MOSS day 4

Hello Families,

Today was fantastic!  We started the morning off by reviewing the scientific method, which led into our inquiry.  At MOSS, Thursday is always an inquiry day.  This means that the students come up with an inquiry question, develop a hypothesis, test the hypothesis, analyze data, and present their findings to the school.  I’m not sure what question the other field group came up with, but my group’s question was something like, ‘Is Payette Lake a suitable habitat for Sharley (Sharley is the lake monster that lives in Payette Lake)?’  Now at first this may seem ridiculous, which it is, but we concluded that Sharley’s main diet would consist of trout.  So to figure out if Sharley could live in Payette Lake, we needed to know whether or not trout could live in Payette Lake. To figure this out we conducted a water quality survey to determine if the hydrologic conditions were suitable for trout.  We sampled at several locations along the lake and afterword decided to go on a little hike around the lily marsh.  This… is where the day got interesting.  We decided to have a solo hike.  This is where students are spaced out by about 30 seconds, and hike along a trail with an adult in the front, middle, and end.  Now, at the end of the solo hike I calculated that about 95% of my students were present.. Uh oh…. So after a few miles of tracking through the snow I caught up with the student that is clearly NOT related to Meriwether Lewis.  Both in good spirits, we hiked up to Osprey Lookout, and caught up with our field group back at MOSS.  In the classroom we analyzed our water quality data, and prepared our presentation.  Now, this isn’t any old presentation.  We have created a masterpiece of a skit that involves dance, pantomime, and scientific data analysis.  I must say, from my perspective, this has been the most interesting day at MOSS!

starting out at our first water quality assessment site

testing at the second sample site

the lily marsh

Osprey Lookout (the location of the Sharley's larval form)

MOSS Day 3

Hello Families!

Today was an amazing day at MOSS!  It was a little warmer than yesterday, which really allowed us to be more mindful and intentional with our thinking in the field.  We started the day with a classroom discussion around ecosystem services within the riparian zone.  Following this we broke out into expert groups and developed conceptual understanding and skills with pH, turbidity, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and macroinvertebrate diversity as an indicator of water quality.  Each group learned the concepts and sampling methodology and then taught those concepts to the rest of the class.  Around 11:00 we worked with a scale watershed model and analyzed the different variables that influence soil retention and bank erosion.  After this we packed up, hopped in the cars, and drove out to a stream system south of McCall.  At this site we used the sampling methods we learned in class to conduct a watershed assessment. Our central focus was to determine whether or not that river was a suitable habitat for steelhead.  I find it very important that our work at MOSS directly tie into our expeditions and support our kids in developing understanding and skills necessary to carry out final product work, and today fit right in line with that thinking.  The watershed assessment concepts and skills we developed today will be put to real-world use next week when we conduct our assessment on Sweetwater Creek (which we still need drivers for if you are interested).  After all of our hard work we had a nice canoe session this afternoon (and yes all the Palouse Prairie kids sang the canoe song – brilliant).  To cap the day off we had a fun geocaching activity.

-Mr. Pierce

morning discussion to review ecosystem services

breaking out into expert groups

initial instruction of sampling methodology for temperature and turbidity

yours truly providing background information on pH

Taylor using a thermometer to test temperature differences between clear and turbid waters

Lena and Cathan sampling dissolved oxygen

scale experiment to look at erosion and soil retention

Aesthetic value is most certainly an ecosystem service

never leave 6th grade girls unattended for more than 15 seconds...

Lena, Jonna, and Tobias sampling dissolved oxygen, temperature, and pH in the Payette River

Jordyn and Rhett sampling

Lauren and Ashton sampling

Sara collecting data on water velocity

our biodiversity assessment revealed the presence of many sensitive insect species, a good indicator of high water quality

Noah and a dragonfly larvae

Sarah 'Darnit' Darney collecting biodiversity data (a fancy word for bug hunting).

Back at MOSS, we analyzed our data, and concluded that this system was suitable for steelhead.

MOSS Day 2

Hello Families!

Wow what a day!  We woke up to a beautiful blanket of snow at MOSS.  Today we focused on adaptations.  We spent the morning conducting a series of activities ranging from bird beak adaptations to plant defenses.  Our work with bird adaptations focused primarily on the feeding mechanisms of humming birds, finches, and woodpeckers.  Following this we hiked up to the sagebrush meadow and analyzed the various adaptations sage has developed to cope with such dry climates.  After the sagebrush we moved into a gorgeous aspen grove, and followed that with a session in a meadow that is starting to shift into a forest community (or at least will in the next couple hundred years).  After a very cold lunch, we spent the afternoon learning about using insect biodiversity as a water quality indicator and discussing ecosystem services.  Everyone is in high spirits and having a fantastic time!

From left to right, Kaylee, Sara, Jeremiah, Anna, Jordyn, Taylor, and Lauren giving the weather report to the entire MOSS student body.

Sophia, Tobias, and Lena brainstorming different bird beak adaptations

Culminating bird beak adaptation activity

hiking up to the sagebrush

the local fauna doesn't seem too scared of 6th graders

hiking into the aspen grove (this shot really captures the dominant weather pattern today... sooooo cold!)

Noah and Cathan working on their meadow adaptations creature (we created creatures that were adapted to these meadows, but were also entirely fictional).

Liam crossing the meadow

a nice winter shot of Payette Lake

CREW building activity to lead a blindfolded partner to a tree, let them feel, smell, taste (well maybe not taste) the tree, lead them away, and see if they could find the exact tree with the blindfold off.

MOSS Day 1

Hello Families,

Well I am sitting here in very close quarters with very rowdy boys!  Today has been quite a successful first day.  We arrived at MOSS with plenty of time to spare, had a nice lunch, and started with our orientation at 1:00.   We had a wonderful, but cold, first few hours.  We started off with some nice team building activities, had a great game of capture-the-flag, and had a fun inquiry on wind energy.  Tomorrow, we will be heading up into the state park and focusing on animal adaptations.

-Mr. Pierce

opening circle

formation of field groups

opening of wind energy inquiry

Moscow Mountain

Hello Families!

As I'm sure you all know, Moscow Mountain was a huge success (with the exception of some rather irritated bees).  We started off at the 4 corners lot, and hit the trail just west of that location.  The trail we took is one of my all time favorites on Moscow Mountain.  I typically ride my mountain bike on this trail, but it works just as good on foot!  The trail weaves through a beautiful grand fir/cedar forest, makes its way up through an old clear-cut site (now well into initial succession), passes through a nice rock outcrop with a spectacular view, and dips back down into the forest.  In addition to enjoying a wonderful hike in the woods we played all sorts of outdoor games.  Among the most popular was the game 'camouflage.'  Camouflage is a hide and seek type game, that is scientifically impossible not to enjoy (don't quote me on that)!  We also sang some songs, had a good ol' fashion scream (when was the last time you got to yell at the top of your lungs?), and had some CREW building initiatives.  When we returned to school we had a very interesting conversation about the relationship between the two EL Design Principles 'The Primacy of Self Discovery' and 'The Natural World.'  Most students faced some form of adversity throughout the hike, whether that was in the form of just being in the woods, getting stung by a bee(s), or being hot and tired at the end of the day.  The wonderful part about the adversity our CREW faced, was that every single CREW member that faced a challenge over came it.  One last thing, I would like to thank Tadd and Wendy Wheeler, Kevin Kinzer, and Stacy Miller for driving and helping with the hike!

On the trail!

Kaylee, Sara, and Jeremiah bolting into the woods during the camouflage count-down.

Taylor making a valiant effort to be the first to tag Rhett.

Go Team Miller!

I told the crew not to make silly faces... based on this evidence I'd say they are really starting to understand my sarcasm!

Back on the trail.

Liam the Conqueror!

This was a great place to stop for lunch... until the bees found us.

A great end to a great day!

1st Week of School!

Hello Families!
We had a great first week, filled with adventure, CREW work, and fun!  The first week is such a wonderful and exciting time for CREWs to come back together and rediscover the wonderful benefits of collaboration.  Thus far in the year we have already had some fantastic moments.  Yesterday for example, the CREW worked through what is known as a 'rich task' in math.  The idea of the rich task is that it requires deep mathematical thought, and has an array of possible outcomes.  The focus is less on the 'answer' and more on the process and explanation of thought.  During closing circle yesterday most of the CREW shared that the best part of the day was the rich task in math.  With that said, today was also a great day!  PPSEL had its first community circle of the year, and it was a huge success.  There was singing, music, skits, birthdays, spotlights, and a 7/8 CREW presentation on student expectations at Palouse Prairie.  Our trip to the Arboretum focused on trust, collaboration, and supporting one another in a positive and effective way.  After lunch, we worked on collaborative paintings.  Each CREW member created a painting that was then build upon by each of the other CREW members.  The symbolism here is of course that we create higher quality work when we collaborate with each other.  

Sarah and Noah collaborating prior to a presentation.

Kaylee working to put the finishing touches on a presentation poster.

CREW discovery at the Arboretum.

Ask your child about 'Duckie Wuckie!'

The 'innie/ outie' circle interview allows CREW members to share their thoughts in a safe and open way.

 An important component to the Arboretum work is to provide CREW members with time and space for quiet alone time.  This is to be mindful of our EL Design Principle 'Solitude and Reflection.'

CREW art.