met with Wilson Ecology students for an interactive lesson about tree before heading outdoors. We luckily missed the sleet and snow that day and had wonderful blue skies and lots of smiles.
Thank you Portland Parks and Recreation, Wilson High School, and the Rieke students, staff, and volunteers for this fun experience! If you have any pictures from the event that you would like to share, please email them to jamie.repasky@gmail.com
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Rieke Spring Garden
Before spring break the classes headed out to plant in the new hanging gardens. Here is what they planted:
Kindergarten - 'Give Peas a Chance' with a side of strawberries
1st and 5th grades - 'The Nose Knows' - a olfactory garden of cilantro, spearmint, chocolate mint, lemon verbena, purple sage, onion, dill, curled parsley, tarragon, Italian parsley.
3rd grade - 'Growing Things' - spring science standard with carrots, peas, strawberries
2nd and 4th grades - 'Roots, leaves, and flowers - where does food come from?' with radish, lettuce, broccoli, garlic, spinach, and nasturtiums.
Before spring break the classes headed out to plant in the new hanging gardens. Here is what they planted:
Kindergarten - 'Give Peas a Chance' with a side of strawberries
1st and 5th grades - 'The Nose Knows' - a olfactory garden of cilantro, spearmint, chocolate mint, lemon verbena, purple sage, onion, dill, curled parsley, tarragon, Italian parsley.
3rd grade - 'Growing Things' - spring science standard with carrots, peas, strawberries
2nd and 4th grades - 'Roots, leaves, and flowers - where does food come from?' with radish, lettuce, broccoli, garlic, spinach, and nasturtiums.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
'I am going on an adventure and I am bringing ....'
At the EcoThink meeting this month we discussed wants vs needs as we 'planned' for trips to the mountains, deserts, oceans, and even the moon. The students worked in teams with our high school TAs as they researched their assigned location and brainstormed what they think was needed and how will they transport these items. What would it be like to explore the Great Barrier Reef, the Sahara, the moon?
At the EcoThink meeting this month we discussed wants vs needs as we 'planned' for trips to the mountains, deserts, oceans, and even the moon. The students worked in teams with our high school TAs as they researched their assigned location and brainstormed what they think was needed and how will they transport these items. What would it be like to explore the Great Barrier Reef, the Sahara, the moon?
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Scientific Method Fun
This month we reviewed the steps of the scientific method and explored the question 'what is soil?'. The student were able to conduct background research on the school iPads with a high school TA. From their research they each came up with three questions. Not one student had the same question - it was great to see each of them grasping the topic in their own way:
We then moved into our mini science project based on the observation "people like money". I took them through the steps of the scientific method for this experiment; below are their answers and the results of our project. They did a great job collecting the data! If you have a chance, ask them to explain the project to you in their own words. As 'homework', see if your family could come up with conclusions to our little science project and think about how we could have done the experiment differently or what other questions you could ask based on the results.
This month we reviewed the steps of the scientific method and explored the question 'what is soil?'. The student were able to conduct background research on the school iPads with a high school TA. From their research they each came up with three questions. Not one student had the same question - it was great to see each of them grasping the topic in their own way:
- how do plant deposits turn into soil?
- how are the 70,000 types of soil different?
- which types of soils are better for flowers?
- how do earthworms turn dead plants into soil?
- how many different types of soil are there in Oregon?
- in hot places does soil have less water in it?
- how many different colors of soil are there?
- what is the difference between growing a plant in soil or mud?
- how do things grow in soil?
- how can some plant grow only in soil?
- why is some soil red?
- how much water and soil do you need to make mud?
- how many types of soil is there around Rieke?
We then moved into our mini science project based on the observation "people like money". I took them through the steps of the scientific method for this experiment; below are their answers and the results of our project. They did a great job collecting the data! If you have a chance, ask them to explain the project to you in their own words. As 'homework', see if your family could come up with conclusions to our little science project and think about how we could have done the experiment differently or what other questions you could ask based on the results.
Question - would people stop to pick up a quarter on the ground near the school.
Hypothesis
- between 49%-60% of people will stop to pick up a quarter as they walk into school
- more students than parents will stop to pick up the quarter
- more boys than girls will stop to pick up the quarter
Method
- glue a quarter to the cement near the front door to Rieke
- stand by the bike racks and record data for 20 minutes before school
- work in teams and count:
1. how many people enter the school
2. how many people try to pick up the quarter
3. of the people who stop, how many are students or parents
4. of the people who stop, how many are boys or girls
Data
from 10:20-10:40 on Wednesday January 16
318 people entered the school
27 people tried to pick up the quarter
2 parents 25 students
13 boys 8 girls
Results
our first hypothesis was incorrect - only 8% of people tried to pick up the quarter
our second and third hypothesis were correct
- between 49%-60% of people will stop to pick up a quarter as they walk into school
- more students than parents will stop to pick up the quarter
- more boys than girls will stop to pick up the quarter
Method
- glue a quarter to the cement near the front door to Rieke
- stand by the bike racks and record data for 20 minutes before school
- work in teams and count:
1. how many people enter the school
2. how many people try to pick up the quarter
3. of the people who stop, how many are students or parents
4. of the people who stop, how many are boys or girls
Data
from 10:20-10:40 on Wednesday January 16
318 people entered the school
27 people tried to pick up the quarter
2 parents 25 students
13 boys 8 girls
Results
our first hypothesis was incorrect - only 8% of people tried to pick up the quarter
our second and third hypothesis were correct
Saturday, January 5, 2013
What do you wonder?
When is the last time you stopped to wonder - why is our flag red, white, and blue - what are the white lines on our fingernails - why are there 24 hours in a day - what is Jello made of? Join us for the January EcoThink Late Start Lounge on Wednesday the 16th to practice your questioning skills. We will be brainstorming ideas and letting our mind wonder as we learn how to ask scientific question, just in time for the Rieke Science Fair on February 28th. If you or your child would like to attend, please email jamie.repasky@gmail.com by Friday January 11th. Space is limited to 20 students.
When is the last time you stopped to wonder - why is our flag red, white, and blue - what are the white lines on our fingernails - why are there 24 hours in a day - what is Jello made of? Join us for the January EcoThink Late Start Lounge on Wednesday the 16th to practice your questioning skills. We will be brainstorming ideas and letting our mind wonder as we learn how to ask scientific question, just in time for the Rieke Science Fair on February 28th. If you or your child would like to attend, please email jamie.repasky@gmail.com by Friday January 11th. Space is limited to 20 students.
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