A10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2018
SCHOOLS
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
A barn owl, named Helen, sits with other educational birds
at a presentation from Blue Mountain Wildlife during Earth
Day activities at McNary Dam on Thursday in Umatilla.
Umatilla, Echo
students explore
nature in their
own back yards
By JAYATI
RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
Sometimes the best
way to learn about the
Earth is to just go out and
explore it. Umatilla stu-
dents spent Thursday
doing that on their annual
Earth Day field trip.
McNary Heights Elemen-
tary School students hiked
down to McNary Lock and
Dam for a day of lessons
and games about nature,
science, and conservation.
From high school students
and scientists, they learned
about how animals cam-
ouflage themselves from
predators, and how trees
help clean the air.
A group of Umatilla
High School students
taught about air, water and
land pollution.
“We want to show them
how hard it is to get rid
of pollution,” said sopho-
more Roberto Lugo.
The students had put
together some filters made
of plastic bottles, sand and
rocks. Elementary school-
ers could pour colored
water through the filters.
“It should come out
clear,” said UHS junior
Ruben Murguia.
Students also learned
about the role trees play,
contributing everything
from food to clean air.
Esmerelda Horn, who
works for the city of Uma-
tilla, shared with students
the city’s effort to become
a Tree City USA.
“We need a lot of trees
to help us filter our air,”
Horn said.
Horn told students that
at the first Arbor Day in
1872, in Nebraska, one
million trees were planted.
Students learned that
camouflage isn’t just
blending in with your
surroundings.
Pablo Ames, a UHS
junior, was dressed in
head-to-toe camouflage,
an example of “cryptic
coloration,” or coloring
that helps animals blend in
to avoid predators.
He also passed around
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Students unfurl a banner that was presented to them by Oregon Department of Education proclaiming McNary Heights
Elementary as a school wellness award winner Friday in Umatilla.
Room to run and food to eat
photos of a bright blue
frog on a brown branch.
“This is an example
of ‘warning coloration,’”
Ames told students. “The
animal is using the color
on its body as a warning
sign.”
Students visited sta-
tions run by Blue Moun-
tain Wildlife, which res-
cues and rehabilitates
injured birds of prey. They
toured the fish collection
station, and talked to U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers
park rangers.
Karen Sheller, a sec-
ond grade teacher who has
spearheaded planning of
the event for the past 10
years, said students always
enjoy the chance to get out
and interact with nature
in their own back yard.
“They learn about differ-
ent types of energy, about
macroinvertebrates, about
things related to biology,”
Sheller said.
A few miles down the
road, students from Echo
School learned about trees
at the city’s 29th Arbor
Day celebration. Echo is
a designated “Tree City
USA,” said city clerk
Peggy Haines.
There were several
Arbor Day stations scat-
tered throughout Echo.
Students heard from
Jimmye Turner, a fire pre-
vention specialist for the
Umatilla National Forest.
Turner drew pictures of dif-
ferent animals to show how
fires affect certain creatures,
and how they survive.
“A rabbit will burrow
under ground, and stay
there until the dirt cools
down,” he told the group
of students.
Turner said he works
with all age groups, teach-
ing older students about
fire in the ecosystem.
A group of third grad-
ers gathered in the park
behind city hall to do a
tree scavenger hunt. They
had to identify different
types of trees, and collect
bark rubbings using cray-
ons and paper, and draw
pictures of the trees on the
list.
McNary Heights
awarded for school
wellness programs
By JAYATI RAMAKRISHNAN
STAFF WRITER
Nearly every McNary
Heights Elementary stu-
dent shows up to school at 8
a.m., 40 minutes before class
begins.
They spend 15 minutes on
the playground, then gather
in their classroom to share
breakfast.
It’s part of the “Breakfast
after the Bell” program that
promotes physical activity
and a good meal to start the
day, and the Umatilla school
was recognized Friday with
the statewide School Well-
ness Award for its efforts.
Through federal grants,
child nutrition director Rikki-
lyn Larsen was able to secure
funding to provide free
breakfast for all students in
class, which always includes
a hot and cold option, as well
as fruit and milk.
“I like how we have
breakfast in the classroom
because the kids don’t feel
rushed,” said fifth-grader
Cira Larsen.
The idea, said McNary
Heights vice principal Nicole
Coyle, is for students to meet
before class, share a meal,
and get to talk with each
other before beginning the
day.
“While they’re eating,
they’ll spend time talking
about the weekly charac-
ter traits,” Coyle said. “This
week, we talked about what
it means to persevere.”
Fifth grade teacher Max-
imo Bedolla said he’s noticed
his students are more alert
after breakfast in class.
“It gets the kids more
awake and ready to go.
Sometimes we’ll have con-
versations about what’ll hap-
pen that day,” he said.
Angie Treadwell, the
nutrition education coordi-
nator for OSU Extension
Service, nominated McNary
Heights for the award. They
were one of only three
STAFF PHOTO BY E.J. HARRIS
Third-grader Gadiel Ferrer looks through his cereal choices
at a breakfast station Friday at McNary Heights Elementary
School in Umatilla.
schools in the state to receive
the honor from the Oregon
Department of Education.
The school received a $2,500
check that will go toward
wellness programs.
“Their participation rate
is in the high 90s,” Treadwell
said of the breakfast pro-
gram. “They make it easy for
everyone to participate.”
Treadwell noted the other
programs that Umatilla
School District provides,
such as its summer foods
program where students can
eat breakfast, lunch and din-
ner for free at the school.
“That’s highly unusual,”
she said.
They also had a guest
speaker, former University
of Oregon and NFL player
Anthony Newman.
Newman, an Oregon
native, congratulated stu-
dents on their commitment
to physical health.
“Your day is like a game,”
he said. “My first year in the
NFL, I didn’t eat before a
game in Green Bay.”
Newman recalled that he
felt lightheaded during the
game, and went to his trainer.
“The first thing he asked
me was, ‘what did you eat
today?’”
“And then I got in trou-
ble,” Newman said. “You
have to make sure you put
something in your system so
you can perform at a higher
level. If you put the right
food in your system, it’s
going to help you take that
test.”
Newman said it’s import-
ant for students to exercise
and eat right together, like a
family.
“You may not even real-
ize it, but you have role mod-
els around you,” he said.
Students
were
also
rewarded for running the
“McNary Marathon,” where
students over a period of
two weeks pledge to walk
or run a certain number of
laps around the track during
recess. The top three boys
and girls from each grade
were given a certificate and a
prize at the assembly.
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