SILVER & GOLD TEAMS 

Middle School 6th Graders Make a Difference at Silver Creek

~ Reprinted from The Nature Conservancy of Idaho's Blog

Each year, the 6th grade classes at the Wood River Middle School, taught by Claudia Gaeddert and Ginger Rierden, pick a cause to support.  This year, they wanted to benefit a special place in their backyard.

Sustainability is a part of the sixth grade curriculum at Wood River Middle School, and the students chose Silver Creek Preserve as their project.

The Nature Conservancy is honored that the 6th graders chose our preserve for this year's cause.  Inspired by a visit to the preserve, the students designed and sold the buttons that illustrate this blog post.

This story perhaps begins before the students arrived, during a summer event at the preserve.  Oregon State University and other partners hosted a biodiversity and farm tour that included Ernie's Organics owned by Fred and Judy Brossy along the Big Wood River, a stop at the preserve and a tour of the showcase barley farm owned by John and Elizabeth Stevenson.

The tour earned fantastic reviews, but more than that, it is one of those educational events that succeeded in getting people to think about conservation in new ways.

Conservationists at Silver Creek often think about trout, herons, and moose.  This tour brought alive the amazing world of pollinators and other beneficial insects.

And that's what the sixth graders focused on:  They learned about the role insects play at the creek from preserve manager Dayna Gross and farmer Gary Beck.  They were inspired to raise money to fund a butterfly garden at the preserve's visitor center.

"The students learned it wasn't just about the preserve," says Ms. Rierden.  "They learned that conservation is about how we live here and work here and make money here, while still protecting a very special place."

And so the students got to work.  They designed and sold buttons.  they also created "The Power of Change," a drive to collect spare change undertaken by all students at Wood River Middle School.  "Eleven- and twelve-year-olds are game for anything," says Ms. Gaeddert.  "I wish we could all stay twelve.  They look at a challenge and think, 'Wow, we can do this!'  There is some real magic that happens."

The result:  Nearly $3100 raised for Silver Creek!  What an amazing, inspirational effort, and one that will result in more beneficial insects in the Silver Creek Valley.  The garden can also inspire the thousands of visitors to our preserve to make their own efforts to benefit pollinators, butterflies, and other beneficial insects.

Thank you again to the sixth grade students, the teachers and all who bought buttons or gave spare change.  You made a difference for a special place.  We look forward to working with you more to protect Silver Creek! -- Matt Miller   

6th Graders Attend Environmental Camp for the 36th Year!

Wood River Middle School 6th Graders converged on the Cathedral Pines Campground September 26 - 30, 2011 during the 36th Annual ROES (Residential Outdoor Environmental School).  Approximately 230 students completed three investigations over four days.  All investigations are experiential and focus on the environment.  During the two days that each team spent at Cathedral Pines, students tested water quality by testing pH, dissolved oxygen, and nitrates.  They dissected owl pellets, classified animals by comparing skulls and made pledges to help our environment by conserving resources. 

ROES has been an important part of WRMS curriculum for many years because it gets students excited and lays a foundation for a lifelong interest in Science.  It is also important because it is the first time that students from Bellevue, Woodside, Hailey, and Hemingway Elementary schools come together.  The camp serves as a unique bonding experience for both students and teachers.

Sixth Grade Students Raise Money
and Help Educate Students in Uganda

The classes of Mrs. Gaeddert, Ms. Green, and Mrs. Rierden raised approximately $600 in button sales and the "Power of Change" to support our sister school in Uganda.

Their driving question for the project was: 

As an author, how can you use your knowledge and experiences to teach and make a difference? 

Their significant concepts that they wanted their students to retain for future years are:

• Awareness of cultural differences and teaching with those differences in mind

• Collaborating, creating, and producing interactive, electronic text

Vienna Junior Day & Boarding School is a primary school in Uganda with 220 students.  Many of the students are orphans, while some have been rescued from the Lord's Resistance Army.  They have poor reading and writing skills, and have a large need for reading materials.  The School is receiving computers and is seeking out digital reading materials.

The goal of the WRMS students is to create content-based books for Elementary Students who are learning English in Vienna Junior Day & Boarding School:  Health: Nutrition and Hygiene (see example below) and Language Arts/Social Studies:  Grammar Through Cultures of Western Hemisphere and Uganda. 

 
Mrs. Gaeddert's Science/Health Classes created a PowerPoint electronic book that will be sent to students in Uganda.

6th Grade Students Raise Money for Orphanage

Ms. Greer's two Social Studies classes participated in button sales and "Power of Change" to raise money for a Peruvian orphanage located north of Lima called the HOGAR SAN FRANCISCO DE ASIS-CHACLACAYO-PERU.  This is a refuge for sick and destitute children, many who are indigenous children who've been abandoned and are facing severe medical problems.  Dr. Tony Lazzara started the Hogar over 25 years

ago and it is largely staffed by volunteers and funded through donations.  One hundred percent of the money raised goes to meeting the needs of the Hogar children.  Through clever button designs, donating money and time to sales, and a spirit of unselfishness, Ms. Greer's students have learned the true meaning of community service and outreach, and along the way earned almost $300.00.  Well done, Middleville students!

Technology Engages Students

Sixth grade teachers are using technology to engage students in learning and to assess quickly if students are understanding the concepts.  Mrs. Kapala and Mrs. Lewis are two of the six teachers at the Middle School that have Interactive Promethean Boards in their classrooms.  These boards communicate with computer desktops and project images onto a board in the front of the class.  Students and teachers can control the images with electronic pens which make it more fun for students, engaging all learners.  They also have student response systems.  These are clickers that allow teachers to assess student learning.  Students in Mrs. Kapala's math class enter the classroom and pick up a clicker.  They then enter the answers to their homework assignment and Mrs. Kapala can determine what proportion of the class understood a concept.