CHICKENS! We have successfully hatched 19 baby chicks! Please come in if you are able and have a look!
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Salmon Release- We received 55 chum salmon eggs on January 10, 2024. After about 1 1/2 months, they emerged from their eggs as alevin, with yolk sacs attached to their bellies. We watched them grow and observed the yolk sac getting smaller and smaller until it was no more. At this point, the salmon were now called fry. We had to release our fry into Beecher Creek so that they can soon begin their journey to the estuary (where the Fraser River meets the Pacific Ocean) where they will become smolt, eventually moving on to grow and eat in the ocean as adult salmon. We released 55 chum into the wild on May 9, 2024.
The Sierra Club Visit– We had a visit from the Sierra Club and we were taught about environmental education and we had a chance to go outside and explore the outdoor environment around our school with magnifying glasses. We then had a challenge to use naturally found materials to create some sort of home or shelter for a creature.
Hearts for Truth- On May 14, each person in the Brentwood Park School Community were given the opportunity to create and colour a wooden tile as part of our Truth and Reconciliation Journey. . Prior to this date, the students in our class discussed what residential schools were and how it might have felt to be a child experiencing all of the traumatic events that occurred during the time of residential schools. We brainstormed images around our school community that tied us to our school. We also brainstormed how we want to feel in our school community. The students had the opportunity to design and create their tile on paper so that they were ready to design and create on May 14. These tiles will be put together into a school mural by an indigenous artist by the name of Rain Pierre and this will be unveiled in a ceremony in June.
SPIRIT DAY– DRESS LIKE A SUBJECT!
Science World (Take 2)– On our second attempt to explore Science World, the day was a success! The students enjoyed exploring the exhibits with their small groups and we came together for a workshop on Exploring Matter with liquids, solids and gases! Ask your child about the experiments we conducted!
ANOTHER VISIT– This time Northwest Wildlife came to talk to our class about endangered animals and the coolest part was that the presenter brought in skulls and a stuffed real Barn Owl!! There was a skull of a mountain lion, a stuffed Hoary Bat and a plastic eagle skull for the students to touch and look at. We learned about many endangered animals in BC and a few that have been saved from extinction! Some of the endangered animals are: the Vancouver Island Marmot, the Little Brown Bat, the sharp-tailed snake, the Southern Orca, the Stellar Sea Lion, Taylor’s Checkerspot Butterfly, The Western Toad. At one time in BC, just over 100 years ago, sea otters were actually extinct from BC because of the fur trade. 89 sea otters were brought from Alaska and kept in captivity to breed. The sea otter pups were then released into the wild and now there are over 8000 sea otters living along the coastline in British Columbia. These creatures are important in keeping the sea urchin population at a decent level, which, in turn, keeps our kelp forests growing in the ocean for fish and other creatures to hide and hunt in. This was a very engaging presentation with so much for the students to learn about! It’s not everyday you get to touch a REAL mountain lion skull!!
Jump Rope For Heart- It was JUMP DAY on May 24th! We sort of lucked out with the weather and were able to jump with only a slight drizzle at the start. Our school fundraising goal was $3000 and so far we have raised $4273.93 as a school! This is fantastic! The students will all get an extended recess sometime to celebrate and the class with the highest fundraising will get a special treat. The students were amazing at jumping and having fun for the hour on Friday to keep our hearts pumping and keep our hearts healthy! I tried to get as many of our class in a photo as I could but there were SO many kids jumping together and my phone was being used as the music source so I apologize if you do not see your child.
