Fifth grade students from A-P-W Middle School stepped away from their classrooms for a day to participate in the 2009 Conservation Field Day at Selkirk Shores State Park. Developed and sponsored by Oswego County’s Soil and Water Conservation District as a way to introduce students to a variety of environmentally relevant topics and help develop an understanding and appreciation for natural resources, the fifth graders spent the day learning from and participating in discussions and hands-on activities with specialists from a variety of backgrounds.
Highlights from the day’s activities included a presentation about wildland fire safety, prevention and suppression by NYS Department of Environmental Conservation Forest Ranger Scott Jackson. The students learned helpful hints and key safety measures to keep in mind when having a campfire and also how Forest Rangers fight wild fires and a discussion about the equipment that is contained in a Ranger’s 30-plus pound survival and safety backpack.

Learning and understanding nutrient cycling in today’s ecosystem was also one of the favorite stations amongst the A-P-W students. Botanist Joseph McMullen asked the students to pull a single strand of hair from their heads and drop it on the ground and then walked the students through understanding how the nutrients from that piece of hair could end up in a piece of fruit that is grown in Florida and then purchased by their mom or dad at a local grocery market.

Another favorite was a station about the dwellings and habitats of animals that can be found in wetlands, woodlands, dunes, on the beach or in aquatic settings. From identify the animal described in their mystery card to understanding and replicating the animals’ habitat and presenting their finished project to their peers, volunteers from the NY Sea Grant and Steward Program helped the students became better acquainted with the world of nature that surrounds them

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BLASTOFF! Manning the launch pad controls for a successful launch of his rocket is Granby Elementary School Sixth Grader Benjamin Hughes and his teacher Karen Murdoch. Hughes and his classmates constructed model rockets as part of their science curriculum to reinforce concepts like forces in motion, aerodynamics, and physics. BLASTOFF! Manning the launch pad controls for a successful launch of his rocket is Granby Elementary School Sixth Grader Benjamin Hughes and his teacher Karen Murdoch. Hughes and his classmates constructed model rockets as part of their science curriculum to reinforce concepts like forces in motion, aerodynamics, and physics. 

It’s not often that a classroom project draws a large crowd of spectators, but that is what happened last week at Granby Elementary School as sixth graders launched their model rockets. Amidst clear skies all that could be heard echoing throughout the playground at the school was parents, community members and fellow students conducting an official NASA-like countdown for each student: five… four… three… two… one… BLASTOFF!

The three sixth grade classes participating in the launch built their rockets over the period of a few weeks using kits from the OCM BOCES Science Center. Once constructed, the students were given the opportunity to personalize their rocket. From paint to stickers, sports themes to patriotic in nature each rocket was artfully and scientifically prepared for the launch.
On launch day each student individually launched his/her rocket using a launch pad and battery controlled system that was included in the kits. As each student fired their rocket into the sky fellow classmates calculated the rocket’s distance and trajectory. Also occurring at the same time and tied to the launch project was an English Language Arts (ELA) piece. Students, acting as journalists, interviewed spectators, asking about the sights, sounds and smells associated with a rocket launch along with the spectators’ thoughts and opinions about the rocket projects. Once back in the classroom, the 6th graders prepared newspaper articles about their findings and interviews.

An annual event at Granby Elementary School, the rocket projects are closely tied to the 6th grade curriculum of studying forces in motion and Newton’s laws and reinforcing basic scientific concepts in electricity, aerodynamics, and physic

OSWEGO, NY – A youth-focused initiative continues to brighten the West Linear Park in the Port City.

The design concept and implementation of a series of murals is directed by local young people with the support of an adult committee.

It is a community collaborative comprised of Oswego youth, city officials, teachers and students of the Oswego High School, Oswego State student teachers, Oswego businesses and artists, as well as Oswego County Opportunities Youth Services Street Outreach and the Oswego
City-County Youth Bureau.

Nicholas Cocks and Hannah West are two of the young artists who created the mural designs and are bringing them to life on the concrete walls.

The other two youth artists are Christine Pingry and Melissa Guppy.

“We came up with the ideas for the murals,” Nicholas said.

“Our ideas had to be OK’d by the Common Council,” Hannah explained.

Once they submitted their initial drawings, everyone involved offered critiques, Nicholas pointed out.

Hannah’s block was a depiction of music and Nicholas was using a playing card to show the duality of man.

Hannah is in studio art and Nicholas “is just talented on many levels.”

“I play a lot of music, but I can’t listen to music without seeing pictures in my head,” he said. “So, I just kind of get my ideas for art through listening to music.”

“They have only had one good work day, and that was a couple of weeks ago. Since then it has rained on the days that we planned to work,” explained Dawn Metott, youth activities coordinator with the Youth Bureau.

Hannah and Nicholas braved the cold temperatures to get a little bit more done last week.

They have returned this week to hopefully wrap up the painting in the warmer weather.

“We’re trying to finish up some more this week,” Metott said. “We should be just about ready to seal at least two of the four murals.”

“The first time we came here we were in shorts,” Hannah said recently. “Now, we’re trying to paint in coats and mittens.”

“It’s exterior, latex (paint). But I think it’s supposed to be applied at 50 degrees or above,” Metott said.

Sponsors for the project are the city of Oswego, Oswego City-County Youth Bureau, Oswego County Opportunities, Oswego Art Collaborative, and Oswego YMCA.

The school district did the first mural. And, the mayor thought it would be a good idea to have smaller artworks created along the retaining wall below it, Metott explained.

The idea was to cover up the graffiti in the area and offer an artistic outlet for talented area youth.

“We will continue to do as much as we have young people for and support for,” Metott said.

The committee members will continue to work on the project over the winter, planning and suggesting new artworks, seeking funds – to maintain the interest level among the youngsters, she added.

“That way we can also present our ideas to the council for approval over the winter, so we can get right started in the spring,” she said.

There are some images that have been approved by the city and will be ready to go next year.

“I have another one,” Hannah said. “But we won’t get to that one until the spring.”

Committee members involved in this round of murals are Joe Rial, local artist/mentor; John Belt, outreach specialist with OCO Youth Services; Kathleen Knopp, prevention and early intervention program manager, OCO Youth Services; Linda Goodness, assistant director of the city’s Community Development Office; and Metott.

Metott said she’d like to thank the committee members for volunteering their time and artistic talents, the Common Council and the mayor for seeing the value in supporting youth in the community, all of the sponsors for their donations, and, the parents/ family members who have helped out so much.

SUNY Oswego students at all levels participated in the graffiti clean up for “Community involvement Day” late last month.

The event was coordinated by Alyssa Amyotte, coordinator of Service Learning and Community Service at the campus.

They worked in conjunction with Mike Smith, Oswego DPW commissioner, to complete the cleanup and preparing the walls for the mural project.

For additional information or to participate, contact Metott at the Oswego
City-County Youth Bureau, phone 349-3575.