Mrs. Pizzuto's class is studying the characteristics of vertebrate animals by playing a card pass game that is a variation of "spoons". [embed]https://youtu.be/BDGdXeczAuY[/embed]
Mrs. Cervi's class is feeling the heat!
Our 2nd graders have been studying the patterns of the sky and are looking forward to building a model structure to keep the sun off our playground during the hottest parts of the day.
Compound Machine Build Out: DeMeester
Compound Machine Build Out: Eichler
Compound Machine Build Out: Kappel
Oh RATS!!!
This week the Science Detectives dissected owl pellets! Learn more about Owls here: [embed]https://youtu.be/oWQ6KSBwRoM[/embed]
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Pushes & Pulls: Garrett
Mrs. Garrett's class wrapped up their study on forces, or pushes and pulls, today. We saw some of our most creative designs including bottom/side/top loading machines, bumpers in case of collision, and wheels that no one else had tried before!
Compound Machine Build Out: Waters
Wheel & Axle, Inclined Plane, Pulley and Lever: They were all represented in the STEM challenge culminating our study of compound machines in Mrs. Waters' class.
Here Comes the Sun(flower)!
Our first graders are planting sunflowers all week long as a part of our study on plants. After spring break they'll be able to take them home! Mrs. Light's class is demonstrating below:
Pushes & Pulls: Wall
Compound Machine Build Out: Wender
Mrs. Wender's class presented their final compound machines:
Pushes & Pulls: Arasi
Mrs. Arasi's class keeps pace by creating some awesome rock-moving machines:
Compound Machine Build Out: Blick
We are wrapping up our compound machine unit in 4th grade, and Mrs. Blick's class is the first to tackle the problem: Can we make a model of a machine that will lift our tigers 4" and set them down in a new place? Take a look below!
Pushes & Pulls: Bower
Mrs. Bower's class wraps our 2-month pushes & pulls challenge with some awesome wheelbarrows, sleds and wagons:
Pushes and Pulls: Coyne
Ms. Coyne's class' picks up our rock moving challenge. How will the students overcome friction to transport rocks (blocks and whiffle balls) from one side of the rooms to the other? Find out below:
Let's talk about snakes.
Garter Snake, non-venomous
Snakes are misunderstood. They are an important part of the food web, and many of them eat rodents - vectors for zoonotic diseases. There are over 42 species in Georgia, and only six of them are venomous (there is no such thing as a poisonous snake)! While there are over a thousand reported snake bites every year, there are only an average of 5 deaths per year across the entire United States. Most folks who get bit are trying to remove or harass a snake, and they are typically bitten in the arm. The most important thing you can do is learn to identify different snakes in your area (for example: there are no Water Moccasins in Cobb County, but there are five other large, non-venomous water snakes) and pay attention when you are hiking in the woods or playing around leaf litter or fallen trees. Here are four common snakes that do have some similar coloration. The only dangerous one is the Copperhead, the ONLY venomous snake in Cobb County. Learn more about snakes of Georgia at the Chattahoochee Nature Center or here: http://srelherp.uga.edu/snakes/.
Worm Snake, non-venomous, pencil-sized
Brown Snake, non-venomous, pencil-sized
Corn Snake, aka Red Rat Snake, non-venomous
Copperhead, VENOMOUS
Creating Compound Machines: Part 1 of 2.
Mrs. Kappel's class found out that building a complex machine from scratch is no easy task. Students are spending the next two classes taking two cracks at creating a machine to lift our "tigers" at least 4 inches, and setting down in a different place.
Classification - a field study.
Mrs. Stone's fifth grade class took to the Nature Trail to study vascular/non-vascular plants, and vertebrate/invertebrate animals. We found examples of everything and recorded them in our journals back in the Nature Nook.
Drawing inspiration from play.
Our second graders are in the imagine/explore phase of their latest STEM challenge. We've been studying how the sun and moon appear to move through the sky and learned about UV rays in order to help Suzi/Angelina/Mylo come up with a way to not overheat on the playground. We'll be making models next using pipe cleaners, screens, aluminum foil, modeling clay, etc. Below, Ms. Gardner's class is watching the 3rd graders at recess for inspiration on their projects.
Roll out with Mrs. East's class!
Mrs. East's class is taking the first shot at using our Kindergartner's new knowledge on forces, pushes and pulls, to design and build a structure to transport "rocks" from one place to another in order to construct something new on the original spot. We saw rakes, bulldozers, wagons and cars! 
