Terrific Work!
Mrs. Martellaro's homeroom class presented their Native American Projects on November 20, 2008. Each one was unique! A written description of how they made the project and what the project was, accompanied the display item.
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Our class has adopted a penguin!!
Welcome to our class Marty
The penguins are back on shore.
An update....
November Update Our Argentine penguins have now laid their eggs, and most of our adoptees of penguins in Argentina will now have their photos. However the remaining colonies are about 7 to 10 days late this year and have not laid eggs yet. The colonies in Chile and the Falklands are always about 2 weeks later laying than the penguins in Argentina, but this year they are more like 3 to 4 weeks behind. There is absolutely nothing to worry about. It will in no way reduce the health or survival of the chicks. I am just letting you know that it means it will be about another couple of weeks before we will be able to send you photos of Marty.
I
am writing to let you know that most of our penguins, including Marty, are
now back in the colony. I attach a photo showing the penguins gathering on
the
beach after returning home. For the next couple of weeks the penguins will
renew
their pair-bonding, because during the winter migration the penguins travel
in
groups, and most penguins loose contact with their partners, and do not meet
up again until they arrive back at the breeding site.
The male penguins arrive back 7 to 10 days before the females, and this is
important if they wish to keep their partner. There are more male penguins
than females, so it is more difficult for a single male to find a new partner,
than it is for a single female. The males therefore arrive a few days before
the females, so
that they can be sure to be around to greet their partner the very minute
she
arrives, before another single male penguin can catch her eye.
Back together after many weeks apart, the penguins mate, and the couples make
repairs to the nests whilst the eggs are developing inside the females.
During
this time the penguins wander about around the nests, but do not remain in
the
nests yet, making it difficult for us to correctly identify all the penguins
and their nests at any given moment (see attached photo). Also, until the
eggs
have been laid, and the penguins have something to defend, the penguins are
much
more easily disturbed by human presence. If disturbed they can sometimes move
to another part of the colony, so we do not disturb them or take photos until
after egg-laying has taken place.
Penguins are very nervous of us when they are walking around out in the open,
but much more relaxed when they are sitting in their nest. Magellanic penguins
have a very severe bite. The upper beak has a downward pointing hook at its
tip
which closes against a slightly shorter lower beak. The result is a bite which
causes either a deep cut from a glancing bite, or the removal of a triangular
piece of flesh if it gets a good grip. So it is with good reason that Magellanic
penguins feel confident about defending their nests. A fox (or a researcher)
looking at a Magellanic penguin, sitting on its nest wedged under a thorn
bush
or down a burrow, is greeted by this deadly beak pointing out at them.
Magellanic penguins, and their closely related cousins (eg. African, Humboldt,
Little penguins) all belong to the group of penguins called Spheniscus. They
are the only penguins that have a fierce bite, because they are the only penguins
that live on continents where they must defend their nests from land-based
predators, such as foxes. Other penguins (eg. Gentoo, Rockhoppers, King penguins)
have a completely harmless bite, that is useless as a defence, but these penguins
all live on islands, or in Antarctica, where there are no land-based predators
after their eggs.
Egg-laying takes place during October, but the exact date varies from penguin
to penguin. Two eggs are laid by each penguin, and as soon as both eggs are
laid,
we will re-mark the nests with the names chosen for each of the penguins,
and
send out the photos. The exact date we send out the photographs for each penguin
is decided by the date of egg-laying for each penguin, but we usually start
sending out photos in mid-October, and the last ones go out by the end of
the first week of November. Please be patient. Delays in sending out photos
are the penguins' fault, not ours.
We are often asked how we process adoptions that we receive after egg-laying,
and the answer is simple. Only adopted penguins have names, and of course
these
names are the names chosen by adoptees before egg-laying. But we also mark
enough penguins with numbers, which we photograph and monitor in the same
way from egg-laying onwards. So when people adopt new penguins long after
egg-laying has finished, we simply change the nest marker from our number
to the new name chosen by the adoptee.
These names are not only used to identify the penguins for photos and adoption
reports, but also for our monitoring and research. Every adopted penguin is
photographed and monitored, from egg-laying until the chicks and adults leave
the nest, providing valuable data for each colony. This information is used
to protect the penguins, through good management of tourism, pollution and
other hazards to the colony, and to observe differences in breeding success
and population trends caused by natural and human events, across the three
countries in which we work.
Our programme has now been running for 10 years, and its success, as always,
is due to the support of our adoptees.
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Marty's Nest |
Marty |
This is Marty |
Marty's Nest |
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Magdalena Lighthouse |
Marty's Home Chile
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Dear Students and Parents,
A few reminders:
• Home work is due the day after it is assigned
(exceptions = a short or long term project)
Note: An absent student will be given time equal to their absence to catch up.
• All tests should be signed by a parent or guardian and returned to the teacher.
Corrections may be required.
• All papers are sent home on Fridays, in the student's Friday Folder. Please sign the sheet in the folder and send the folder back to school on Monday.
• School work and home work should be carefully completed. Most answers should be written in full sentences. Words spelled on the page or worksheet should be copied correctly.
• Please write a proper heading on your papers.
• Keep your work neat. (When using loose leaf paper, the holes go to the left.)
• If a child forgets to bring in their homework, a missing homework form is filled out by the student. The form must be signed by a parent or guardian and attached to the missing work to receive credit. (Work 1 day late = 15 points off the score earned, Work over 1 day late receives a zero grade. A check will be placed in the grade book showing that the work was finally completed, but no credit was given.)
• Students must show responsibility for their learning.
• "Study" may be the homework assigned. This means review pages read, notes taken, or assignments completed during that unit of study.
• Basic math facts should be memorized by now, please practice them daily.
• Students should read everyday. Share a library book, magazine, ...
Sincerely,
Mrs. Martellaro
Supplies for Mrs. Martellaro's 4 th Grade
6 Folders - The type used for report covers. .
They must have 3 Fasteners for adding loose leaf paper and 2 pockets
Loose Leaf Paper - buy 4 packages
Pencil Case - buy 2 that have zippers
Pencils - 12
Black Pens - 2
Colored Pencils - a pack with 8 or 12 colors
Textbook covers - buy or make 4
Ruler - I having American and metric
Elmer's Glue - 4 ounce
Scissors - 1
Highlighter - 2(any color)
Black "Sharpie" Marker - 1 (It's a permanent marker)
Tissues - 1 large box
Crayons - a small box for art
Marble notebook- 1
Purchase a school assignment pad = $3.50
