Who gives a hoot at Centre Avenue School?

Contributed by Librarian Petra Schoen
 
    Third-graders at Centre Avenue Elementary School in East Rockaway were visited by three owls and a hawk
     Kerri, an instructor from the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center, brought the raptors to the Dr. Richard J. Meagher Library to visit Mrs. Ginocchio and Mrs. Patane’s third grade classes. The visit comes in conjunction with an ongoing research project on different types of owls, the first big research project of the year for the third graders.
     The raptors that the third graders saw up-close and personal were the Barred owl, the Great Horned owl, and a red-tailed hawk. The students were suitably impressed. Here is a sampling of their comments about the visit;

“I was scared to see owls. They flew but they couldn’t get away.” – Giavanna DeMilia

“The owl’s ear tufts were funny! We learned about how they turn their head.” – Nicole Grados

“It was a lot different seeing the owls in person than in a book.” – Samuel Kinzer“I learned that the Great Horned owl is not afraid of the bell at Centre Avenue!” – Cole Keller

“I remember when I saw one owl twist its head around.” – Caroline Ragusa

“We saw a hawk, it was so cool. Its wings are so long and it flapped them a lot.” – Natalie Heinrich

“The Eastern Screech owl only weighs about a half a pound.” – Isabella Ayala

“I learned that one of the owls can open its wings about 6 feet long.” – Gina Esposito

“I learned that owls use their talons like a fork, and their beaks like a knife.” – Lauren Boll

“The Great Horned owl made an interesting squeaking sound, like tweet!” – Gregory Buckman