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Kindergarten, first and second grade students across the district

learned about fire prevention during Fire Safety Week. They even

got a close-up look at Quakertown, Trumbauersville and Milford

department trucks, walking right through them from one side to

the other. They re-learned the stop, drop, roll and cover technique

to smother fire on them. They watched firefighters don gear and

explain what to do in the event a fire breaks out in their homes.

At each school, young firefighters, including several QCHS

students, helped with the presentations. Brian Wieder, a 2008

graduate, runs with Trumbauersville. He said, “I love helping

with these presentations. This is the next generation. The more

 people who know about fire safety, the more we can keep alive.

I’d like to see more women get involved with the volunteer fire

departments.”

Environment takes center stage during DCNR presentations and field trips

Beth Clark works as an Environmental Education Specialist at

 Nockamixon State Park. The Department of Conservation and Natural

Resources (DCNR) teacher has been busy sharing her vast knowledge

with school children. Mid-October, she brought the lake to third graders

at Neidig. For three straight Thursdays, Richland second graders went to

see her at Nockamixon for a Pond Prowl.

“We do many different programs for schools,” Clark explained.

“From pre-schooler hikes to kayaking to geocach-

ing, a little bit of everything.” 

At Neidig Clark asked for volunteers to shake up

the sediment at the bottom of a soda bottle full of 

lake water. Their activity simulated the hurricanesand tropical storms that mess up the lake. The con-

tents of the bottle behaved the way the contents of 

the lake behave: The heavy stuff settled at the bot-

tom when the chaos ended. Dirt and sand hung out

longer in the water before settling.

Clark showed students fossils she collected from

the state park. One student knew the Pennsylvania

fossil, a trilobite, which existed before dinosaurs!

She said she often finds footprints and body fossils in

the park. Students layered pieces of felt to demon-

strate how rocks grow in layers. Her presentation

helped third graders sum up their unit on rocks. They

knew all about igneous, sedimentary and metamor- phic rocks. Clark told them many modern conven-

iences are made from types of rocks, including roads,

 pencils and toothpaste.

by Brandon Sell, QCHS Senior

Clark continued to educate second graders with a

Pond Prowl at Nockamixon State Park. Mrs. Lynne

Benninghoff’s class dove straight into learning about the

creatures living beneath the murky water. Students and

teacher enjoyed finding tadpoles, millipedes, and even a

 baby turtle.

“I like learning out-

doors, and getting dirty,

while having fun,” said

one of the students.

Students had access tostrainers, charts, and nets

at certain stations to sift

through the sediment, and hopefully catch a creature.

The most popular creature, by far, was the thumb-sized

 baby snapping turtle. As soon

as Clark shouted across the

 pond, “we found a baby tur-

tle,” children rushed over to

investigate. Students were

amazed at its relatively tiny

size.

They returned to Richland

with a greater knowledge of the outdoors, as well as a few

muddy shoes.

Strayer students mix it up for diversity and toleranceSixth and seventh graders at Strayer Middle School participated in

 National Mix It Up Lunch Day Oct. 18 The national event encouraged

more than two million students from 5,000 schools across the country to

 break out of their usual routines and sit with someone new in the cafete-ria during lunch. Students stepped over social and racial boundaries and

took the opportunity to meet peers they might not ordinarily interact with

at school. The event promoted tolerance and celebrated diversity. Teach-

ers and principals joined students in answering question starters on cards

at the tables.

Fourth graders, “Frogs are cool!” Some kids like to hold creepy, crawly things! At

 Neidig, fourth graders in Marisa Mecchi, Nina Billman

and Corinne Liberatore’s classes eagerly dug into terrar-

ium containers to take out the millipedes, fiddler crabs

and frogs. They let the critters walk on their hands and

arms before putting them back in their temporary homes

so they could draw and label pictures of them.

Studentslearned about

the animals’

habitats, eat-

ing habits and

adaptations

that have

helped them

survive.

Hayden

held a milli-

 pede on a magnifying glass. “You have to be brave to

touch them,” she said. “Kids say they feel cool.” 

Michael said he liked the fiddler crabs because theywere the most active of the three animals they looked at

so far. He was willing to hold all of them because, “I

like animals in general.” 

Fire

safetyeducation

saveslives

Renew your BJ’s membership by October 31 for an easy way to help

raise money for QCSD student technology through the Education Foun-

dation! Click here for information.