Cindy Wilson’ s fifth grade class at George E. Jack Elementary School in Standish recently worked on an interesting class project. Stephen Avery, the student teacher in the class, has been teaching science to two fifth grade classes. Stephen is a former SAD 6 student who has returned to the area to complete his student teaching.

Teacher Cindy Wilson said: “This whole animal unit he is teaching has really drawn the kids in and has made science so exciting for them this year. As part of the first unit he set up a tank with frogs which the students have been observing.” Stephen is a graduate of Bonny Eagle High School and is attending the University of Maine at Farmington.

As part of their science studies, the class dissected owl pellets to determine more information about their dietary habits. A pellet, in ornithology, is the mass of undigested parts of a bird’s food that some bird species occasionally regurgitate. The contents of a bird’s pellet depend on its diet, but can include the exoskeletons of insects, indigestible plant matter, bones, fur, feathers, bills, claws and teeth.

One advantage of collecting pellets is that it allows for the determination of diet without the killing and dissection of the bird. The students had charts so they could identify the bones that they found. The owl pellet project was made possible through funding by the Standish Parent-Teacher Organization.