Trout tank in Ms. Guntulis’s classroom

Thomas Fleming 5th-grade classes will be celebrating the end-of-year trout release on June 8th and 9th, 2026. All 5th-grade classes be releasing their fish on June 9th, 2026.

Ms. Guntulis and Ms. Osborne’s classes will be releasing their fish on June 8th, 2026. Ms. Lee and Ms. Coviello will be releasing their fish on June 9th, 2026. 

Throughout the process of caring for the trout, some of the fish eggs and some fish don’t make it. Every classroom started with a hundred eggs. Ms. Guntulis has lost around fifteen fish, and Ms. Coviello has lost around eight. When the classrooms first got the fish in January 2026, they hatched and are now almost half an inch. While nurturing the trout, students have learned about them.

Ms. Coviello’s favorite part of having the fish is seeing them swim and watching them grow.

She said, “I especially love it when they swim against the current from the pump. It’s almost like they are on a water ride.” 

She added that her least favorite thing is when a fish dies, “I don’t enjoy scooping the poor fish out.”

A fifth-grade student who will be participating in the trout release, Madi Furniess, said: “I think I’m really excited to do the trout release because I think it will be a really fun experience.”  

Thomas Fleming fifth grade students have been doing this release at Mills River for two years.

Fifth graders finally get to release them after watching them grow and caring for them for months.