Press Release
Mrs. Beckett’s Grade 4 class at Robert Moore School snowshoed through the mixed forest on the Fort Frances Sportsmen’s Club property last month.
This is just one of the classes which participated in outdoor education during February.
Several topics on their course of studies were covered. The fourth-graders, for instance, learned about some wildlife found in this habitat.
Mrs. Donald’s Grade 5 class at Robert Moore experienced the biodiversity of the area while Mrs. Fryer’s Grade 6 class were exposed to identification of animal tracks and learned about relationships between living things.
Mrs. Bonner-Vicker’s Grade 8s, meanwhile, noted how some animals survive in winter.
They also built quinzhees to illustrate the insulating properties of snow.
Other incidental knowledge was acquired as these classes snowshoed along the trails.
The Fort Frances Sportsmen’s Club hopes, by sponsoring field trips, that pupils will become more aware of the environment—and help protect it.
The following are the thoughts of a pupil in Mrs. Beckett’s class, who wrote about the Grade 4 hike:
We had an awesome day. We had snowshoeing with all the amazing things we saw, smelled, touched, heard, and tasted.
I’ll start with all the thinigs I saw, such as tons and tons of tracks left by dogs, mice, deer, wolves, foxes, and hares.
There also were lots of mice holes in the snow.
There was lots of snow, especially at our campsite. It was covered with white, crunchy snow.
Now I will tell you about all the things I smelled and touched. First, it was the green pine needles.
I also smelled the crackling, smoky fire, then the burning hotdogs and the flaming marshmallows.
I touched the sizzling hotdogs and the black, sticky marshmallows.
Thirdly, I heard thousands of noises, like birds chirping, snowshoes clacking, my classmates talking, and Mr. Miller telling us facts.
I also heard the fire crackling and the hotdogs sizzling.
The things I tasted? Well, I ate the roasted, burnt hotdogs and the sticky marshmallows.
