Students studied stars, planets and meteors

By: Erin Albanese – School News Network

The clouds cleared enough to see Venus and Jupiter during Night School at Endeavor Elementary on a recent Tuesday.

About 300 first- through fifth-grade students stayed up all night, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., to watch the wonders of the night sky, study astronomy and participate in star- and planet-themed activities tied to all subjects. “We learned about the planets and the solar system,” said fourth-grader Diego Saldivar.

“The fun thing is being able to stay up until 6 in the morning,” added fourth-grader Luke Elyea. “I drank three cups of hot chocolate.”

Night School, started in 1999 by fourth-grade teacher Susan Stapleton, is held every four or five years to make sure all students have a chance to experience the event during their years at Endeavor.

It takes place during the Leonid meteor shower, which peaked November 18 this year.

School News Network — Tired students got some sleep, but most stayed up all night long

Stapleton grew up in Ludington, where she saw the Northern Lights and many starry nights. Stapleton started Night School because she wanted her students to see twinkling stars, streaking meteors and glowing planets.
“If it even makes them aware of the night sky, we’ve gained something,” she said. “So many of us never look up.”

Hundreds of volunteers worked two-hour shifts during Night School. Students went out to look at the sky, which was too cloudy for much viewing.

A volunteer from James C. Veen Observatory, in Lowell, provided information on planets and constellations,
Students painted Northern Lights with oil pastels; made constellation telescopes, studied constellations in a blow-up planetarium, and played games like Meteor Math.

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Kids Meet Sled Dogs, Cheer on Mushers

Kentwood students pet a Siberian husky Photos from School News Network

by Erin Albanese, School News Network at Kent ISD

Kentwood Public Schools, MI — Pulled by lead dog Storm and a team of six other Siberian Huskies, Endeavor Elementary second grader Malachi Geemes rode atop a dog sled and whizzed by his classmates.

“Fun and fast,” was how Malachi described his turn as a musher.

On a sunny day with snow piled all around, students met the friendly dogs brought to visit by Dan Anderson, owner of Tun-Dra Kennels, in Nunica.

Anderson helped bring the students’ study of the famous 1,000-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to life. The annual race extends from Anchorage to Nome, AK, with mushers often competing in far below zero temperatures.

“By having this firsthand experience, something abstract comes to life for the students,” said Principal Matthew Quada.

Anderson, once a competitive musher, quit racing 20 years ago. He said he now visits many schools to help students develop an appreciation of the great outdoors.

A team of huskies wait outside school for students

The cool thing about the race, he said, is that it can be tied to every subject. It can be used in teaching mapping, weather, climate measuring, researching and much more.

Students pet the dogs, Storm, King, Sable, Sansa, Sandor, Kitna and Khalissi and learned about sled dog equipment, tools used on the course, and the Iditarod Trail Song by Alaska’s Hobo Jim.

“I did, I did, I did the Iditarod Trail,” they sang.

For “March is Reading Month”, classes competed to read the most minutes, while keeping track of the Iditarod race taking place in Alaska. Each class was assigned a different musher to cheer on, and maps and other graphics hung in the hallways with information about Alaska and the race. For every 500 or 1,000 minutes read, depending on grade level, classes earned a paper dog to hang on the wall, vying for a grand prize.

A Siberian husky waits to meet Endeavor Elementary School students.

Fourth grade teacher Sue Stapleton was instrumental in bringing Anderson and the sled dogs to visit.

Anderson’s father Deane Cheadle co-founded the Iditarod race in 1973 .The Iditarod Trail itself, now a National Historic Trail, had its beginnings as a mail and supply route. It was used in 1925 for sled dogs to deliver life-saving serum during a diphtheria epidemic in Nome.

Second grader William Conley tries on musher gear

As students pet the huskies, paraprofessional Linda Radermacher, who helped plan the Iditarod theme, said the dogs’ visit was a great springboard for a month devoted to a competition involving reading.

“This kind of opportunity is a once in a lifetime thing. They will always remember this,” she said.