Palmer River News

Merci!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the hardworking parent volunteers at Palmer River. In total, we have over 1, 464 hours of volunteer service in our classrooms, library, and schoolwide. With the magnitude of students we service, it is of great comfort to know that we have a volunteer community to lighten the burden of copy work, shelving books and varied other needs. Our PTSA has been a great supporter of our students. Not only do their members help in our schools- PTSA funding enables our students of every grade to attend at least one curriculum related fieldtrip each year. If you are not already an active member of PTSA, watch for their first meeting, the “PTSA RALLY” in September, where you can learn about all the wonderful ways they help our school. We need you!

Thank You for Your Many Years!

It is with heartfelt Joy that we congratulate Mrs. Paula Fernandes on her retirement after 31 years of teaching at Palmer River and Anawan School. Mrs. Fernandes has dedicated her career to our students affording so many young children a great foundation for future lifelong learning. Mrs. Fernandes always surprised us with her willingness to learn a new strategy or help with the latest educational initiative. As teacher representative for PTSA, Mrs. Fernandes advocated for our children around the clock. We will miss her strong commitment to teaching and learning, her “good grief”, when things were overwhelming, and her warmth and sensitivity to the needs of staff and students alike. Mrs. Fernandes got her undergraduate degree from Bridgewater State University and a Masters in Special Education from Simmons College. A lifelong learner herself, she encouraged and challenged all of her students to “think” and do their very best. We wish her much joy in this next chapter of her life.

Mouse Mazes In Room 39

By Emma Johnson - Do you think school is tiring and boring? If so, you need to come into Mrs. Lydon’s math class. You wouldn’t believe what she comes up with to make math class fun but also educational. We have been working on mouse mazes (A.K.A Chinese Dwarf Hamster mazes). Sadly, we have been wrapping up this project. Making the mazes took lots of effort but was totally worth it.

The first thing we had to do in the process of making the mouse mazes was plan our maze on grid paper. There were guidelines we had to follow while planning our mazes. The guidelines we had to follow were the maze had to be at least forty inches long, the paths have to be at least two inches wide, and it had to include one acute angle, one obtuse angle, two right angles, and three sets of parallel lines. Also, the finishing chamber had to be in the shape of a triangle. At first, I thought that it would be too hard to follow the guidelines, but guess what? It wasn’t. With Mrs. Lydon’s explanation, it was a piece of cake.

We planned our mazes at home for homework and then we brought them into school the next day. We were put into groups and worked together throughout the project. The first thing our group had to do was choose a maze that one person made that is simple for the hamster to go through and followed all of the guidelines. My group chose my maze to use so all we had to do was recreate it on a big sheet of grid paper and glue it into a box top. The most challenging part was putting up the walls in the maze. We had to make sure the walls were stable enough so the hamster wouldn’t knock them over. This process was the longest part of the project.

When the mazes were done and complete, we had to test them on our class hamster Scooter Jr. The time limit for each team was three minutes. Team one’s first trial took Scooter two minutes and twenty six seconds. Their second trial was much faster and took Scooter only thirteen seconds. Their last trial took Scooter eight seconds to make it to the end. Team two’s three trials were super-fast. It took Scooter thirty four seconds, then nineteen seconds, and then forty eight seconds. Team three’s maze was challenging for Scooter at first because it took her the whole three minutes to make it to the end. Their next trial took Scooter twenty eight seconds, and on their last trial, it took Scooter three minutes again. Weird results right? Team four’s results on the first trial were one minute and ten seconds, there second trial was three minutes, and their third trial was three minutes again. Team five (my team), had quick results. The first trial, we got seven seconds, on our next trial we got twelve seconds, and on or last trial, we got thirty nine seconds. Last but not least, team six had quick results as well. Their first trial was twelve seconds, their next trial was twenty five seconds, and their last trial was seventeen seconds. Some of the results were very close and some weren’t as close but it was all just to learn and have fun.

Math class was very fun and challenging but mouse mazes didn’t only teach us some new math skills, but it taught us how to work together in a group. Way to go Mrs. Lydon, you have done it again!

SAVE THE DATES:

Grade One Summer Meet and Greet – August 25th invitations forthcoming
New Student Tour – For Students Grades 1-4 New to Palmer River- August 26th – 9:30 PM
First Day of School - Grades 1-4– September 2nd
Kindergarten Open House –September 2nd 10:15-11:15