7-15-2005 newsletter

The High School for Teaching and Professions
Summer Bridge to High School
Newsletter #2, July 15, 2005

Bridge Staff

Director, Center for School/College Collaboratives, Lehman College, Dr. Anne Rothstein
Program Coordinator: Ms. Laura Tringali
Summer Coordinator: Ms. Pat France
Teachers: Ms. Maritza Conde, Mr. Eston Robinson, Mr. Mark Spooner, Ms. Karin Wissmann

This Program is a collaboration between HSTP and Lehman College. It takes place on the Lehman College campus. Its purpose is to prepare incoming 9^th graders for high school– academically and socially. Students get to meet their teachers, students from other grades, and other members of the incoming class while having fun, earning high-school credit, and preparing for the Living Environment Regents exam.

		Turtle Talk An interview with Ms. Maritza Conde by Summer Intern Shirley Vargas
	Shirley: How long have you been teaching? Ms. Conde: For 5 years as a certified teacher. Shirley: Why did you pick turtles to be observed? Ms. C.: I picked them because I have four turtles at home. I hatched them myself. Their names are Mikey, Lily, Tiny, and Mary. They will turn two years old on August 3^rd. I have a 55-gal. tank for the three of them, and Lily lives by herself in a 20-gal. tank. Lily used to get attacked by the other turtles, so it’s better for her to live alone. I got the turtles in Chinatown, for $10 for the four eggs. I bought four because my ex-husband thought that they were so fragile that not all would survive the winter. My ex-husband grew up raising turtles, so that’s why we picked turtles as pets instead of cats or dogs. I didn’t expect them to grow this big or to live as long. According to my ex-husband, they should have been dead by now, and in the divorce he wanted custody of them. I’m still waiting for him to come pick them up. If he doesn’t, I want to drive them to Florida, to Indian Village, which is a place that creates a healthy habitat for rescue animals.
	Shirley: What do you expect the students to achieve after observing the turtles? Ms. C.: I expect them to be more interested in research projects, and there’s also a connection between the zoo trip this Friday and the turtles. Also, the students will learn observation skills. Shirley: Is this the first time that you’ve brought the turtles to class for students to observe? Ms. C.: No, it’s the third or fourth time. There was such a good response last year, I brought them in again. Shirley: How is the observation of the turtles going to help the students with their science classes and Regents exam? Ms. C.: It will help them because they should be developing skills in comparing, analyzing, and observing. In the Living Environment Science Regents, there is a 7-piece lab that asks the students to compare and other things that they would know how to do from the turtle observation.
	Shirley: What was the students’ reaction to the turtle in the computer lab? Ms. C.: Some were chasing the turtles around. At one point, the turtle (Lily) was in front of the room and one of the students was scared and thought the turtle was touching her feet, although Lily was far away. Some students enjoyed the observations so much that during their research time, they downloaded pictures of turtles for their papers. The students learned about internet surfing, quoting, and citing, as well as about plagiarism through the turtle observation and research. Shirley: So how would you describe the experience? Ms. C.: In all, the students really got into it because the specimen was in the classroom. It was a great motivation. The students really went beyond expectations in their work during this activity.

Turtle Telegraph Work by students relating to observation activities
During the study of the Aquatic Red Ear Slicker, we observed that this turtle has webbed feet so it can swim in water. The turtle also has a weight of 2 to 4 lbs. During the observation, we saw that the turtle has striped skin. Its shell is very hard, which protects the turtle. It also has green, beady eyes. Lily needs water, food, a house, and a warm climate to survive. Lily is an aquatic turtle. Aquatic turtles need plants and they like shallow water. Lily can live either in fresh water or salt water. *–Shemika McFarlane* Lily is an aquatic turtle and to survive she needs to drink water, but you have to be careful not to use the same water that is in the tank. Some turtles can eat foods such as apples, oranges, carrots, grapes, melons, and bananas. You have to be careful about turtles because some dogs like to chew turtles. You have to be sure the floor is not dirty so the turtle can take a walk. It is good to have an aquatic turtle, but it is not easy to take care of one.–Elsa Negron
	If someone were to observe me, I think he/she would notice my height, my hair, and my accent, since I’m from Georgia, also that I’m wild and I like to have fun! They may notice that I’m self-conscious. I’m able to take any little thing wrong and make it a big deal.–Patricia Striggles The turtle is a male. The turtle has a long neck. The turtle’s neck is orange and wet. The turtle has sharp claws. The turtle shell is smooth with ridges. *–Nereida Santiago*
	Lily needs a tank so that when she has to do her mess it won’t be all over the floor or anywhere else. In order for Lily to do her mess, she will also need newspaper so you wouldn’t have a bigger mess to clean. You will also have to make sure Lily is always in a safe place so nothing bad will happen to her, and don’t feed her too much food.–Sharon Little Lily is a water turtle so Lily needs to be fed in water. She needs lots of water to survive. She can’t swallow her food if she is not in water. You could feed Lily these foods occasionally: brine shrimp, ocean fish, and squid. As Lily gets older, she will eat more fruits and vegetables, like bananas and strawberries. Lots of leafy greens are good for your turtle because they give your turtle vitamins and calcium. –Khristina Dalrymple
	The turtle has a hard, oval-shaped shell. The shell is smooth with ridges and has a seashell design on it. He is about 1 ft. long and weighs 2 to 5 lbs. It has two green eyes, two nostrils, five claws on four legs, a pink tongue, and no teeth. The turtle has a smooth head and a soft neck, both with red and orange. This reptile also has a hard, short tail. If somebody were to observe me, he/she would notice that I love to read. I’m tall. I’m smart. I wear a spy watch on my right wrist. I have a sterling silver ring with three crosses on the third finger of my left hand. I have a yellow "Livestrong" cancer band on my left wrist. I like Harley Davidson motorcycles and American choppers. I wear mostly black clothing. *–Micheal Paterno* The turtle we saw on Monday in English had four different colors–brown and black and green and a yellowish color. The shell was so hard that if you touched it, it sounded like you were knocking on a door. *–Yanilis Fernandez*

	Group A
Group B	Group D