Students who want a comfortable place to sit, read, think, learn, work, chat quietly, or do homework (or all of those things) can visit the newly installed Book Nooks at Mahopac High School.

Located in cozy corners throughout the school, the nooks were installed in response to students' request to have a middle ground between the cafeteria, which can be loud; and the quiet, more serious tone of the school's library.  

The nooks consist of clusters of comfortable furniture that have been placed in common areas around the building.  Said Principal Adam Pease, "We didn't have space for a student lounge, so we had to think creatively about what space we do have to meet this student need."  

Several of the book nook spaces are equipped with outlets, and one has a charging station, where students can charge their devices.  "It is our hope that these new nooks will support our mission to make sure that every student is socially, emotionally and academically successful," said Pease.

To promote literacy and the love of reading, free book exchanges accompany many of the book nooks. Inspired by the Little Free Libraries that are springing up in neighborhoods across the country, two of the nooks are equipped with small wooden bookcases with transparent doors.

April Ljumic, MHS House Principal and leader of the School Climate Committee, said, "Students are free to leave a book and/or take a book whenever they'd like. This free and easy access to books encourages a culture of literacy in our teens."

Donations of books are graciously accepted by Mahopac High School. The book exchanges are open, thanks to the generous donations of several MHS parents and the Mahopac Public Library.

Pease has good reason to be optimistic about this creative use of space. "These book nooks support many of our core values, including the education of the whole child, social and emotional health, literacy, and flexibility in learning. The schools of tomorrow will not look like the schools of today.  One of the biggest differences will be the flexibility in how we use space and time. We look forward to expanding and developing this idea."  

It was a beautiful day for a homecoming, as Fulmar Road Elementary School fifth graders released the trout they had raised from eggs into a stream at the sunlit Ward Pound Ridge Reservation recently. 

While it wasn't their original home, the trout had outgrown their tanks and will certainly be happier in their new environment, which is all part of the plan. 

Trout in the Classroom is an environmental education program in which students in grades k-12 raise trout from eggs, monitor tank water quality, and study stream habitat before releasing the trout into a state-approved stream. The program is part of an effort to conserve, protect and restore North America's cold-water fisheries and their watershed.

Fulmar Road fifth graders release the trout they have raised since they were eggs into a river at Ward Pound Ridge Reservation.

"Fulmar Road has participated in Trout in the Classroom for 17 years," said fifth grade teacher Tom Jordan. "For seven months each year, our students engage in raising, caring for and studying the trout from the time they are eggs, until we release them." In addition to the hands-on learning it provides, "the program really helps students to learn responsibility," Jordan said.

The students clearly were enthralled. "It is so cool that we have raised them from the time they were eggs, and now we get to let them go free!" said fifth grader Patrick.

Echoed fifth grader Jamie, "We have been taking care of them since October. I'm going to miss them!"

 

Students at Austin Road make "huskies" like the ones racing in the Iditarod.

Students at Austin Road Elementary School may not have had to race through blizzards and icy winds on sleds pulled by huskies like the mushers in the Iditarod Race do--but they were still competitive about the event. For the fourth year in a row, the students competed in "Iditaread," a national program that encourages children to compete with each other during the Iditarod race to see which grade can do the most after-school reading. 

The school's site-based team came up with the idea to do an Iditaread four years ago, according to Amy Morrison, building coordinator and Academic Intervention Services teacher at Austin Road. The program has taken off to the point where virtually every hallway and classroom was decorated with huskies, trails maps and photos of Alaska during the race, which began in March and lasts for weeks. Morrison, who has five huskies of her own, filled a giant display case in the hall of the school with her own considerable husky memorabilia, including a dogsled, snow shoes and many other artifacts. 

Students in Danielle Fearns' first-grade class made their own stuffed baby huskies in preparation for the Iditaread. They had been studying huskies in class. The students put a pound of rice to fill in the body, which is made from a sock.

"We stuffed them with a pound of rice because that's how much huskies weigh when they are born," said one first grader.

First grader Aidan added, "We learned that huskies are born blind, but that they can see later on." 

Added fellow student Joey, "We also learned that the baby huskies race to see who gets fed first." 

"There are lesson plans online, but our teachers really came up with their own great ideas based on what interests them and their students," said Morrison, who has been an avid fan of the Iditarod race for years.

	Amy Morrison in front of the display of Iditarod memorabilia at Austin Road.

Students grade-wide tracked their reading minutes, and their teachers added up the minutes per grade. Each grade had a representative husky icon on a large chart of the Iditarod racecourse, which was placed in the hallway of the school. Every three days, teachers moved the huskies for their grade forward the appropriate amount for the minutes read. The class that read the most at each grade level got ice cream. The winning grade got a party as a prize, all donated by the Austin Road PTO. 

In Lisa Coen's fifth grade class, students created an Iditarod "museum," which was open to kindergartners to visit and included interactive displays and a student-made yurt (circular tent).

"Iditaread is really designed to get students excited about reading and help them learn about a part of our American history," said Morrison. "Every year the students look forward to it more and more!" 

Roger Bell; Daniel Hunter; Carolann Lacoparra;