Oakdale Elementary School Tuscaloosa, Ala. June 2012

A N I M A L P L A N E T E D I T I O N

Journey to Birmingham Zoo

Tops Great S.O.A.R. Summer

Growing Minds are in Bloom

The Oakdale Eagle

On June 8, 2012 Neal Hargle

came to Oakdale and taught us

about wildlife. Mr. Hargle works

for our state and county gov-

ernment. He also is an assis-

tant agent for the Tuscaloosa

County Extension Office.

“One of the biggest problems

we have had lately is wild

hogs”, said Mr. Hargle. “They

have moved into our area and

can be found mostly by lakes.”

Mr. Hargle also said there

was a family of foxes located

less than a mile from our

school. A female fox is called a

vixen. A baby fox is called a kit.

We also learned about the

wood duck and the bald eagle.

We were able to observe a

wood duck as well as a fox that

had been stuffed and mounted.

The bald eagle has finally been

taken off of the endangered

species list.

(See EXTENSION on pg. 3)

Extension Agent Visits Oakdale

INSIDE THIS ISSUE What’s your favorite animal?......pg. 2

Three-toed sloth in 1st grade......pg. 4

News reporting crash course......pg. 6

My summer school experience...pg. 7

By Johnathan Huff

Staff Reporter

This summer Students at

Oakdale Are Ready (S.O.A.R.).

We took an exciting field trip

to the Birmingham Zoo. We had a great time. We

were able to see lots of animals that we have

been studying.

One of the most interesting animals that we

saw was the giraffe. Did you know that the giraffe

has the longest neck of all animals? We all took a

train ride around the zoo. It was a great way to

cool off and learn about the zoo.

Oakdale Principal Dr. Prewitt welcomed

Lucky, her German Shepherd and first

pet, into the family earlier this year.

OAKDALE’S FIRST PET

By Sean Smith

Staff Reporter

More photos

from our zoo

visit on pg. 8

2 The Oakdale Eagle KINDERGARTEN

What’s Your Favorite Animal?

“I like the zebras because

they have stripes.”

Braelyn G.

“I like monkeys because

they eat bananas.”

Carmelo H.

“I like giraffes because

they have long necks.”

Jacqueline R.

“I like gorillas because

they beat on their chest.”

Jayden P.

.“I like the zebras because

they have stripes.”

Kemondrell C.

“I like monkeys because they

eat bananas.”

T’juana L.

“I like monkeys because they

swing from trees.”

JaHarmony R.

“I like the hippo because he is

big.”

DeAndre W.

“I like snakes. They have

pretty colors.”

Tywan R.

“I like lions. They have big

manes.”

Robert S.

“I like monkeys

because they

eat bananas.”

Kaylin N.

“I like monkeys

because they

eat bananas.”

Kayla R.

“I like horses because they

have bushy tails.”

Loronza L.

“I like the monkeys

because they are

funny.”

Tyler G.

Produced by Joshua Patton and Kaleb Howard

Extension

The Oakdale Eagle 3

(Continued from page 1)

More .importantly, if you pick a feather off

of a dead bird you can go to jail.

Mr. Hargle also brought three different

types of snakes. He asked if we knew

which snake was the rattlesnake.

He taught us phrases that will help us if

we come upon a snake.

“If red touches yellow kill a fellow” means

the snake is poisonious .

“Red touching black is a friend of Jack”

means the snake is not poisonious.

The more than 60 students

participating in the

Summer S.O.A.R program

got a chance to see three

snakes, which Mr. Hargle

brought in a jar.

Deputy Bell from Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Department

demonstrated what happens when he gives commands to Eric.

Students see K-9 Narcotics Dog in Action By Miracle Colvin and Sean Smith

Staff Reporters

This summer we learned how a

police officer trains a drug dog. Dep-

uty Bell, from the Tuscaloosa County

Sheriff’s Department, visited Oakdale.

Deputy Bell showed us how well-

trained Eric is.

The dog is a German Shepherd. He

can run 20 to 25 miles per hour.

The dog only responds to German

phrases and commands.

Deputy Bell had Mrs. Ivy go up to

call Eric to try to get him to come to

her, but when he started to go, Deputy

Bell told him to stop and he stopped.

When Deputy Bell threw a tennis

ball, Eric didn’t move. But when Dep-

uty Bell told him to go and get the

ball, he ran and got it.

When we went outside, Deputy Bell

put a muzzle on Eric and had his

intern run to show what Eric can do.

Then Deputy Bell told Eric to go get

him. Eric ran very fast, caught him

and kept jumping and growling at him.

(See K-9 on page 8).

4 The Oakdale Eagle

FIRST GRADE

By Justus Foster

Staff Reporter

In Mrs. Nalls’ first grade class

we learned about the three-toed

sloth. We did many activities

related to this animal .

One activity we did was watch

a video about the life of a sloth.

We learned that their fur is cov-

ered with algea.

We also learned that they

spend most of their life in trees.

They only come down to get rid of

waste from their body.

We ended our activities by

making a three-toed sloth fact

sheet and coloring a picture of it.

Three-toed Sloth Becomes Star of First Grade

Members of the first grade class created fact sheets (top) and took time to capture the experience with a photo.

Courtesy: NationalGeographic.com

The sea turtle is a cold-blooded animal. It lives in every part of the world

except Antarctica. Sea turtles are very strong swimmers and divers. Their

senses are very sharp. Some scientists believe that a sea turtle has a

stronger sense of smell than a dog has. They have four legs with flippers

and a shell that is attached to their backbone. They vary in size from 2 to

6 feet long, weighing 78 to 1,900 pounds. The adult female sea turtles

return to the beach where they were born to lay up to 200 soft shelled

eggs in the sand.

- Compiled by Joshua Patton

DID YOU KNOW? Facts about Sea Turtles

Source: FadingAmericans.wordpress.com

The Oakdale Eagle 5

SECOND GRADE

THIRD GRADE

Oakdale Eagle Staff Finishes First Year of Publication

FIRST ISSUE– Published July 2011 Oakdale Eagle staff members visited with Dr. Samory Pruitt, vice president of

Community Affairs at The University of Alabama in April. The University recognized

Miss Spencer and Mrs. Kent in April for their efforts in launching The Oakdale Eagle.

By Tywaun Smith

Staff Reporter

Mrs. Peoples’ third grade class is doing a book

study on the story Nem’s Island. This story is

about a girl who finds out just how brave she

can be when disaster seems near.

They have done several wonderful activities

related to the story. The students created an

island in 3-D. They built volcanoes and other

land forms to create a replica of the island.

The students also researched the animals

that were found on Nem’s Island. They went to

the library and used the computer, encyclopedia, and trade books to find the

information they needed. “I researched the tiger. Ilearned that it is a predator and

loves to eat meat,” said third grader Anton Leatherwood

They built their own virtual habitat using the computer.

The students also did comparisons between Nem’s friends and the friendships

they have made.

Oakdale Class Brings

Nem’s Island to life

in 3-D with volcanoes

Working on the Oakdale Eagle has been a great experience. It was our first time woking on a newspaper. We

had to find stories to write about, learn how to interview and then do it. We also had to take photos of the sub-

ject we were writing about, type the stories and then go back and edit them. Our end result was a great newspa-

per. Helping to create The Oakdale Eagle earned us a trip to The University of Alabama with Miss Spencer and

Mrs. Kent as they recieved an award for continuing the newspaper throughout the school year.

6 Oakdale Eagle

FOURTH GRADE

Crash Course in News Reporting

By Kaleb Howard

Staff Reporter

Students from around the country along with Dr.

Daniels from University of Alabama came to our

school and taught us several things about pho-

tography, interviewing and writing stories for a

newspaper.

We learned about using direct quotes and indi-

rect quotes when writing stories. Another thing

we learned was how to use a camera and the

different shots you can take. When taking a long

shot photo you are usually trying to get a picture

of everything. When you are getting a close up

shot, you are focusing on a particular person or

subject.

Learning about photography, interviewing, and

writing stories for a newspaper was a lot of fun.

High School Journalists

Demonstrate Photo,

Note-taking Skills for

S.O.A.R. Students

By Jasmine Childers

Staff Reporter

In our fourth grade class we did a lot of interesting things.

The very first thing we did was learn about birds. Every stu-

dent chose a different bird to research and do a presenta-

tion. We created a poster of bird facts with a partner. We

also went outside to do bird watching. We saw a lot of differ-

ent birds.

The next group of animals we learned about was amphibi-

ans. After researching these animals, we completed fact

sheets about the different amphibians such as frogs, fish,

and salamanders.

Reptiles were a very interesting group of animals also. We

did research and created posters on reptiles such as snakes,

lizards, chameleons, alligators, and crocodiles.

We studied mammals during our last week. We learned

about cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, and lions.

I thought our class was very fun. We learned so many great

facts about different animals.

Oakdale Class Explores the World of Animals

The Oakdale Eagle 7

FIFTH GRADE

My experience in summer school

has been very unique. I have

learned many things. One of the

things we’ve learned was how to

identify figurative language devices

in songs.

The song we listened to was

“Fireworks” by Katy Perry. This

song consisted of similes, meta-

phors, personification, and hyper-

boles.

We were also introduced to ra-

tios, which is a 6th grade skill. We

learned how to write and simplify

them. Creating a monthly budget

was fun.

I learned a lot by doing that. Who

would have known surviving the

real world would require so much

responsibility?

Also in Math, we solved,

graphed, and simplified linear

equations. This was very easy! But

the easiest of all was finding the

missing angles in triangles.

I am sure that we will be even

more prepared for our 6th grade

math class because of summer

school.

In Reading, everyone in my

class had to do a report on a fa-

mous children’s author. My author

was my favorite, Patricia Polacco.

She wrote “Bun, Bun Button”,

“Lemonade Club”, and “Chicken

Sunday”. She has also received

many awards for her work.

Every Friday, we had Biology.

Biology is the study of life.

In Biology, we did different

things. One of the things we did

was make candles out of crayons.

That was very fun. We also were

able to identify living and non-living

objects by catching grass, bees,

and paper outside.

Finally, we got to make tie-dye

t-shirts! That was so much fun!

With the things that I have learned

in Biology, I am very excited to visit

the zoo!

With all of my experiences in

summer school, I am confident that

I will be ready and prepared for

middle school.

“I am sure that we will

be even more prepared

for our 6th grade math

class because of

summer school.”

My Summer School Experience

Ana Hargrove

As they spent their last summer at Oakdale Elementary School, students in the fifth grade

class used their artistic talent to show the life cycle of a bee. Most of these students will be

enrolled as sixth graders at Westlawn Middle School this August. We congratulate them!

5TH GRADERS IN ACTION

8 The Oakdale Eagle

Growing Minds are in Bloom

Latrina Spencer

S.O.A.R. Second Grade Teacher

Scenes From Our Trip to The Birmingham Zoo

Oakdale teachers

Ms. Coates, Miss.

Spencer, Mrs. Ivy,

Ms. Hulsey, Mrs.

Nalls, and Mrs.

Leatherwood took a

photo with Deputy

Bell and Eric..

K-9 Continued from page 3

“If Eric didn’t have on that muzzle my intern would have been

bitten very badly.” said Deputy Bell.

While we were outside, Deputy Bell went inside and hid drugs

and no one was in the room. Eric smelled the whole room and

scratched the place where the drugs were.

Deputy Bell gave the dog a tennis ball as a reward.