Zedonk?

I bet that many of you saw the news reports on this very rare occurence... It seems that a donkey and a zebra, living at a wildlife preserve in Georgia, mated and produced this cute little female 'zedonk.'

Officials at the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve, where the little crossbred was born, are as surprised as anyone by the very rare coupling. "The animals have been running (in the fields) together for more than 40 years, but this is the first time that this has happened here," says the preserve's founder. "We never suspected that they (had mated), so it was quite a surprise when the zedonk was born." With the distinctive black stripes of a zebra on her legs and face, and the narrow head of a donkey, the wildlife preserve's newest resident looks to be a perfect hybrid. When it comes to temperament, however, it seems the five-day-old takes more after her dad, preserve general manager C.W. Wathen told the Gainesville Times: Usually, a foal will lay over on its side, sunning itself. But the zedonk sits up at all time -- like she's on alert looking out for predators. She's still got some of her wild instincts. Chances are the baby zedonk will never meet anything quite like her -- the infertile hybrid is actually quite rare -- though she'll have no shortage of companions at the Chestatee Wildlife Preserve, which is home to a variety of animals from around the globe.

Wind Power

Finding ways to produce energy without harming the planet is an important challenge for our world. On my recent trip to Denver, I took this photo of a wind farm in Kansas. It was pretty impressive.

Some questions for you:

1) What are some advantages of wind power produced energy?

2) What are some problems or disadvantages of this kind of energy production?

3) If wind turbines like these could be built in your neighborhood, would that be a good thing or not? Explain.

Gulf Oil Spill News

There is so much news coming through hour by hour as the oil spill disaster continues in the Gulf of Mexico. The shores and wetlands all along the Gulf are being covered with the thick, tarry oil. People who live in the region, and depend on fishing and ocean-related industries for their livelihoods are in dire financial trouble. Birds, turtles and sea-dwelling species are being coated with oil. Some have been rescued. Many others have died and continue to die. I hope that, as you relax and enjoy your summer, you are also watching the news and reading the various reports. This is such an important event. I don't think anyone can really predict how this will effect all of us over time, but it makes sense that each of us pay attention and if the opportunity presents itself to help, I know you will do that as well... here are some websites that might be interesting to you as you follow the story of this disaster: BP Oil Spill: Daily Dead Wildlife Tally Oil Spill Tracker See the Oil Spill from Space

We Had Such a Great Year!

I cannot believe the year is over. It seems like our time together went very quickly. I am so awfully proud of all of you -- for all you learned and all the ways you helped me and one another. You are very special young people, and I will miss you... I hope you have a wonderful, safe, and relaxing summer. Take time to dream and plan. Do the things you love to do. Spend good time with friends and family. Pay attention to the world around you. Don't forget to stop in room 204 and say "Hi" next fall... Ms. Daniel

Reconciliation Goals for 6th Grade

Here are the goals that 6th grade students set for our class this year. As we come to the end of the school year, it is good to look back at where we've been and evaluate how we've done. Review these goals that our class chose to work on this year, and then leave your comment about how you see these goals being met (or not) this year. KINDNESS GOAL -- I will not gossip, and I won't listen to those who spread gossip. CONFLICT RESOLUTION GOAL -- I will stop choosing sides. HELPFULNESS GOAL -- I will be a better student, a better friend, and more helpful to others. INCLUSION GOAL -- I will work to eliminate drama, exclusion, and gossip.

Visiting with the Delegation from China

We had the opportunity to spend time with students from China last week. Although our students found that language presented a challenge on both sides, it didn't take long for them to find ways to communicate. We shared greetings in Chinese and Spanish, asked and answered a lot of questions, played Heads Up Seven Up, and danced the Macarena, the Bunny Hop, and the Hokey Pokey. Mostly, we laughed a lot and made friends.

Studying Tropisms in Plants

One of the topics for 6th grade life science is Plants. As students study how plants grow, they come to understand that plants exhibit a number of behaviors that are called tropisms. Tropisms are specific responses to environmental influences. One of these is the response to light stimuli that causes a plant to "follow" or "seek" the light. We are in the midst of an experiment that has students observing the growth and reactions of pinto bean plants to an environment that provides very limited light from a very controlled direction. To do this, students have constructed "light" boxes from shoeboxes. The boxes have relatively small holes cut into the top or side, and then a further light diverting baffle placed on the inside. As the bean plants grow, it is possible to see the effect of the tropism for light sensitivity.