TIC Week Three

We have just completed the third week of TIC. After making sure all was "normal", we did the water tests. All seems to be normal and the fries are doing well. We did not have to take out any mortalities. So far TIC has been very interesting and it has been a great learning experience. We hope to have more time to work on TIC in the future.


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Location:TEMS

The Tremendous Trout

This week the eggs have hatched and now are in their second stage of life, known as fry. The fry are about the size of the diameter of a quarter and are black in color. Every egg hatched into a fry. Since the beginning of the week, there have been no mortalities.

Julia Weiss Ryan Bailey

Tic is intriguing

Shawn and I just completed the first week of tic.
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Location:TEMS

Overall Reflection on TIC

The day has come to bid our farewell to the brook trout. Our experience with them has been nothing but educational and we are sad to see that our time with them has come to an end. The TIC program teaches a sense of responsibility as well as how to care for a living animal.
This past Saturday, two anonymous students spent their time having fun with their 7th grade English teacher releasing as well as counting the brook trout we have raised inside of our classroom. They tallied a total of 124 surviving fish. When they arrived, they found a bucket full of the lively fish, who seemed to be as excited as they were. They chose to use either a plastic cup or a small net to help them out of the bucket. Next, the students pulled on their rain boots and braved the cold water as they scooped up two or three of the fish, counted them, and said goodbye as they watched them swim away. This went on for about ten minutes until they were down to the last few fish. These last ones seemed hard to catch and posed as a fun challenge, but the students said that "They felt a sense of relief as well as satisfaction that these trout are finally home."
The connection with the surroundings when the brook trout were released was one of a kind. The satisfaction they felt was one that only came with hard work and hours of dedication. And when the students finally packed up their bags and drove off in their car, only one question lingered in their minds "What next?"



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Location:East Branch of the Brandywine River

Farewell

Trout are now fingerlings and are a always swimming around and active. Their time with us is soon coming to an end, though. Sometime around the end of the month, they'll be released into Kerr Park in Downingtown on April 27th at 10am. We've thoroughly enjoyed our time with the trout, and are sad that we will soon have to see them go. We're enjoying the last week and a half that we have left with them.


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Release Day is Nearing

As we get deeper into April, we get closer to the realization that soon the trout will be departing. It has been a fun first year with the Trout in the Classroom program and has taught me a few lessons.
For starters, it's taught me to have patience and trust the program. For the first month, I arrived at school each morning with a shudder,fearing a green oozing tank full of dead eggs. To my relief, each day I was greeted with a living tank and (generally speaking) healthy water conditions.
I've also learned to delegate more responsibility. Now that I feel comfortable with the TIC calendar, I'll feel more confident in sharing responsibilities earlier with students. Throughout the year I've been immensely impressed with the good-hearted responsibility of students who took the program and ran with it.
It will be rewarding to come full circle with the trout and release them into the stream in Downingtown. We currently plan to release them on Saturday, April 26th in the morning.
-Mr. D

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Update April 9

The trout are getting bigger and bigger everyday! Most of the fish are swimming near the surface now. Daily water quality tests show us that the water is in perfect condition for the fish. The water is at 50 degrees Fahrenheit. This is the ideal temperature for a fry. We hope to see all of the fish staying healthy and continue to grow!
~ Noëlle S. and Meredith M.




Location:T/E MiddleSchool


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