March 2004 Week 4 Observations

Participants are listed by latitude and longitide, starting from the northernmost latitude. Participant map 54:52N-38:20S | Firsts | Map | Quest [54:52N 6:17W] UNITED KINGDOM Northern Ireland, Ballymena P6/7KS Ballymena Primary School, Ms. Simpson & Ms. Lee's fourth graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: This week our weather has been quite mild with temperatures of 12 ö 13 degrees Celsius. On Tuesday it was quite windy and blustery with a few heavy showers of rain, we also had some rain on Wednesday. Most days we have had some sunshine, and Hannah saw a rainbow in the sky. LAND & WATER: On Wednesday, Michelle noticed that some of the plants in her garden at home looked clean after the heavy showers. Grass is beginning to look greener and is starting to grow more. PLANTS: We have seen a lot more daffodils and crocuses this week - lots of shops and garden centres are selling them in tubs and pots for people to put outside their houses. Cherry trees are well budded, although it will be a while yet before the blossoms appear. None of the trees in the park have any leaves yet. ANIMALS: Sylvia spotted four wagtails (small black and white birds) in the park. Hannah has a pond in her back garden and she saw frogs and frogspawn there, this week. There were also two great tits looking for somewhere to nest in her garden too. Marianne has been watching blackbirds flying in and out of a tree in her garden. We think they are also starting to build a nest. PEOPLE: We have noticed that a lot more pupils from our school are now stopping at the play area in the park. Some of them, even have their sweatshirts off. Parents have been taking small children to feed the ducks in the park. Some of our mums and dads are ãSpring Cleaningä and Hannahâs dad has bought a new lawn mower. More people have been out in their gardens starting to tidy up flowerbeds. OTHER: Wednesday of this week was St. Patrickâs Day (17th March) and even though St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, we did not have a day off school!! But at least we were able to collect our data for the Weather Day. Some pupils have been sketching part of a flowering shrub and this week, we have included two pieces of their work. We think they look really good -- hope you agree! [45:44N 4:52E] FRANCE Bourg-Argental College du Pilat, Claudie Ferret's sixth graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: Last week there were some showers and the weather was cold. On Thursday there were gusts of wind. On Sunday it was raining cats and dogs. Then on Monday, it started to be warmer. Today, it's sunnier and very warm (24 C). The sky is blue. PLANTS: The rosebush has leaves and flowers buds. The daffodils are almost blooming. The meadows are getting greener. ANIMALS: Birds are building nests. Lizzards are going out. (They don't hibernate now). Ladybirds are coming into the house. PEOPLE: People wear spring clothes: T-shirt,dress,hat and sandals. They are happy. They wear sunglasses. They go for walks. They do more outside sports: Football,tennis,cycling,jogging. They go fishing in the river. They redecorate their houses. They plant flowers and trees. [45:19N 75:40W] CANADA Ontario, Ottawa Elizabeth Park Public School, Ms. Chartrand's first graders OTHER: This week is our spring break so there are no observations from us. However, we will be ready to start again on March 22. [44:38N 22:39E] ROMANIA Mehedinti, Drobeta Turnu Severin Liceul Teoretic "Gheorghe Titeica", Ms. Rachitan & Ms. Rosu's students WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: This week the weather has been great. On Monday the sky was a little cloudy and the wind blew, but, beginning with Tuesday the weather was getting warmer and warmer. The sky was clear,the weather was sunny and really hot(22-24¼). The temperature is too hight for this time of the year,but everybody likes this. LAND & WATER: This week has been really hot,so that the land was dry. The water is still very cold and dirty. The river was wavy from time to time because of the wind. PLANTS: Flowers are the wonder of spring. Even if they are small and weak, they are the first signs of a new season. The trees have started to bloom. The grass is getting greener and greener. But anyway,the real symbol of spring are the snow-drops and they have appeared for some time. ANIMALS: The animals feel a change because spring has come. Some of them finished their hibernation and have started to search for food. Birds have started to come back and give everybody the feeling that spring has finally arrived. PEOPLE: The people are influenced by the new season. Some of them feel depressed,other happy, but each and every one of them feels o change. Every day is warmer than the one before, and school or work become the most unpleasad places that you have to go to. Because of the very hot weather, people are wearing sweaters,and some courageous ones even T-shirts. Children are very happy but the adults look tired and weaken because of the heat. Anyway everybody enjoys getting rid of thick clothes. OTHER: On Friday,meaning today, the "Winners" maths contest has taken place.Many of our colleagues have participated in this contest. It is really interesting because,apart from the Maths problems,you have to draw something which symbolizes this subject. [43:07N 79:01W] USA New York, Grand Island Kaegebein Elementary School, Ms. Hartman's third graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: Winter is back! Western New York was hit with hopefully its last blast of winter. Some schools had a day off since the area got 4 to 10 inches of snow on Tuesday. Our weather on different day this week included rain, sun, hail, and a snow storm! Temperatures ranged from lows in the teens F to highs of 50 F. LAND & WATER: The grass is covered with snow. PLANTS: The spring bulbs that had sprouted have all been buried by snow. ANIMALS: Throughout the week we have seen the usual deer, squirrels, and rabbits. Before the snow hit us, we saw flocks of Canada geese returning. PEOPLE: One sign of spring that many of us celebrated was St. Patrick's Day. Over the weekend the city of Buffalo held its very large parade. The weather was chilly and rainy, but at least the parade was days before the snowstorm. One of our students and her sister spent much of the week performing around town with their Irish Step Dance group. In honor of this week's snowfall (hopefully our last) our class went out to play in the snow on Friday. We made snow angels, built a snowman, and had a snowball fight. [42:44N 73:41W] USA New York, Green Island Heatly School, Ms. Kirch's second graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The temperatures were in the 40's to low 20's F. It began warm on Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday by noon it got very cold and snow began to fall. It kept snowing until Wednesday night. There were 7 inches of snow at school. We had a 2 hour delay on Wednesday morning! Thursday it rained and Friday was just cloudy. LAND & WATER: The ground is muddy and most of the snow has disappeared. The river has thawed and the water is high. It is moving quickly. PLANTS: We can see purple buds on the crocus we planted in the fall! ANIMALS: Two fishermen pulled a large carp out of the Hudson River. It was big! It looked as long as one of our desks. PEOPLE: We had to wear our boots to school because it snowed. The softball teams have to practice in the gym. The field is too muddy and still has snow mounds on it. [42:43N 71:11W] USA Massachusetts, Methuen Comprehensive Grammar School, Ms. Billings, Ms. Fichera, Ms. Fresco, Ms. O'Connor, Ms. Paolino, and Ms. Stone's second graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: Temperatures have been cold this week ranging from the low 20s to the mid 30s. It snowed Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday - about 8 inches - giving us a NO SCHOOL DAY Some of us were happy, but many of us were not so happy. We will have to make up this day in June. LAND & WATER: The ground is covered with snow just as we were beginning to see small signs of spring. The lakes and ponds are beginning to thaw, and we know we should not try to go skating on them. PLANTS: White, white everywhere - everything is covered with snow! We should be seeing daffodils, crocus, lilacs, and pussy willows in early spring. ANIMALS: We have seen a few birds. Squirrels still running around. PEOPLE: We are wearing our winter coats and boots again. [41:46N 80:51W] USA Ohio, Austinburg Austinburg Elementary School, Ms. Gray's second graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: This week we had lots of clouds, snow, and cold temperatures. The highs were from 38 degrees F. to 32 degrees F. The low temperatures ranged from 23 degrees F. to 27 degrees F. Because of a major snowstorm with high winds, we had a Snow Day and no school on Tuesday. It was our 6th Snow Day and we will have to make it up in June. The rest of the week was cold with only a few flurries. LAND & WATER: There is still snow on the ground. There are some areas of grass and dirt. The ice on the ponds is thin and cracking along the edges. PLANTS: We have not seen any new plants. Some of the maples had started to bud two weeks ago, but the buds have not grown. The pussy willow tree does have a few pussy willows on it. ANIMALS: We have seen a few deer and rabbit tracks. We did not see many animals this week. PEOPLE: We are still wearing our winter coats, gloves, snow pants, boots, and hats. We built a snow fort during recess this week. Not as many people are sick. OTHER: The days are getting longer and everyone is eager for Spring. It is suppose to be warmer next week. We are hoping Spring will start tomorrow. [41:38N 87:36W] USA Illinois, Dolton Youth For Excellence Home School, Ms. Day's fifth graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: Little change from Week3. It has snowed each day all week. The temperature has ranged from the twenties to forties. LAND & WATER: Sometimes snow sticks to ground but when it does, not for long. PLANTS: Despite the low temperatures and snow, grass is getting greener. There are still some brown spots. Trees looks bare but small buds have appeared ANIMALS: PEOPLE: Some people are still wearing their winter coats, scarves and gloves. They tend to be out more when it warms up. [41:14N 84:07W] USA Ohio, Holgate Holgate Elementary School, Ms. Wagner & Ms. Burkhart's second graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The warmer weather of a week ago followed by snow on Tuesday and Wednesday caused fog on Thursday morning. But, the sun was able to come out and "burn off" the fog so busses could safely get students to school. Sunday the temperature was 48°F but Tuesday and Wednesday it was only 29°F. The record high temperature for the weather data day is 71°F and the low is 6°F. Will spring ever get here? LAND & WATER: The ground is very muddy with the thaw. If you look closely, on the rivers you might see a small bit of ice next to the banks. The snow has all but disappeared until this past Tuesday and Wednesday, when winter decided to make another appearance. With most of the snow now gone, the leaves from last autumn and sticks from the heavy winter snow on the trees are very visible on the ground. Looks like a job for the small children on the weekend! PLANTS: Last Saturday Mr. Verhoff put nitrogen on his field. He said the ground was hard enough in the morning to drive on the field with the equipment and not get stuck. After the application, we had snow a few days later which he said would help the nitrogen sink into the soil. The grass is getting greener each week. Soon lawn mowers will be buzzing after school. Most of the trees have buds on them now as you can see in our picture. Soon small leaves will begin to appear. Some plants are beginning to pop up from the ground, but still no beautiful flowers. Mrs. Wagner predicts her crocus will bloom this weekend if the sun shines. ANIMALS: The birds are arriving in large groups now. Everywhere we look we see them, some black starlings, some red breasted robins, and of course the barn sparrows. With the ground warming up, we now not only see the birds eating grains that people leave out for them, but also they are beginning to pull worms from the ground. Another sign of spring that someone saw was a mother cat protecting her kittens. Soon we will be hearing the little chirps of baby birds too. PEOPLE: Many days this past week coats, hats, and gloves have been needed. Some days it looks like spring is on its way and others, Old Man Winter is still here. The children are playing outside more and beginning to ride their bikes to school. The days are getting longer allowing more sunlight for outside play in the evenings. [40:24N 80:11W] USA Pennsylvania, Oakdale Donaldson Elementary School, Ms. Huling's first graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: This week was a typical March weather week for southwestern Pennsylvania. Temperatures have been down into the 20s and up to the low 40s with much fluctuation. We have experienced snow, sleet, freezing rain and rain within a one hour time period. Luckily, we did not have a snow day or weather delay, but some school nearby did. The sky has been full of stratus clouds this week, except for Friday morning. Friday morning's sky was beautiful! We had rain and followed by huge wet snowflakes Thursday night. When we got up Friday morning the sky was a beautiful light blue and against the sky every tree, bush, and branch was coated with snow. It was exquisitely beautiful! Of course, it didn't last long when the temperature began to rise. Our teacher hopes that it was winter's farewell message! LAND & WATER: We have lots of water and mud everywhere thanks to the mixed precipitation this week. PLANTS: There is nothing new yet with the plants. Maybe this coming week will help the plants to begin to change. Next week we will be planting seeds indoors as part of our science unit. We will let you know about them, too. ANIMALS: Our teacher and one of the custodians saw four deer running along the school property outside of our window after school on Thursday. We hope they come close again when we are still here! PEOPLE: It's been too cold for outside recess this week. We have recess in the gym on those days. OTHER: On Wednesday we had our severe weather drill. We reported to the music room with the other classes in our wing and "scrunched down" like turtles near the inside walls. The music room is one of the safe places in case of severe weather. Our teacher showed us that every room has two maps by the door -one for fire drills and one for weather drills. So, no matter where we are in the school, the adults will know where to take us to remain safe in emergencies. Miss Gamble took a picture of our teacher "stuck in the middle" of all the kids"! Maybe she'll give us a copy to send in. [40:22N 80:32W] USA West Virginia, Colliers Colliers Elementary School, Mr. Bennet's third graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The temperature in Colliers, WV was better today than it's been for a week. Tuesday we had ice and snow and our school day was cancelled. Since then it's bee cold one day and warm the next. Today's temperature was 54*F/12*C which is about average for this time of year. Tomorrow it's in the 40's/F and about 8*C. The forecast for the next couple of day is still up one day and down the next. LAND & WATER: The ground is finally free of snow. Everything is yucky brown. No color on the ground or on the trees yet. The streams and creeks are flowing because all of the ice has broken free and flowed towards the river. PLANTS: Plants, trees, and grass are not growing yet. ANIMALS: We saw turkeys, a beaver, and a fat fox squirrel running around on the hillside outside our window. We usually see a flock of about 10 turkeys a couple of times a week. Once in a while we'll see a squirrel but we've never seen a beaver on the hillside before. PEOPLE: Most of our students are still wearing winter coats to school. We had recess outside at lunchtime and everyone had their coats on. Hopefully spring weather will be here soon. [40:04N 74:12W] USA New Jersey, Brick Brick Community Primary Learning Center, Ms. MacDougall's students WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The weather has been very strange this week. We had 57 degrees F on Monday and a snowstorm on Tuesday. We have had both sun and clouds during the week. Thursday started with 28 degrees F in the morning and a winter storm warning for 6 to 8 inches of snow in Brick Twp. tonight. Since we might not have school tomorrow, we will send our report today. LAND & WATER: The ponds are on the verge of freezing again after thawing out last week. PLANTS: Our spring plants are still emerging. The crocuses have closed up in the snow. The forsythia branches that we brought indoors and put in water have bloomed and have new green leaves. ANIMALS: The birds are singing loudly in the morning. PEOPLE: We are still wearing winter coats, hats, and mittens. On Monday, it was warm enough to unzip our coats. But by Thursday, it was very cold again. [39:32N 74:29W] USA New Jersey, Jackson Switlik Elementary School, Ms. Wardell's second graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: We started off the week with a nice sunny day and temperatures in the high 50's F. Then came the SNOW and clouds. School was closed Friday because of the snow. They were predicting 4 - 8 inches, but we only got about three. LAND & WATER: Cold, snow covered and muddy as the snow melted. PLANTS: As you can see from our picture the flowers are hiding under the snow. ANIMALS: The animals are looking are food and hiding from the snow too. Breann and Frank saw lots of lady-bugs on their street. PEOPLE: People are shoveling, wearing heavy coats, boots, hats and gloves. Our baseball players are anxiously waiting for the snow to melt so they can practice. OTHER: The groundhog was right, but now that Spring is officially here - we can't wait for the weather to cooperate. [39:18N 85:13W] USA Indiana, Batesville St. Louis School, Ms. Bornemann's fourth graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The beginning of the week was snowy. We had a school delay because of the snow. Then at the end of the week it was rainy and foggy. We had a little sunshine too. I hope today is sunny and warm so we can play football at recess. LAND & WATER: On Tuesday we got 3 inches of snow and the weather was very cold. Some people made snowmen. The next day the snow started melting so we got a lot of puddles. At the end of the week the ground was really soggy from the rain and the snow that melted from the above freezing temperatures. PLANTS: This week there are some buds on the flowers that are ready to bloom. Some trees by my house that are beginning to bloom and some have buds on them too. Zach said he had some trees by his house that have bloomed. ANIMALS: In the beginning of the week the birds were singing, but the next day they were not singing because of the cold. In the middle of the week, some geese were flying back north. At the end of the week, there were some rabbits on the side of the road. PEOPLE: In the beginning of the week I saw a few people outside. Most of people were wearing long sleeved shirts and pants. The next day I did not see anyone outside because it snowed. It was very cold and wet outside. If people went outside, they would have worn a lot of clothing. They might have worn two shirts, a big coat, long pants, and hats and gloves too. [39:02N 95:41W] USA Kansas, Topeka Pleasant Hill Elementary School, Ms. Seeger's fifth graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The past two days have been warm; today's high is supposed to be 75 degrees F. Mornings have been cloudy, then the clouds break up and it clears off. We have had lots of wind. March came in like a lion. The sky seems bluer now that spring is here. The days are getting longer. LAND & WATER: The grass is getting taller; it is soft. The soil is darker because it has rained. The Kansas River sand bars are still visible. The water is not as high as it was last week. PLANTS: We have seen dandelions and very small blue flowers. Allison saw honeysuckle coming up along a playground area. The forsythia is beginning to come out. Trevor's tulips have buds on them, but they are not blooming yet. Rachael's cactus has begun to grow flowers. Devin's roses are beginning to bud. ANIMALS: We have seen mosquitoes and sweat bees. Geese are migrating back. Thayne has noticed that ducks and geese are starting to pair up, getting ready for spring. Allison has seen ants along a pathway. Spencer has seen coyotes near his house. Pets are wanting to be outside more. PEOPLE: Our school had an official kite-flying club come to our school to demonstrate flying advanced kites. We did this for making our reading goals. It was really windy, but that helped the kites fly. People at school are wearing shorts and tank tops. Some people are sweating more. We are playing outside more and later into the evening. More girls are wearing their hair up. OTHER: Our musical instruments are out of tune because of a change in temperature; the humidity causes the instruments to expand and they won't hold their tune. The heads of the drums are shrinking causing impandation. [34:13N 118:14W] USA California, La Crescenta Lincoln Elementary School, Ms. Goddard's second graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The weather has been beautiful. The temperatures are in the high 70's during the day. There are beautiful clouds in the sky. Today it was a little on the cooler side with a haze hanging over us all day. It was perfect for our Jogathon today. All of the children run to raise money for our school. LAND & WATER: The weeds are getting taller and the grass is getting greener each day. PLANTS: The flowers are blooming. Our roses in front of school should be ready to bloom next week. We are seeing spring flowers everywhere. ANIMALS: The animals are more active and are very playful. The new baby birds are in their nests and are beginning to learn how to fly. The birds in our neighborhoods are getting up earlier in the morning. PEOPLE: Everyone is enjoying the nice weather. They are out taking walks, and chatting with each other. We are wearing cooler clothes. The jackets are almost ready to be put away until next fall. [32:51N 96:58W] USA Texas, Irving J. O. Schulze Elementary School, Ms. Butt's first graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: The sky has been cloudy or partly cloudy most of this week. Thursday was a beautiful sunny day. We had some rain over the weekend. The high temperatures are getting to the mid-70s to low 80s. Wednesday was quite windy, and we had wind advisories during the evening hours. LAND & WATER: The land is warm and moist. PLANTS: Many tulips in our garden are blooming. The red bud trees have joined the Bradford pear trees and are in full bloom. They are beautiful. Dandilion plants have little gold flowers on them. More trees are budding and leafing out. ANIMALS: The animals are getting more active. Some of us have seen Daddy-Long-Legs, bees, and wasps. The ladybugs are still busy. It seems like we see them everywhere. PEOPLE: People are out taking long walks in the mornings and evenings. Almost everyone is wearing spring clothes all the time. Sometimes in the evenings they may wear something a little warmer, but the last few evenings have been warm enough to continue wearing spring clothes even in the evenings. Many evenings you can smell people cooking outside on the grill. That smells good. [32:31N 94:46W] USA Texas, Longview Pine Tree Elementary School, Ms. Baker's second graders We were on Spring break and the weather was beautiful! [29:37N 81:49W] USA Florida, Hollister The Children's Academy, Ms. Cadwallader's first graders WEATHER/SKY/TEMPERATURE: Highs were in the high 70 to mid 80s. Lows in the mid 40s No rain this week. Sunny and some wind. LAND & WATER: The land looks green PLANTS: The trees are all sprouting their leaves. In north Florida we are famous for azaleas. They are blooming everywhere. Bid pink, orange and white bloosoms fill the yards. ANIMALS: We saw some Canadian geese and the sandhill cranes are still here. There are more butterflies and the birds sing alot. PEOPLE: We still need pants in the early morning and evening. But shorts and t-shirts are good for the day. We went swimming today, the water is 65 degrees but the sunn felt warm. 54:52N-38:20S | Firsts | Map | Quest | March index | Top of page