Students in Pamela McElmoyle’s seventh-grade science classes at L. B. Morris Elementary School in Jim Thorpe are getting a firsthand look at the life cycle of trout.

The school, in cooperation with the Germantown Grove Club and the Jim Thorpe Sportsmen Club, both in Jim Thorpe, are raising the fish from eggs to adult trout in a tank in the classroom.

Dakota McGonigal started the program last year with the fifth-grade class.

McGonigal took the year off from teaching, so McElmoyle volunteered to do the program with the seventh grade; although, she brings the fifth-grade science class in every two weeks to check in with updates.

The trout arrived at the school in January as eggs, around 75 of them. They arrived in baskets.

Once the eggs hatched, the fish enter the “free-embryo” stage of their lives.

They enter the “larval” period once they begin eating their own food, which was just around the end of January, according to McElmoyle.

The students not only observe the fish, they take an active role in caring for them. Carter Reis, one of the students, has been instrumental in arranging for their care.

“Carter has been my professional here,” McElmoyle exclaimed. “He’s really into fishing. He’s been helping teach everyone how to test the water and care for the fish.”

“We change the water every once in awhile; we get the stuff out of the gravel, feed them, turn on the chiller to cool down the water,” Reis said.

“It’s a great learning experience,” said student Andrew Sargent. “It’s fun for the other kids.”

Reis and Sargent, both members of the Germantown Grove Club on the East Side in Jim Thorpe, showed how they test the water each day, and showed Rebecca Kuhn and Chelsea Halenar how to do the testing.

“Every day, we collect samples of the water, and we’ll test it to see if the ammonia levels are good, the pH levels are good, nitrates.” Reis explained.

Depending on how the levels come out, they can make whatever adjustments are needed to the water in the tank.

The trout will continue to receive care and grow to maturity, and will be released at the Jim Thorpe Sportsmen’s Club on May 12.