May 3: Humpty Dumpty & Sensing Changes in Energy Research

We're making sure that gravity is still in effect on Earth by doing an egg drop. Students will design a container to protect Humpty Dumpty as he falls off the main stairs of the school. They will be practicing their engineering as well as observing forces in action. I love these kinds of projects because it demonstrates the amazing creativity of the students. They come up with the most amazing ideas! I'm excited to see how the parachute made with facecards, the twinkie filled box, and the corn syrup pool hold up. It should be pretty fun! 

They will also spend the week doing a research project in the library on technologies that sense changes in energy. We've already discussed how our own bodies detect and react to changes in light energy (eyes), sound kinetic energy (ears), and other forms of kinetic energy (skin). Now we'll look in to how technology has made it possible for us to detect changes in energy that we can't easily detect with our own senses. Students will learn about hearing aids, ultrasounds, Doppler radar, etc. Each student will have one technology to research and will share what they've learned in small groups after the research is complete. This week will be an introduction, while next week they will really get to get into the books and to do computer research on their topic.

April 25: CRT Week

This week students will be taking their science CRT (Criterion Referenced Test). This is a state test written by a committee of teachers to test how well students have grasped the state core curriculum.

We reviewed like crazy, and I'm very hopeful that they did great on the test! We probably won't get scores back until summer time.

For the first few days post CRT we will wind down with a movie (I'm hoping to get one about roller coasters, in preparation for physics day at Lagoon).

That reminds me, all eligible students (C- or above, and S&H for citizenship) need to bring in their $5 bus fee receipt stapled to their purple permission slip by next Friday (May 7). They will need an additional $26 on May 14 for the entrance fee. The students staying here will be working on some research in the library.

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day (yesterday) to everyone!

We looked at these cool photos of the Iceland volcano as a reminder that the Earth is pretty powerful, but still needs protection: Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano.

April 19: CRT Review

We've come to the end!!! It's time to take that big end of year, state required test - the CRT. We will be taking our test during class time on April 28th and 29th (the 30th is the make-up day). Please do everything that you can to ensure that your student is at school for those days.

In order to help the students do their absolute best on this exam we will be review this week. Reviewing an entire year's worth of information is a daunting task, but I'm already impressed with how much they remember. We'll be playing review games, working on a few worksheets, and taking some practice tests.

Please stress to them how important these CRT tests are because their scores will be on their permenant records and will help determine where they go from here.

Simple Machines Link

Click here to go to a website about simple machines: