Register for Mr. Giunta's FAST Classes

This Spring I will be offering 3 FAST classes: Green Paws, Green Paws Junior, and the brand new Advanced Engineering. This semester my classes will not begin until after February Break in order to accommodate the Science Fair and Science Olympiad during Quarter 3 and to take advantage of the better weather during Quarter 4. While we always have lots of fun, these are afterschool classes and not a free-for-all of silliness.

Green Paws and Green Paws Junior are 10-week afterschool class offered in the Fall and Spring semesters. Students will meet each week from 2:30pm-3:30pm in the Science Lab to discuss, plan, and share the results of gardening projects, cooking and tasting challenges, garden art, and STEAM & environmental studies lessons. We'll also go on hikes and play in the creek :-)

Advanced Engineering is a brand new 10-week afterschool class offered in the Fall and Spring semesters. The theme of the class will rotate every semester in a two year cycle. Our first theme is Energy! Students will use VEX kits to build cars to study collisions, windmills to study energy transfer, and design their own device to study energy conversion.

Advanced Engineering - 3rd thru 5th Graders

  • Wednesdays, February 28th - May 8th; FULL. Please email me to be placed on the wait list.

Green Paws - 3rd thru 5th Graders

  • Thursdays, February 29th - May 9th; FULL. Please email me to be placed on the wait list.

Green Paws Juniors - 1st & 2nd Graders

  • Fridays, March 1st - May 10th; FULL. Please email me to be placed on the wait list.

Class size is limited to 20 students. The program fee (collected in January) is $200 per semester.

Email Mr. Giunta at joseph.giunta@cobbk12.org with any questions.

Register for Green Paws - Fall 2023

Green Paws is a 12-week afterschool class offered in the Fall and Spring semesters. Students will meet each week from 2:30pm-3:30pm in the Science Lab to discuss, plan, and share the results of gardening projects, cooking and tasting challenges, garden art, and STEAM & environmental studies lessons. We'll also go on hikes and play in the creek :-)

Green Paws Apprentices - 2nd & 3rd Graders

  • Wednesdays, August 16th - November 29th; FULL

Green Paws Masters - 4th & 5th Graders

Green Paws Juniors - First Graders

Class size is limited to 20 students. The program fee is $250 per semester.

Email Mr. Giunta at joseph.giunta@cobbk12.org with any questions.

Tritt Summer Camp 2023

TRITT SUMMER CAMP 2023! Specials teachers will once again be offering the best of Visual & Performing Arts, Library Learning Commons & Technology, indoor & outside Games, and Science & Gardening in a summer camp for rising 1st-5th grade Tritt students. Students will be separated by grade and will rotate to each subject throughout the day. Camp will run from May 30th - June 2nd from 9AM-3PM each day, for $250. Payment is due at the time of registration by check to "Tritt Elementary" with "Summer Camp" in the notes or using MyPaymentsPlus (set up after you register). Proceeds to be shared among LLC, Technology Lab, Music, Art, Science Lab, P.E. and Robotics Lab. Spaces are limited! Register here!

Register for Green Paws - Spring 2023

Green Paws is a 12-week afterschool class offered in the Fall and Spring semesters. Students will meet each week from 2:30pm-3:30pm in the Science Lab to discuss, plan, and share the results of gardening projects, cooking and tasting challenges, garden art, and STEAM & environmental studies lessons. We'll also go on hikes and play in the creek :-)

Green Paws Apprentices - 2nd & 3rd Graders -

  • Wednesdays, January 25th - April 26th; FULL

Green Paws Masters - 4th & 5th Graders

Green Paws Juniors - Kindergarten & First Graders

  • Fridays, January 27th - April 28th; FULL

Class size is limited to 20 students. The program fee is $250 per semester.

Email Mr. Giunta at joseph.giunta@cobbk12.org with any questions.

Register for Green Paws - Fall 2022

Green Paws is a 12-week afterschool class offered in the Fall and Spring semesters. Students will meet each week from 2:30pm-3:30pm in the Science Lab to discuss, plan, and share the results of gardening projects, cooking and tasting challenges, garden art, and STEAM & environmental studies lessons. We'll also go on hikes and play in the creek :-)

Green Paws Apprentices - 2nd & 3rd Graders -

  • Wednesdays, August 17th - November 30th; FULL

Green Paws Masters - 4th & 5th Graders

Green Paws Juniors - First Graders

  • Fridays, August 19th - December 2nd; FULL

Class size is limited to 24 students. The program fee is $250 per semester.

Email Mr. Giunta at joseph.giunta@cobbk12.org with any questions.

Register for Green Paws - Spring 2022

Green Paws is a 12-week afterschool class offered in the Fall and Spring semesters. Students will meet each week from 2:30pm-3:30pm in the Science Lab to discuss, plan, and share the results of gardening projects, cooking and tasting challenges, garden art, and STEAM & environmental studies lessons. We'll also go on hikes and play in the creek :-)

Green Paws Apprentices - 2nd & 3rd Graders -

  • Wednesdays, January 26th - May 4th; FULL! Email Mr. Giunta to be placed on a wait list.

Green Paws Masters - 4th & 5th Graders

Green Paws Juniors - Kindergarten & 1st Graders

  • Fridays, January 28th - May 6th; FULL! Email Mr. Giunta to be placed on a wait list.

Class size is limited to 20 students. The program fee is $250 per semester.

Email Mr. Giunta at joseph.giunta@cobbk12.org with any questions.

Register for Green Paws - Fall 2021 (FULL)

Edit: All Green Paws classes are FULL, but you can fill out the form and I’ll holler if anything changes!

Green Paws is a 12-week afterschool class offered in the Fall and Spring semesters. Students will meet each week from 2:30pm-3:30pm in the Science Lab to discuss, plan, and share the results of gardening projects, cooking and tasting challenges, garden art, and STEAM & environmental studies lessons. We'll also go on hikes and play in the creek :-)

Additional optional opportunities include an off-campus hike in the CRNRA during Conference Week, Zoom cooking class leading up to Thanksgiving, and access to our Green Paws-only beds at Crossroads Community Gardens. T-shirts included while supplies last.

Green Paws Apprentices - 2nd & 3rd Graders - FULL

Green Paws Masters - 4th & 5th Graders - FULL

Green Paws Juniors - 1st Graders (Kindergarten may join for the Spring ‘22 Season) - FULL

Class size is limited to 20 students. The program fee is $250 per semester.

Email Mr. Giunta at joseph.giunta@cobbk12.org with any questions.

Green Paws, Spring Session, Week of 5/17/21

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I can’t believe this is our last week together!

Regular scheduled meetings this week on Monday and Tuesday at the normal Zoom link.

Field Trips: This year we explored only 4 of over a dozen parks in the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. I hope you enjoyed discovering these places: rock shelters at Island Ford, mill ruins at Sope Creek, old homesteads at Hyde Farm, and water wheels at Vickery Creek. This summer I encourage you to get out there and explore more of these incredible places!

Water Wednesday: We’ll pick sugar snap peas here at Tritt at 1:30pm and then head over to Crossroads to check on our broccoli!

Canoeing: As a thank you for participating in Green Paws all year, I’d like to offer each student a canoe trip! You can sign up here!

Summer Plans:

  1. Water Wednesday: Each Wednesday this June / July I’ll be hosting “Water Wednesday” here at Tritt. The time is TBD, but I’m looking at 11:30ish.

  2. Harvesting at Crossroads Community Garden: I’ll reach out to you all when the sugar snap peas and broccoli are ready to pick. Late May / Early June.

  3. Cobbler: When the blueberries and blackberries are ripe then we’ll all meet up to pick them and schedule a Zoom call to make cobbler together. Probably late Mid/Late-June.

Green Paws, Spring Session, Week of 4/19/21

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Great job planting some of our summer crops this weekend gang! We’ll keep an eye on their growth over the next few weeks. We should have some more tomatoes and some basil to plant this week :-)

Regular scheduled meetings this week on Monday and Tuesday at the normal Zoom link.

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eARTh Project: Amphibians, like frogs, toads and salamanders, are important bioindicators - that is, they can help tell us how healthy a particular environment is. Have lots of frog calls at night? And lots of different kinds? The habitat around you is probably doing okay. We’ll create an Amphibian Monitoring Station to track these friendly creatures.

Field Trips: The next field trip is May 2nd, 12:30-2:00pm OR 2:30-4:00pm at Island Ford Park.

Water Wednesday: This week it is going to be Fertilizer Friday! With the asynchronous day changing, I thought it would be best to change the day.

This Friday, Noon-12:30pm to water / plant at Tritt, and 12:40-1:00 to water at the CrossRoads Community Garden.

We’ll do our next seed exchange on Wednesday the 28th for those who haven’t been able to make it yet.

Environmental Engineering: TBD…

Seed-to-Stomach: Our first live cooking show will be this Thursday from 5:30-6:00. We are making pesto. You’ll need:

  • carrot tops (provided by Mr. Giunta)

  • optional: fresh basil and/or fresh spinach and/or fresh parsley

  • grated parmigiana, pecorino or asiago cheese

  • extra virgin olive oil

  • nuts or seeds (Pine nuts are traditional, but I’m trying pecans!)

  • garlic, fresh or otherwise, and salt & pepper

You might want to make a small bowl of pasta to go along with the “sauce” and some ice cube trays for storage.

Green Paws, Winter Session, Week of 3/15/21

This is the last week of the Green Paws Winter Session! If you haven’t signed up for Spring, then I’d love to have you - new students are welcome as well!

  • Spring Session: March 22nd - May 19th

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eARTh Project: Great job on the mushroom seats / tic-tac-toe tables over the weekend! Tell your parents to follow Green Paws on Facebook in order to see pictures from the weekend :-)

Field Trips: Not only did you guys rock the mushroom seats and tic-tac-toe tables, but on the fly you built FOUR scarecrows with Ms. Beckie - great job! The next field trip will be at a National Park again for those signed up for the final session on Green Paws.

#WaterWednesday: But now on Fridays (for the next two weeks)! Last week we planted beets and sugar snap peas. The garden should get lots of water this week, but we are going to add the greens we picked out earlier this season, and yes, do a little weeding.

  • @Tritt Elementary, Friday the 19th, from Noon - 2pm.

There are extra leafy green seeds available to swap or take home!

Environmental Engineering: This Friday we are building wind chimes for the Nature Trail using upcycled (plastic bottles, cans, pvc) or natural materials (sticks, bamboo). I’ll provide twine. Anyone have a good supply of bamboo to share?

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Seed-to-Stomach: Cooking Show this Wednesday, the 17th, at 5PM. I’ll be providing the materials to create your own bouquet garni. I’ll find your kids afterschool to let them choose some things to take home. If you’re a zoomer, then we’ll make plans to meet up :-)The bouquet garni is intended to be added to a soup, sauce, casserole or poaching liquid of your choice!

Green Paws, Winter Session, Week of 3/8/21

Only two more weeks of the Winter Green Paws Session!

#WaterWednesday: Now that our soil is back in shape, we can plant our Spring crop: beets, peas and greens!

  • Tritt, 2:00 - 2:30

  • Crossroads, 2:45 - 3:15

As in the past few weeks, there will be extra seeds available to swap or take home.

eARTh Project: We will be painting ‘mushroom’ seats for our nature trail!

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Environmental Engineering: Music Chimes for the Nature Trail! Research DIY natural-made or upcycled wind chimes for our Wednesday, March 17th meeting!

Field Trips: This Sunday, March 14th, is our last ‘field trip’. As in the past couple of quarters, this time we will be staying at Tritt to work on our trail project. Meet me there from Noon-2pm!

Seed-to-Stomach: Our first cooking show of the quarter was super fun! We made Creamed Spinach. I wasn’t able to record the session, but you can recreated the recipe using the following steps:

  1. Cook down a 10oz bag of spinach (or some other green like collards, mustards, or kale) in a tablespoon of unsalted butter and set it aside.

  2. In two tablespoons unsalted butter, sauté 1 small chopped onion and 2 teaspoons minced garlic.

  3. Gradually add two tablespoons all-purpose flour to create a roux.

  4. Slowly stir in 1 cup half-and-half OR 1/2 cup milk and 1/2 heavy cream

  5. Add finely grated Parmesan, Romano, or Manchego cheese

  6. Optionally, add the following spices: nutmeg, ground mustard, cayenne pepper, salt & pepper

  7. Mix in your greens and enjoy!

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Green Paws, Winter Session, Week of 2/8/21

Welcome to the Winter Session!

Field Trips: We had such a great time hiking at Sope Creek National Park this weekend! Follow me on Instagram (@trittscience) and Facebook (@Green Paws) for even more pictures.

Keep March 14th on your calendar for our next weekend adventure!

#WaterWednesday: There are two opportunities to meet up this week, Noon and 3:30PM, for the Seed Swap. Next week we’ll be doing test to figure out the nutrient level in our garden beds.

eARTh Project: We still haven’t decided between these two ideas: 1) Decorating the stone pavers at the front gardens; or 2) Mushroom themed seats for the Enchanted Woodland Trail we created last Fall. What do you guys think? I’m open to suggestions!

Environmental Engineering: Music Chimes for the Nature Trail / Garden! We’ll work on these throughout the season. Do some research for natural-made or upcycled wind chimes :-)

Seed Swap: Time for the first ever Green Paws Seed Swap! We have seeds for 17 different lettuces and other greens coming our way! Thanks for being so creative in your choices yall.

This Wednesday we’ll be planting some seeds in trays to start off in the Science Lab indoor greenhouse! After the break our lettuces and greens will be moved to the new Nature Nook greenhouse. In about a month they’ll be planted outdoors here at Tritt and at Crossroads!

Seed-to-Stomach: Let’s get cooking! Send Mr. Giunta your suggestions for Zoom meals!

Green Paws: Fall Session, Week of 12/7/20

#WaterWednesday: This Wednesday we’ll be meeting at Tritt from 11:30-12:30. There is no sign-up, just meet at the front gardens. We’ll be working on one last art project, a waldgeist, to decorate the new Enchanted Woodland Trail we created last Saturday.

Next Wednesday we’ll visit the Crossroads Garden for the last time this calendar year, and hopefully we’ll be able to pick the cabbage!

Seed-to-Stomach: Save the date - Wednesday, December 16th at 5pm.

Fairy Houses: Your projects came together so nicely! Take a look at some of the completed projects below. If you haven’t completed one, it isn’t too late - they would make a great addition to our Nature Trail :-)

Green Paws: Summer Session, Week of 9/14/20

Hey there Green Paws kiddos! Take a look below to see what we are up to this week!

Kitchen Experiment: Send in your recipes for EGGPLANT!!! This purple fruit gets its roots from India and east Asia, where it is often used as a meat substitute for its ability to soak up fats, sauces and flavors , but is also popular in Mediterranean dishes like baba ghanoush, ratatouille and parmigiana.

#WaterWednesday: Meet at our Crossroads plot (on Post Oak Tritt Road, between Johnson Ferry Road and HTMS). Sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E0D4DA4AC29A2F94-waterwednesday1

  • This week we are watering / weeding, but next week we’ll plant seedlings for our Fall crops.

Environmental Project: Build your own Beaver Dam! Last week we looked at water wheels and how they create energy for people to use, but as we saw at Vickery Creek, a water wheel needs a steady supply of water - in that case, from a dam. Of course, we aren’t the only animals that engineer dams. Watch the video below and then follow this link to complete the beaver dam challenge at home!

Save the Date: It was wonderful to see so many of the Green Paws in person over the weekend for our Vickery Creek field trip. We’ll have one more field trip for this quarter on: October 10th. Sign-up to follow.

Water Wheel Results:

Green Paws Habitat Challenge - Shelter Results

I’d like to share your animal shelter designs and builds here, as well as any pictures or data you collect of animals!

Lia P created this design plan for the fox family living in her friend’s backyard!

Green Paws Habitat Challenge - Shelter Design

Review the Introduction Story: Design a New Home in the post below. Your challenge is to design a new home for one of the animals in the story or for an animal you discovered on an outdoor walk in your neighborhood. You will follow the design process as you work with your family to solve the problem.

Engineering Design Process (PLTW).png

Ask

Gather information that will help you define the problem.

  • Will this be working home for outdoor use, or a craft model kept indoors?

What creature will you design and build a home for?

Criteria:

  • Strong so it doesn’t fall apart

  • Safe so it doesn’t hurt the animal and/or offers protection

  • Other criteria you decide based on chosen animals, such as: water resistant/proof, soft, warm, or cool

Explore

What materials are available for you to use?

  • Craft materials: cardboard, tape, paper lunch bags, string, glue, pom poms, foil, cotton balls, dowel rods, pipe cleaners, toothpicks, feathers, modeling clay, yarn, craft sticks, others

  • Natural materials: sticks, rocks, leaves, pine straw, dirt

  • Construction materials: With adult help you could use wood, hardware, etc…

Sketch ideas for your home design using pencils or crayons.

Model

Create your design!

Evaluate.

How did your product perform? What were the strengths and weaknesses of your design?

Explain.

EMAIL PHOTOS OF YOUR HOME IN ACTION TO MR. GIUNTA.

Green Paws Habitat Challenge - Birdfeeder Results

I’d like to share your bird feeder designs and builds here, as well as any pictures or data you collect on the birds visiting there!

Be sure to check out Lia P’s design process for her feeder and Sofie K’s design process for hummingbirds.

Can anyone tell what kind of bird is on Mr. Giunta’s feeder?

Mr. Giunta with Bird!.PNG

From Sophia E: “A female cardinal.was on my hammock & it landed on my bird feeder! The male cardinal was on the fence behind it but it flew away quickly. Our birdseed attracts cardinals and titmice. We also see blue jays trying to chase other birds away. I also have pictures of a squirrel  hanging off one of my bird feeders.”