2020-2021 News Archives

Mountain View fifth-graders love pi. They celebrated national Pi Day on March 14, the numerical date of 3/14 which corresponds to the first three digits of the world’s most popular irrational number (3.14…). Students participated in a variety of activities designed by teachers to excite students about math and science. Yes, science. March 14 also happens to be the birthday of Albert Einstein.
 
The fifth-graders used string to measure the circumference and diameter of circular objects such as the tops of cans and jars, then calculated the value of pi themselves. (Just in case you forgot, pi=circumference/diameter). They also made pi headbands, created pi day tee shirt designs, graphed the digits of pi, and read “Sir Cumference and the Dragon of Pi,” an adventure book that tells the tale of the titular knight’s son, Radius, who saves the day using the magic of math.
 
Thanks to the “Pi Song” (https://youtu.be/3HRkKznJoZA, sung to the classical music earworm “In the Hall of the Mountain King”), the most popular activity was the competition to memorize the most digits of pi. Fifth grade classes held their own competitions and the top three students from each room competed in the finals. The winner, Ryan Walsh, memorized an astounding 239 digits of pi. Deborah Decker was second at 195, and Thomas McDonald took third place with 146 digits.
 
“How many math holidays are there?” asked teacher Deborah Siipola. “Pi Day is a fun way to excite kids about math and show them that there are numbers all around.”
 
Not to be confused with Pie Day (January 23), Pi Day was founded by a San Francisco physicist and first celebrated in 1988; it became a national day of recognition in the U.S. in 2009.

They are on their own. Officer Keith and the eight other trout raised by Peg Maute’s fifth grade class are swimming free. The fish were recently released into a Byram stream.
 
The class received the rainbow trout eggs through a unique program made possible through a partnership with the Pequest Trout Hatchery in Oxford, New Jersey in association with Trout Unlimited, a national conservation group, and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.
 
Of the 80-100 eggs the class received in October, just nine fish made their way into young adulthood. That’s not unusual; in fact, it might be a better survival rate than Mother Nature’s. The trout are incredibly delicate when young, sensitive to the most minute temperature changes and pollutants. When newly born, the fish spend several weeks unable to swim and are defenseless against predators. Even in the fairly stabile environment of the classroom, only the hardiest of the bunch make it out into the world.
 
“The students loved having the trout in the classroom,” said Maute. “Watching them grow from eggs, and learning about them and the importance of clean water conservation was not only educational but offered the students a little fun in a not so normal school year.”
 
The fifth-graders took turns feeding the fish, initially once a day then twice per day in the last few months. A custodian fed the fish when school was not in session.
 
The class named the largest of the trout “Officer Keith” in honor of Mountain View’s altitudinous security officer, Keith Boryeskne, who helped with tank maintenance and often looked in during breaks to check on the fish.

 

They are on their own. Officer Keith and the eight other trout raised by Peg Maute’s fifth grade class are swimming free. The fish were recently released into a Byram stream.
 
The class received the rainbow trout eggs through a unique program made possible through a partnership with the Pequest Trout Hatchery in Oxford, New Jersey in association with Trout Unlimited, a national conservation group, and the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.
 
Of the 80-100 eggs the class received in October, just nine fish made their way into young adulthood. That’s not unusual; in fact, it might be a better survival rate than Mother Nature’s. The trout are incredibly delicate when young, sensitive to the most minute temperature changes and pollutants. When newly born, the fish spend several weeks unable to swim and are defenseless against predators. Even in the fairly stabile environment of the classroom, only the hardiest of the bunch make it out into the world.
 
“The students loved having the trout in the classroom,” said Maute. “Watching them grow from eggs, and learning about them and the importance of clean water conservation was not only educational but offered the students a little fun in a not so normal school year.”
 
The fifth-graders took turns feeding the fish, initially once a day then twice per day in the last few months. A custodian fed the fish when school was not in session.
 
The class named the largest of the trout “Officer Keith” in honor of Mountain View’s altitudinous security officer, Keith Boryeskne, who helped with tank maintenance and often looked in during breaks to check on the fish.

The three days of cephalopods might not be as festive (or as lyrical) as the 12 days of Christmas, but they were certainly informative and perhaps just as fun.
 
Fourth-graders taught by Caralynn Ferrara recently spent three days examining and dissecting cephalopods – squid to be more exact. Day 1 was dedicated to learning the rules and tools of dissection, and feeling the outside of the squid. On Day 2, students examined the external structures and their functions, including tentacles, arms, eyes, beak, fin, chromatophores, and suckers. Day 3 was devoted to internal structures. Wearing protective goggles, students cut into their squid to examine the heart, gills, ink sac, and stomach.
 
In past years, the students worked collaboratively in small groups; this year because of COVID protocols, each student had his or her own work area, set of tools, and squid. Last year because of the pandemic closure, fourth-graders watched an internet video of a dissection instead of participating.
 
"I’m so glad all my students were attending in person for this,” said Ferrara. “A virtual dissection isn't nearly as memorable as one where you can touch, smell, and feel."
 
Some students chose not to touch or dissect the squid; they looked on and learned with a partner. 
 
Exploring the internal and external structures of plants and animals is a major unit of the fourth grade science curriculum. As part of the unit, students study how those structures are used to aid growth, reproduction, and survival. Before going hands on, the students learned about the anatomy of cephalopods through non-fiction texts and instructional videos.

The wall separating the school’s makerspace from the main section of the library was big and blue, a monotonous expanse the color of a cloudless sky. Librarian Melissa Marvin knew who to ask to add some splash. She turned to Mountain View’s new head custodian, Malik El-Amin, who spent 27 years teaching high school art.

El-Amin designed a woodland scene that perfectly fits with the library’s outdoorsy theme. Using wood from a fallen tree trunk and other elements found near his home, he created a forest diorama that features a nest filled with snow white eaglets. In the corner of the wall, seemingly in midflight, is mama/papa eagle with a freshly caught salmon in its mouth. The figure is a clever combination of chicken wire, feathers, and aluminum foil that can move. Concealed fishing line leading behind the wall provides the mechanics that let the eagle nod its head and flap its wings.

Unknown to the sculptor (and master ceramicist) was the fact that Marvin had in past years conducted popular lessons about eagles and their habitats.

“When Malik told me what he was planning, I couldn’t believe it,” Marvin said. “It fit perfectly with the lessons.”

With the school day abbreviated due to COVID concerns, those lessons didn’t happen this year. The library’s large monitor, though, has been occasionally tuned-in of late to the eagle cam from Duke Farms in Hillsborough, New Jersey. The high-definition feed shows an eagle nest and the three eggs laid in mid-January that are being kept warm by the hopeful parents. 

Classes from grades K-2 have visited the library specifically to see the diorama. El-Amin has been there too on most occasions, talking with students and slipping unseen behind the wall to work his magic, delighting the kids with the adult eagle’s ability to answer their questions with nods and wing wiggles.