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East Ridge Students Release 180 Trout into DEP-Approved Stream

Friday the thirteenth proved to be a lucky day for the trout that ERMS students had been caring for over the past seven months.

teacher Stephanie Ghannam’s four sixth grade science classes came together to enjoy a day of nature walks, specimen identification and barbequed food.

Fish was not on the menu. 

Last Friday, the students headed to Bennett Memorial Park in Bethel, where they and their parents and teachers anticipated a long-awaited release of  

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Other teachers in attendance included English teacher Cheryl Lewis, social studies teacher Stephen Ruland and math teacher Chad Stewart. Lisa Perry, one of ERMS’s guidance counselors also came to see the fish's release into the Connecticut wild.

“We are lucky that our children get to do this,” parent Sue Fernandez stated.

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“My favorite thing about the trout was feeding them,” her daughter, Anna Fernandez said.

Fernandez’s long-time friend, John Thrasher was by her side for the release.

“I liked watching the trout grow everyday,” he stated. “The first month they were just eggs, and then they hatched.”

Last year students cared for 110 trout -- this year, students were able to raise 180. During the students’ time with the trout, they kept a journal of their experiences with the fish. Writing was incorporated into the lab assignment in order to expand the learning experience. Questions regarding the habitat, behavior, and lifecycle of the trout were included in the journals. Observations and thoughts were recorded and referred back to on the day of the release.

“We did daily observations of how they were swimming and how they looked each week,” student Nichole Hamilton explained.

“I liked getting to raise the trout,” student, Emily Hawker said. “Watching them grow from little eggs to fish was fun.”

Hawker who named her fish “Larry,” learned that the trout start as eggs, hatch with a yolk sack and lose the yolk sack as they become larger.

“I am excited to release them,” she stated.

The students had been caring for the fish since November, according to Ghannam. In that time, students learned a lot about care, responsibility, and survival.

“We learned that the trout need to live in cold water or they could die,” student, Zack James stated.

His friend, Jordan Gilbert piped in, explaining the risks of caring for trout.

“I learned that you really need to take responsibility for the trout, because they are really sensitive to a lot of things,” James said. “We each had jobs for the trout, and we worked in teams.”

Since students were releasing the fish they had cared for over the past seven months, Ghannam wanted the learning to immediately continue, so she set up lab activities to keep the students occupied and thinking.

Two lab stations were set up for students to perform stream sampling. Each student received a packet to complete, as well as a comparison manual for identification purposes. Water chemistry and pH levels were tested.

“We have to find out if the habitat is suitable for the trout,” student Grace Goodwin stated.

The students had plenty of in-class practice. They were familiar with the color cards used to test pH levels and were comfortable testing temperature and ammonia in test tubes.

“Seven is the normal pH for water,” student Jordan Gilbert explained. “Nine means that they are probably using fertilizer around here,” he added.

Parent Avery Costigan couldn’t be more pleased with the field trip. She feels that the school makes a concerted effort to socialize the children in an educational fashion. Costigan has three children at East Ridge, one of whom attended the event.

“I think it’s great to get the kids out of the classroom,” she said. “It’s good to see them actually explore the environment they are taught about.”

As student sifted through the water samples they shouted out their findings. Among the discovered specimens, tadpoles, scud (sea swimmers), and crane flies were found. Students also looked for flatworms, aquatic worms, leeches, aquatic sowbugs, and black flies.

Students enjoyed the sun and fun and were happy to introduce their freshwater friends to a natural environment. The level of knowledge gained from the project was clear, and parents were able to see the hard work that East Ridge teachers put into their students’ learning experience.

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