June 2011

Dates to Remember

 Eighth Grade Orientation 

9:30-11:30  

Orientation for New Parents

7:00 P.M. 

Wednesday, September 7  

Seventh Grade Orientation  

9:00-2:00     

My Alaskan Adventures

by Zack Corr '16

I have been to Alaska two times. Once when I was seven, and once when I was twelve. I am also going back a third time this June. 

Zack Corr

My first trip I went to the Holitna River with my parents.  This is a very remote area only accessible by a small single-prop plane.  It is located one hour east of Anchorage.  We passed many mountains and glaciers as we flew into camp.  The glaciers were blue-white in color and millions of years old.  When we landed there on a dirt runway, we were met by the guides and owner. We then settled in our cabin near the main lodge. That night we went fishing because it is light here 23 hours of the day. The types of species of fish that we caught on this trip were pike, she-fish, artic grayling, and the best - king salmon. Unfortunately we only caught one salmon this trip. We had to let the female go because one female salmon can lay up to 3,000 eggs.  We however caught over a hundred of the other types of fish, and ate some every night for dinner.

My second trip was last June, and I went with my dad to McDougall Lodge on the Yentna River. This is the 100 mile checkpoint for the Iditarod!   This was a similar camp (only one way in and out - a float plane) and is located 400 miles west of Anchorage. My dad and I had the time of our life here because we caught huge king salmon every day!  The average weight for one of these fish that we were catching was 20-30 lbs. The biggest fish we caught was 33 pounds!  This camp was right on the river's edge and sometimes we fished right in the streams like fly-fishermen. The spot where we caught the most fish was a part of the river called "The Hog Line."  This is where huge, monstrous salmon are pulled out by the fishermen. All boats here are lined up next to each other.  About one million salmon go up  this river each year.  We also went to a town called Ninilchik for halibut fishing.  A halibut is a huge, flat, brown- colored fish that can weigh up to several hundred pounds, and is a very delicious fish to eat. Halibut fishing is different than salmon fishing in that these fish are bottom dwellers, and are in water hundreds of feet deep. When you catch a halibut, it is like pulling up a sheet of plywood! They are a very flat and heavy fish. We were also able to bring back over a hundred pounds of salmon and halibut to put in our freezer for eating.   

I am going back to McDougall Lodge again this year with my parents because we had such a great time. I recommend if you ever have a chance or desire to go to Alaska, some of the best fishing and scenery in the world can be seen here.  A trip to Alaska can be a great way to see amazing scenery, many bald eagles, moose, wildlife, bear, sheep and the Inuit culture.

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The Egg Drop Project

by Kameron Gingras '15 

In the middle school this year, the theme was Boston. For science class, we had to create models of different parts of the Big Dig and we faced the same structural difficulties that the many people who worked on the Big Dig did. Mr. Murray told us that we did such a good job that we had to do another engineering project. That project was to find a way to keep an egg from cracking when you drop it from two stories.  

Kameron Gingras

To make this project even more difficult, he told us that it had to be twelve inches by twelve inches or if you used a parachute it could be eighteen inches. He also said that the egg had to be visible and you had to be able to take the egg out of your project. The Big Dig project and the egg drop project go hand in hand because there are many different things that you need to consider when you make them like size, weight, durability, aerodynamics.  

For my project, I wanted to make the landing as soft as possible and I had to protect the egg at all times. To do these things, I used a plastic sheet, fishing line, koozie, marshmallows, and a wooden skewer. In order to create a lot of air resistance, I made a parachute out of the fishing line and plastic sheet. That causes the egg to fall much slower.  Then, I attached the parachute to the koozie. After that, I stuffed the koozie with mini marshmallows and put the egg sideways in them. To secure the egg and make sure that it doesn't fly out of the koozie, I stuck a wooden skewer across the top of it. After I finished my project, I went outside and did a test run and it survived, so I was feeling very confident about my project.

On the day of the egg drop, I was feeling very anxious to see if my project could withstand a fall from two stories. After watching the first couple projects shatter, my confidence was getting lower and lower, but I knew mine still had a chance. As I saw Mr. Smith holding my project out the window, I thought to myself, "Uh oh." Then, he released the project and it went just as I planned. The parachute opened perfectly and the koozie took all of the fall. When I walked over and saw that the egg wasn't broken, I was ecstatic. I felt very proud of the work that I had produced.

This project has showed me how complicated engineering is and how to make sure every detail is perfect. Mr. Murray assigned me with a very complicated task, but I trusted myself and proved that if I really put my mind to it, I can accomplish almost anything. Overall, this project has given me self confidence.

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 Mr. Fred Salvucci Visits Donahue Hall