New Fire Truck

Don't you love that our fire chief wears all pink? Here's Miss Becky bringing the donated fire truck down to the school to show the kids. Wayne Patten and his wonderful Tremont Fire Department gifted their engine #3 to Frenchboro! We love this new truck! It is so amazing.
We could not wait to climb on it and check it out! It comes with all the bells and whistles, too (not to mention a kickin' siren...you can bet we tried THAT out...several times).

I mean, really, who doesn't love a fire truck?! It's the epitome of coolness whether you're five or fifty. We explored every part of the truck and even got to see how to check the engine. I'll give you a hint...it involves tilting the entire truck front on its ear. Awesome!
"Ms. Finn, when I grow up I'm gonna be a fireman!" I've no doubt, Tyler. No doubt at all. That, and an X Games racer.

Halloween Antics

Everyone was dressed in their best duds for Halloween. Mr. Finn was a whoopie cushion. The silliness didn't stop us from continuing our experiments with the eggs. After soaking in vinegar for two days, the shell had completely dissolved. This was just what we needed to talk about cell membranes. And of course, we had to touch it.
Bumblebee was all about it.
Supergirl was not so sure she wanted to touch it at all.
The storm trooper...I think this face would be 'aghast'.
We did not pop the egg on anyone. I was pleasantly surprised by this.
Group photo. We were totally decked out, with everyone wearing a great costume. I love Halloween. The only thing that gets to me is how hard it is to find an adult female costume that doesn't make me look like a street walker. The clown was the only one I could find in a huge Halloween box store...and even that involved bloomers and a minidress.
In the afternoon it was time to party. This whisp of smoke is Tyler dancing. There was some crazy dancing going on to Monster Mash. I mean, break out the worm from the 80's. It was hilarious. Mr. Finn tried to catch the action. Due to the immense sugar rush, it was difficult.
Really difficult. As you can see, the feet have left the floor. Some karate manifestation, no doubt, by Seth. There was lots of jumping and high kicking.
Then there was the no holds barred knee slide. Future member of Kiss, we've got here.

Surprisingly Good

"I almost had a heart attack in my tree stand." Pause. "It's pretty high up." -Myron

"Awww, man! It smells! (turning to Jayde) You're gonna hate it." -Seth

"Dad's so old, he didn't even see those deer!" -Brody

"Ms. Finn, this is gonna be surprisingly good!" -Tyler

"Mr. Finn, I'm on a killin' frenzy over here!" -Brody (on his assault on the fruit fly infestation)

Ms. Finn: What's that?
Seth: That's a skateboard.
Ms. Finn: A skateboard?
Seth: Yeah. Ahhhh....it's got a lotta rocket boosters.

Cock-a-doodle-doo

Cadin: I'm glad I don't have chickens because when I'm tryin' to sleep in they might....

Seth: ...Cock-a-doodle-do?

Cadin: Yeah.

Outer Islands Field Trip

We recently went on a three-day field trip to Orono and Bangor with the other outer islands. We started out at the Challenger Learning Center in Bangor. They have a great 'simulated mission' for older students.I followed one of the groups which included Saylor and Myron. We blasted off to space and then worked in the space station, following orders from our mission control counterparts in another area of the building. Saylor's job was to monitor the plants and insects.
Myron's job was navigator. He was looking for a comet. His counterpart would give him directions and he would look at different star charts to try to find the comet.
After their chance out in space, Myron and Saylor switched off with the other group to take over mission control. This was a lot smoother as they had some experience under their belts.

They still had the same jobs, but it was more of a research job to give information to the astronauts.
The next day we went to the planetarium. No pictures there, but we also got a chance on the climbing wall at the university. Here's our future kindergartner, Breanna, all harnessed up and ready to go in her pink tutu!
Cadin jumped right in with both arms and legs.


Some of us were just Born to Climb!


We were like monkeys on that wall. It was so much fun and everyone really pushed their boundaries.
Here's Jayde getting a little beta from Nate.
Then it was on to the ropes course. Seth busting a move, as usual.
Austin and Myron, not so much.


It was brrrrrrrrr out! Here's Jayde getting some help with her helmet from Mom.
Check out Austin on the high wire! Amazing!
Cadin heading up to the log.
Tyler, dressed for success.
I get this face a lot. It's the "Ms. Fiii-iiin...would you stop with the pictures already?" face.
No. I will not. Never. Because I might miss moments like this one. That's Tyler up there on that log. I do not think I would have been doing THIS at five years old!
Awesome job, buddy!
Not to be outdone, and to Marissa's terror, Johnny headed up to the high wire.
Sorry about the belly shot, kid, but I just wanted to illustrate to Mom just how crooked your helmet was as you teetered 20 feet up.
While the high ropes courses were going on, Brody was stuck in the ropes. Now you know what a lobster feels like going into your trap!

Animal Cells

We've been studying microbiology and the next installment in our studies is animal and plant cells. We did some plant studies when we looked at the phytoplankton with Jochen and Ben. Now was the time to check out some animal cells. Ours. Here's Mr. Finn taking a cheek swab.Some kids were excited to take a look at themselves on the micro level.
Others were a little grossed out by what they saw.
It's great now that all the kids know how to create a slide and use the microscope properly. We also have the camera that projects what's happening in the microscope up onto the big screen.
It's a little hard to see, but there's Mr. Finn! We did try dying our samples using iodine which really makes the nucleus stand out. We love our new microscopes so much. Thank goodness for the Rural Education grant!

Frenchboro Invitational

Let's harken back to October 21st, shall we?

We were lucky enough to get some decent weather for our cross-country invitational. Swan's Island and Islesford came over on the Sunbeam to spend a couple hours racing and visiting. And one of our favorite Swan's Island folks was over with her mom, Emmie...Peyton Charlotte! She's grown so much and it won't be long 'til she's running with the big kids.After a little visiting, it was time to limber up. Dylan was out for the weekend, so he came and helped out. Great to see him...too bad he wasn't running for our team!
This might be titled Find the Highest Spot Around and Stand on It.

Then the fun began. My most favorite race of all was first. Kindergarten and first grade. I mean, seriously, does it get any cuter than these little guys and gals? (Hope it's okay to use this photo as it has non-Frenchboro kids in it...let me know if there's any objections!) I was downhill taking some photos and as soon as Mr. Finn yelled "On you mark, get set, go!" they were sprinting down the hill. Heeeere they come!And theeeeere they go!


Next up was the 2nd/3rd race. Cadin was working hard!
Then it was time for the 4/5 race. Here's Bradley, almost at the finish line.

For the last race, the 6-8th graders were running all the way out to Gooseberry Point, so we needed some folks to help them navigate the course. What is this, the circus? Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of the girls or Austin as I had to help out Mr. Finn keep track of kids finishing...not to mention my camera kept freezing. So. Frustrating.Time for awards! I got to do the honors and pass out the medals and trophies. Here's Tyler getting his first place medal...great job on his very first race!
We came in third place overall, with Swan's taking the first place trophy and Islesford second place. It was such an awesome way to spend a Saturday! Thanks so much to everyone for showing up to cheer the kids on and a special thanks to the Sunbeam for transportation and Becky and Mike for cleaning up!