Jumping Clay

Grades: K-2

Time: 3:25 pm — 4:25 pm Tuesday Jan 16, 23, 30 Feb 6, 3, 27 (No class 2/20)

Explore the Arctic and Antarctic in this creative hands-on workshop! Each student will create their own 3-D Polar display including the landscape and animals such as polar bears, penguins and whales while learning about basic shapes and color mixing. Jumping Clay is an air-drying polymer clay that is 100% safe and non-toxic and completely mess free! Beginners welcome! All materials included. Cost: $90

Vacation Destination

The ERfC Vacation Destination Center is located at Enfield Street school,1318 Enfeild Street. Vacation Destination is open from 7:00 am — 6:00 pm on the following days this school year:

December 26-29, 2020

February 20, 2021

April 9-13, 2021

June 25-29, 2021

A variety of theme-based activities are provided throughout the day and include enrichment and recreational activities such as sewing, sports & games, arts & crafts and science activities. Daily fee: $ 45

ERfC Counselors in Trainning Team for High School Students

Students in grades 9-12 who are looking to develop leadership skills are encouraged to join the ERfC CIT Team. High school students will gain experience working with children in different age groups, discover new strengths, and learn team-building skills. Training is provided and summer opportunities will be available. Contact Melissa Shea atmshea@erfc.us.

Tonight in Thompsonville

Located at St. Patrick’s Hall, 64 Pearl Street, Enfield Join us for a free family dinner and a variety of family fun activities. In addition to a family dinner, evenings include hands-on educational activities designed for parents and children to enjoy together. Community providers attend to share information about health, nutrition, physical activity,education, and other services such as SNAP, Care 4 Kids, early childhood programs and out-of-school time activities.

Researchers in the field often use camera traps to remotely photograph the lives of animals. These stationary cameras have a sensor that is triggered(启动，引发) by heat or movement, letting researchers monitor animals without disturbing them.

The traps can be used for months at a time, sometimes catching hundreds of thousands of images. But these images, and the valuable information they reveal, typically just sit on researchers’ hard drives, unavailable to anyone else, according to Jorge Ahumada, a scientist at environmental nonprofit Conservation International. So he launched Wildlife Insights, an online platform where researchers could share their photos. His idea is to encourage teamwork between biologists and wildlife conservation organizations, and bring camera trap footage(片断) to the fore of conservation efforts.

The site uses Artificial Intelligence designed by Google to overcome a key problem with these kinds of photos: camera traps produce an astronomical number of images to manually analyze, says Ahumada, many of which are blank images where the camera was triggered by its surroundings and not by wildlife. Manually sorting and deleting these photos is a laborious task.

To get around that, after someone uploads footage to the Wildlife Insights database, its AI checks if the image was taken from a camera trap and automatically removes all blank images. If there is an animal in the image, the AI will identify the species.

As well as collecting and reviewing the photos, the platform will provide analytics that could reveal trends in species’ population for different projects. That information could help researchers understand whether a species is increasing its range or if its numbers are dwindling.

While open access is key, the platform has taken steps to make sure this information doesn’t get into the wrong hands. “You will have to ask Wildlife Insights for permission to get the locations of the images,” says Ahumada. “We will manage this process carefully because we know that poachers(偷猎者) could use this information to find endangered species.”

EcoTreasures, a young tour company based in Sydney, have involved a new plan in their Manly Coastal Walks to remove marine debris from Penguin habitats.

The tour company specializes in Ecotourism experiences on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and within Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, New South Wales. Ecotreasures have been lucky to host a range of international study tour students visiting Sydney this winter, who have been participating in the plan. The students arrive in Australia for short stays of generally 7—14 days, which consist of English lessons and Australia tour experiences. EcoTreasures owner, Damien McClellan, has been happy to host the students on his tours and to involve a new element in the half-day adventure, with a purpose to clean up marine debris that accumulates in the natural environment known to be the habitat for little penguins.

McClellan has been very proud to run these tours, which highlight a range of environmental awareness messages, and mentions, “when we visit the little penguin habitat at Collins Beach in Sydney Harbour National Park we conduct a beach clean-up. The students always put in 110% and we remove as much as marine debris from the catchment(积水处) as possible. We are all giving back to the location we are appreciating because of its natural beauty, and I’m proud of all these international guests caring for Australia’s environment.”

The tours offer a great display of Sydney’s natural setting right on the city’s door step. Mr. McClellan also adds, “The students and teachers really enjoy their experience on the walk around Manly. We visit the beach, Sydney Harbour National Park, Cabbage tree Aquatic reserve and Manly suburbs all in a half day adventure. We always keep the walk fun and interesting by identifying native plants & searching for Whales from land with binoculars and other wildlife along the way.”

EcoTreasures was founded in 2010 by Damien McClellan, and the business is looking forward to working with more partners in the future, developing new ecotourism plans for a range of target markets, and keeping it fun is part of the plan. EcoTreasures is Advanced Ecotourism and ROC certified.

I’ve been teaching college for many years, long enough to note the steady relaxation of attention in matters of student dress. I’ve long been used to the torn jeans, shorts in the dead of the Maine winter, and ball caps worn backward. Still, I took note recently when one of my students showed up in sleep bottoms. I’m familiar with the school of thought that says how students dress is irrelevant, so long as they’re learning. But I also wonder about the wisdom of blurring(模糊) the line between bed and desk.

I smile when I think back on the occasions that my parents associated us with needing to look tidy and neat. Once, when I was 14 and my brother 12, my father announced that he was taking us into Manhattan (just a subway ride away) to see the film “2001: A Space Odyssey.” My brother and I were excited by the proposal, but were momentarily upset when my father directed us to put on our best clothes, including jackets and ties. “But why?” I begged, not wanting to change out of my comfortable jeans, T-shirt, and sneakers.

“Because,” he said, “we’re going to New York.”

I can still see the stars in his eyes as he said these words.

So yes, I’m all for freedom of choice in matters of dress, and yes, I do want my students to be comfortable. But I also want to pay my respects to those students who believe that appearance counts.

I think of the woman – a somewhat older student—I had in class a few years ago. She was someone to whom science did not come easily: She worked hard for respectable grades on every assignment. But I was struck by how tastefully she dressed, day after day. When the course ended, I took a moment to mention this to her. “You always looked so nice,” I remarked. “As if you were ready to take on the world.

She answered, as if it were obvious, “I’ve waited 12 years to return to school, and I dress up to remind myself to be serious about it.”

And, I might add, she seemed perfectly comfortable to me.