This week was all about STEM. We discussed and learned how penguins stay warm. Their feathers, huddling, and their blubber are all necessary for warmth. The students did a test to help them understand how the blubber helps with warmth by putting their hands in ice water. One hand had a vinyl glove, and the other had a vinyl glove wrapped in "blubber" (Crisco). They were amazed that they could not feel the cold water with the “blubber” hand.

Students observed oil and water. They experienced how it feels, saw how it repels, and learned how it can be cleaned.

We experimented to see what would make ice cubes melt the fastest: cold water, hot water, or salt? Students made their predictions and then worked in teams to experiment. Salt, when a couple of drops of water were added, melted the ice the fastest. It was a fun, busy afternoon for all of the scientists.

To read the March 28, 2025 edition of Temple's "The Weekly Hoot", please click here.

Captain, Mr. Popper's first penguin, needs a nest. What does he do? Captain gathers various items from around the house, like checkers, an olive, tinfoil, and a key, all things that look like they would make a good nest.

The TES students had the opportunity to build their own nests in diorama form. They could choose a Captain's style nest or a realistic style nest. We had all types of donated items like plastic letters, eraser tops, pen caps, etc., along with cotton balls, stones, and sticks. The students, parents, and community members had a great time creating and building.

To read the March 28, 2025 edition of Temple's "The Weekly Hoot", please click here.

Our second week of Mr. Popper's Penguins activities was very educational. Cara Nicholl was our guest speaker. Cara traveled to the Antarctic this past year and has created a great PowerPoint with many fantastic photos that she had taken. Her presentation was very informative and enjoyable. The students asked great questions which taught them a lot about penguins and Antarctica.

After the presentation, the students broke into two groups. One group created a Ven Diagram comparing the Antarctic and the Arctic using the information they learned this week and during the presentation. The second group created a food web that displayed the natural food chain in the Antarctic. Our One School, One Community, One Book is proving to be a great success!

To read the March 14, 2025 edition of Temple's "The Weekly Hoot", please click here

Friday, March 7, 2025 was our first activity assembly for our One School One book program. The students made a few penguin crafts to jump-start the theme of penguins. They made mini habitats, a penguin stuffy, and started a third craft with clay that will be finished up at the next Friday activity. It was such a great afternoon spent with parents and community members. The students are very excited to continue reading this wonderful book.

Monday morning we revealed "Mr. Popper's Penguins" as the book we will be reading for the next seven weeks. All families were given a copy of the book along with a reading schedule to follow. Each Friday afternoon we will host whole group activities such as crafts, science experiments, songs, and games. The Temple community has also been invited to read this book along with us and are invited to join us at TES for the Friday afternoon activities. The Mansfield library has joined us for this adventure and has multiple copies of the book and penguin activities as well. We look forward to the next seven weeks as we dive into the life of penguins, their habitat, and their eating habits. At the end of the seven weeks, we will have an evening celebration to exhibit all that we have learned and created.