Hip, hip hooray! Summer vacation is here! Time to wade in tide pools; read under trees and catch lightning bugs in jars! The last month of school at TCS has been full of learning and fun. This will be our last Puma Page until September…have a relaxing and safe summer full of family and friends! We’ll see you soon!
There will be another Puma Page next month. After that, we’ll see you again in September!
LITTLE CHICKS
contributed by Lynne Ready, Pre-K Teacher
How can 3 to 5-year olds learn about animal life cycles? How about by watching eggs hatch before their eyes? That’s what happened this spring in the Truro Central School preschool classroom. After a delivery of fresh eggs from Katherine Winkler’s farm and many, many days in the incubator (21 to be exact,) children watched with amazement as the first egg tooth emerged from a tiny crack.
Eventually, 6 healthy chicks pushed their way out of their shells and lived happily in the classroom for the next two weeks. During their time with us, we read many non-fiction and fiction books about chicks; estimated how long it would take the chicks to hatch; and brainstormed names for them.
Since then, Horsie, Cutie Pie, Leaf, Buddy, Sweet Tweet, and Chickie have moved back to Winkler’s farm. Recently, the class took a field trip to visit them there!
RACHEL’S ROOM
contributed by Megan O’Leary, Fifth Grade Teacher
Truro Central School has a new classroom… a new outdoor classroom, thanks to the generous grant provided by the Rachel Branagan Educational Foundation. The second Rachel’s Room (the outdoor classroom) was created with RBEF funds, parent volunteers and donations from local businesses. The Foundation was created in memory of Rachel Branagan, who lost her courageous battle with cancer at age 8 in 2002. The foundation offers:
- Yearly teacher grants
- Outdoor classroom grants
- Annual book donations for school libraries.
Visit www.rachelsroom.org for details
Students at Truro Central School have used the eight benches that convert to table tops for a multitude of academic tasks such as math games, creative writing, and science experiments. In addition, an octagonal deck/stage has provided a unique venue for the reenactment of the “Tea Tax Debate,” Don Quixote and Lewis and Clark.
The grant also provided funds for four distinct gardens surrounding Rachel’s Room. The finishing touch to our outdoor classroom was in the form of a stone marker. Erhan Tunali of Race Point Stone Engraving donated and sandblasted “Rachel’s Room” upon the stone. Special thanks goes to Mike Meads, Danny Silva, Keith Silva, Lori Meads, and Ethan Poulin Landscaping. Without their energy, countless hours of labor, and donations, the second Rachel’s Room would not have come to fruition.