Catamount Times
April, 2016
School-Wide Art
Show Takes Over
School May 16-31
The annual school-wide art show
will start on Monday, May 16 and run
until Tuesday, May 31. The artwork
can typically be viewed on weekdays
from 7:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m., and
whenever the building is open for other activities.
The art show has been held every
year since the building was transformed into the St. Johnsbury School
in 2001, and generally includes at
least one item from every student at
the school. Prior to that, it was held at
Catamount Arts, where it was limited
to 300 items.
Art items by St. Johnsbury School
students were recently on display at
NVRH, as part of the 6th annual Elementary and Middle School Art Show.
The show ran from Feb. 15-April 7.
6th Grade Trailblazers Dissect Barn Owl Pellets
In February, the 6th-grade Trailblazers dissected barn owl pellets with
Mr. Wurzburg. There were two people
to an owl pellet, so we had to learn to
work as a team.
We started with measuring and
weighing the pellet. (We recorded all
of this data in a Google sheet.) We
also made some observations on the
owl pellets and recorded those as
well, but on a piece of paper.
To begin the dissection process,
we soaked the owl pellet wrapped in
tinfoil in a large beaker full of warm
water for about 2-3 minutes, or until
the pellet sunk to the bottom. We dissected the pellets with probes and
tweezers, being careful not to break
any of the bones until we were positive that we hadn’t missed any bones.
We identified the different bone
types using a bone identification
sheet, and then tried to figure out what
species of vertebrates the skulls were
so that they could record the data in
our bone packets.
We glued the bones onto a template, making sure they were in the
correct places, and then glued that
onto a piece of oak tag and created a
Tom Huntington
thuntington@stjsd.org
Jon Morris
jmorris@stjsd.org
The Catamount Times is produced by
the St. Johnsbury School newspaper
club. We accept submissions from all
students at the school.
Check out www.stjsd.org
for interactive PDF
versions of the
Catamount Times.
Principal’s Corner
Volume 2, Number 4
Editors
Click the picture of the skulls to view a
slideshow of student results.
Read Across America: Click the
above picture of Lower School
Principal Jenna O’Farrell to view
a slideshow of community readers
from Read Across America Day.
Catamount
Times
Cybele Hantman
chantman@stjsd.org
poster out of it.
We categorized our bones and
glued them on in their categories, and
then decorated the poster with relevant art. Hope you like the results!
By Lily S.
Catamount Staff Reporter
throughout the entire year. Everyone
needs a cheerleader!
Fourth quarter is full of rapid
change. Students suddenly look a little
older, act with more independence,
and command a new sense of competence. Students start to imagine themselves in the next grade, with the new
expectations it will bring.
Soon, students in grades 3 through
8 will begin their SBAC assessments.
Softball and baseball will start. The
cast of our school musical, “Into the
Woods,” will amaze. Girls on the Run
teams will form. Spring band and chorus concerts will entertain. 8th-graders
The 4th Quarter
If you're a sports fan, then you
know how important the fourth quarter is. Comebacks, game-winning
drives, buzzer-beating shots and
team chemistry highlight many strong
finishes. We anxiously watch and
cheer our teams on. Faithful fans do
not give up. Determined players do
not quit. Being a student and going to
school is very similar.
Our students participate in four
quarters of intense growth and learning. Every quarter counts. They need
us all to be their number one fan
2
and kindergarteners will participate
in a graduation. These rituals of
springtime bring us together as a
community as we transition from one
grade to another.
I look forward to all the moments
we will share in the coming months.
Celebrating our accomplishments
and progress unites our school community. Let’s continue to think big,
work hard, and finish strong!
Jenna O’Farrell
Lower School Principal, PreK-3