Fox Valley JASON Project Newsletter Vol.1 No. 1 Contents: Announcements Libraries Ideas Cable Broadcast Update Addresses Calendar Recipes Wanted Hints from the JASON Teachers' Net On-Line Bird Study Sturgeon ANNOUNCEMENTS We are missing the addresses of three teachers from the workshop. We are thus unable to send them newsletters, updates or schedule a teleconference time. If you know Barb Fisher, Jenny Gollnick or James VanDaalwyk, please let them know. The passports are getting printed. If you have yet to let us know how many passports you need for your students, please let Jennifer know. In fact, we need to know about your cable television or video preference for those wishing to participate in the classroom network broadcast, your preferred dates and the number of students for telepresence. Please send this to Jennifer Santeler, Lawrence University, Wilson House, P.O.Box 599, Appleton 54912-0599, fax 414-832-6782. If you have any logistics questions, please contact Jennifer at the above address or email her at santeler@fox.tds.net If you have any curriculum or resource questions, or if you have anything to submit to the newsletter, please contact Cindy Duckert at 414-722-4046 or duckert@focol.org. For all other questions, contact Bart DeStasio at Lawrence University. LIBRARIES Appleton Public Libary - Children's Department: The JASON collection is out in the Appleton Public Library's Children's Department along the north wall and visible from the Children's Department Reference desk. This mixture of photographic and technical books is at various levels of understanding. Using the Appleton Public Library seemed the best compromise in making the collection readily available. If you are not an Appleton resident, you can show your local public library card at the check-out desk and get an Appleton card. If Appleton is too far for convenient library visits, these items will be available interlibrary loan. However, that also means the teachers in the rest of the state will also be able to request these items by interlibrary loan. Get your reserves in early! Most of the materials were purchased from descriptions. Elves and Stories of Trolls and Elemental Beings is one which requires a bit of warning. Many of the stories are R rated. The story of Gilitrutt is worth reading aloud to your class. This version of Rumpelstiltskin has some nice variations that reflect the harshness of the Icelandic culture. Lawrence University: Some of the materials we collected we expect to use over many years. Others are of a format not easy for the Appleton Public Library to handle. These are available through a special Lawrence University Library Reserve collection. Three changes are that Lawrence, not Appleton Public Library has the Icelandic Review back issue, the Eye on Iceland newsletter and the pamphlet Why Always -son and -dottir? The Reserve Collection is just north of the check-out desk and the JASON materials are on the very first shelf. You will be receiving a special reserve card which will allow a 3 day check-out with another 3 day extension (you can phone it in to Cindy Patterson.) They are aware not to be overly concerned about overdue items - within reason. However, the student staff at the library may not always know about the JASON materials and use. IDEAS (from participants at the December Teacher Workshop) For coring snow if the snow is not too deep, use a 2 liter soda bottle instead of pvc pipe - it's cheap and you can see layers of the various snowfalls. If you use the preserving snowflakes activity from the workshop - consider using a large sheet of acetate rather than slide-sized pieces. Then mount them in the window of your classroom or on a bulletin board against a contrasting background. Good readable Native American myths are to be found in Earth Maker Tales by Gretchen Will Mayo. A more effective and safer adhesive than glue guns is Craftsman's Goop found in crafting stores. Current events can be easily involved - there have been many mentions of Wisconsin's timber wolves, decreases in the numbers of birds seen at feeders, and migrating bison in and out of Yellowstone in local newspapers since December. Alex Martin (aha, someone we can give credit to!) plans to have his class compare the natural reestablishment of the wolf in Wisconsin with the reintroduction in Yellowstone. He also finds that the aftermath of forest fires such as those in Wisconsin (think Peshtigo!) or ellowstone contrast nicely with the spread of life after a volcanic eruption. CABLE BROADCAST UPDATE I have included some information from JASON headquarters about the first cable broadcast. Although we delayed the newsletter, new date has not been scheduled yet. We expect to receive a video of the materials from this and future broadcasts, and will transmit them locally at later dates. For those who do not receive cable, we will circulate several copies. From: Todd Viola Here's a story from CNN Interactive which explains the recent failure of Telstar 401, the satellite which was scheduled to carry the JASON Classroom Network programs. More is available at http://www.cnn.com under "Sci-Tech." We are still working reschedule the missed Classroom Network broadcast. I'll post an updated schedule when it is available. January 20, 1996. Web posted at: 11:45 p.m. EST (CNN) -- NASA scientists say a wave of solar radiation called a Coronal Mass Ejection may have knocked out the Telstar 401 communications satellite last week. The AT&T satellite went dark on Saturday, January 11, leaving television networks ABC, FOX and PBS scrambling to find other ways to distribute their broadcasts. NASA now says other satellites, including military satellites transmitting classified data, may have been disrupted as well. The satellite failures coincided with a strong explosion of hydrogen gas from the sun, which sent a wave of solar radiation washing toward Earth. When radiation hits satellites in orbit, delicate micro-electronics aboard can be damaged, interrupting satellite service, and in some cases, permanently disabling the satellite. Such solar flares are not unusual. Similar solar storms have occurred in the past, disrupting communication services and electrical power transmissions on Earth. ADDRESSES If you know a source, especially those with incredibly good deals, please share it. These are products or sources mentioned at the Workshop. * Presto Products Retail Outlet, 1831 W. Winnebago, Appleton 54914 738-1440 great deals on plastic bags by the case lot, approx. $6 for 100 ziplock * Dover Nature Catalog, 31 East 2nd Street, Mineola, NY 11501 inexpensive books on mythology, birds, tracks, ask for the Social Science, Science and Mathematics catalogs * Wild Bird Center, 611 W. Northland, Appleton If you didn't get a chance to sign up for their free newsletter at the workshop, you can still get it by calling 830-9475 and telling them you're a JASON teacher. CALENDAR Saturday February 8 to Sunday, February 23 - Sturgeon season Sunday, February 16, 1-4 p.m. Fifth Annual Bird Expo Gordon Bubolz Nature Preserve "The fun and interesting hobby of bird watching takes center stage at the annual 'Bird Expo.' Businesses specializing in bird related items will have displays set up. Area nature centers, bird clubs, and state-wide organizations will also be showing off their birding activities." RECIPES Christmas Pepper Cookies (Piparkokur) from the Workshop 3 1/3 c. flour 3 1/3 c. brown sugar 1 c. margarine 2 eggs 5 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. ginger 1 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 tsp. cloves 1/2 tsp. white pepper 1/2 tsp. paprika Chop all the ingredients together directly on the baking table. Work the dough together. Divide the dough into 2-3 rolls and keep in a cool place for approx. 2 hours. Cut the rolls into fairly thin slices and place them onto greased baking sheets. Bake 350 degrees F. WANTED We want artwork, ideas, reviews of materials and good web sites> We could use ideas for a newsletter logo. What's going on in your classroom? What questions have you or your class come up with? And if you know the answer to any of these questions, please let Cindy know. (722-4046 or duckert@focol.org) Glennie Whitcomb of Chilton wants to know if anyone has found ANY myths about the Northern lights? Jim Klinkert of Appleton wonders how are teachers whose schools have no bird-friendly areas doing their bird studies? Where are you placing feeders, are you relying on students' home feeders or students and parents reporting from other off-school sites? HINTS FROM THE JASON TEACHER NET Iceland From: Holly Garrett (ab994@freenet.hamilton.on.ca) [Holly has been involved as a JASON teacher for many years, is from Iceland and is a consultant on the Icelandic portions of this year's curriculum.] Subject: History of Iceland http://islandia.nomius.com/history/ Teachers: One of the hits on this page is a guide to the Icelandic language which prints out a list of English words and their translation. On my printer the Icelandic words came out correctly, unlike page 66 in the curriculum which has all the correct letters in the General Pronunciation guide but doesn't have them or the accents on the rest of the page. From: Jeanette Hayward, A.T. Mahan High School, PSC 1003 Box 52, FPO AE 09728-0352 (jeanette@ice.is) Hello, I have finally had an opportunity to sign on. As Media Specialist at A.T. Mahan High School located on the NATO Base at Keflavik, Iceland, I welcome any questions you might have about Iceland. No--I am sure that I cannot answer them all, but I will do my best to find out an answer to your query. I look forward to hearing from you. School e-mail: vikings@ice.is or vikings_ii@ice.is Web Page: www.ice.is/vikings/index.htm (incomplete but looking better all the time) ON-LINE BIRD STUDY mellie lewis (mlewis@umd5.umd.edu) Subject: Correlation Bird Study Week 1 Would you like to be involved in the first ever JASON Online Bird Study? We are wondering if we all see the same kinds of birds. We are also trying to find out if there is a correlation between latitude and the number and kinds of birds seen. Interested? Here's what you have to do. First, decide how often you will monitor bird populations in your area. We hope you will decide to do this once a week, but once every other week or once a month would be okay. Second, decide where you will monitor the birds. This could be in your backyard, at your feeder, at a park, or even at your school. Two of us will monitor the birds at home. Our E. T. Class will monitor the birds at school every other week when Mrs. Lewis is on playground duty. We hope you will join us. Please follow this template when you are submitting your data. Please put Correlation Bird Study as the subject and post your data to the JASON Student Bulletin Board and send a copy to us at mlewis@umd5.umd.edu Your school name Your city Your latitude Your longitude Date - the date you made your observation, or the week ending your observations. Kind and number of birds you observed STURGEON From the DNR's WISCONSIN OUTDOORS AND CONSERVATION NEWS on January 22, 1997: NEW LAKE WINNEBAGO SPEARING SEASON RULES AIMED AT PROTECTING STURGEON OSHKOSH, Wis. -- The 1997 sturgeon spearing season on Lake Winnebago will run 16 days from February 8 through the 23, with a number of new spearing rules in effect to help protect this unique fish species. The new rules were developed by the Winnebago Citizens Sturgeon Advisory Committee working with Department of Natural Resources fisheries and law enforcement staff, explains Ron Bruch, DNR Winnebago System sturgeon biologist in Oshkosh. In addition to the reduction in the season length to 16 days (an interim season format for Lake Winnebago until the final system is developed), the new rules include: * A reduction of the minimum size limit from 45 to 36 inches. This is intended to alleviate harvest pressure on the biggest fish, which are primarily female spawners. * Requiring a successful spearer to accompany their fish to a registration station, and to stay within a specific road boundary around the lake until their fish is registered. All spearers must have a $10 sturgeon spearing license and be at least 14 years of age. Spearers 14 and 15 years old are not required to have a hook and line fishing license in order to obtain a spearing license, but everyone else must have a current fishing license along with a sturgeon spearing license. The license must be carried by the person at all times while fishing for sturgeon by means of a spear. Sturgeon spearing licenses may not be purchased after the season opens. The sturgeon tag furnished with each license must immediately be validated and attached to the tail of the fish after it is speared. On the same day a sturgeon is speared, it must be registered at an official DNR registration station (see attached list and map) by no later than 6 p.m. at the station. At the registration station a registration tag will be attached to the fish and both that tag and the fisherman's own sturgeon tag shall remain attached until the fish is consumed. The waters open to spearing contain a number of sturgeon that have DNR metal tags, and some radio tags, affixed to their dorsal fins (fin on the back). Anyone spearing a tagged fish should bring it to the attention of the registration station. The organization "Sturgeon for Tomorrow" is offering a reward of $10 for every fish that is registered that has a DNR tag (metal or radio), as the information gathered from these tags is important in the management of the sturgeon population in the Lake Winnebago System. To curb illegal activity, Conservation Wardens will be checking for overnight lines left fishing under spearing shanties, and will be setting up occasional check point stops at lake access roads to ensure spearers are complying with tagging and registration procedures. Record harvests in 1990 and 1995 lead DNR fisheries and law enforcement staff to take a closer look at harvest rates and the stability of the sturgeon population. The DNR initiated a process in 1996 involving the public to develop a "safe harvest system" that will ensures the long-term protection of the lake's sturgeon population. The 1997 season marks the 66th consecutive annual spearing season held on Lake Winnebago. Since 1990, spearers have harvested an average of 1,481 sturgeon each year with recent record highs of 2,908 in 1990, 1,643 in 1993, and 3,173 in 1995. In 1996, spearers registered 766 fish during the shortened nine day season on Lake Winnebago; and 455 sturgeon were registered during the two-day upriver lakes season in 1996, which is held once every 5 years. Sturgeon harvested in 1996 from both waters averaged 56 inches in length and 40 pounds in weight. The largest fish harvested in 1996 was a 72 inch, 109 pound fish taken from Lake Poygan by Lawrence Ziegelbauer of Chilton, Wis. The DNR will also once again have its Sturgeon Season Hotline at the Oshkosh Office (414) 424-4404 to provide timely information on the sturgeon harvest, water clarity, lake conditions, etc. The information on the taped message will begin before the season on Monday February 3, and will be updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday late afternoon during the spearing season. FOR MORE INFORMATION : Ron Bruch (414) 424-3059 or Dennis Jones, Oshkosh Area Warden Supervisor - (414) 424-3055 --- Cindy Lee Duckert, duckert@focol.org