Mrs. Swierski's class demonstrates our use of microscopes in 5th grade as we begin our unit on cells.
It's a TRAP!!!
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has revealed the first known system of seven Earth-size planets around a single star. Three of these planets are firmly located in the habitable zone, the area around the parent star where a rocky planet is most likely to have liquid water. You can learn more here: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-telescope-reveals-largest-batch-of-earth-size-habitable-zone-planets-around.
And Here:
"Wrapping Up" Structure and Function
Kindergarten has been investing how engineers consider structure and function when solving problems. They designed cast that had to have 4 functions: light, comfortable, strong and water resistance. Here is what we came up with!
Harvesting Carrots and Helping Birds!
After a week of playing habitat games before the February break, it was back to work in Green Paws. While we were weeding, the Thursday class harvested about 60 carrots between 1-4" each. These were holdovers from the class that ended last November, but moving forward we'll always plant some root veggies to grow over the winter.
Friday's class helped plan out our garden schedule for the semester, but even more fun were the bird nesting boxes we created! We cut doors in recycled milk jugs (I'm always collecting those) and added a bunch of red string. Our hope is that nesting song birds use the strings to help build/line their nests and that we can spy on them from the ground. You could also add dryer lint, hair from a brush, and other yarns and strings to entice them to use your nesting box!
Just building electromagnets like it is no big deal:
Mrs. Pirlot's class is the latest to build electromagnets. We used a 14 gauge stranded copper wire to create a solenoid around a steel nail. Using a 6V battery we were able to attract paperclips and change the direction of a compass!
There's a party over here...
... and there's a party over there. Some of our partners from Georgia Tech will be here with telescopes to share, but you are encouraged to bring your own and they'll help you set them up! Dress warmly! Parents are required to stay. All are welcome, but this is a 4th grade party!
Tritt Elementary, Simpson Middle ‘Lead the Way’ on STEM Education Tour
We made the Cobb County School District newsreel! We had about 10 visitors from Project Lead the Way (Indianapolis), Gwinnett County Schools, and Cobb County Schools visit during Mrs. Friends 1st grade class a couple of weeks ago. They were interested in how we were implementing this engineering curriculum with our state science standards. You can see pictures and read all about it here: http://cobbcast.cobbk12.org/?p=17533!
Happy Birthday, Charles Darwin!
I love to travel to all the National Parks around the country, but where I'd really like to visit is the Galapagos Islands. They are an ecological wonderland! Today is Charles Darwin's birthday - he helped make the Galapagos Islands famous with his work on evolution.
Rollin' rollin' rollin', Mrs. Wenders' class is rollin'
We are looking at the relationship between potential and kinetic energy in 4th grade. Mrs. Wenders' class is showing us how the height and length of a ramp determines the distance traveled of our VEX cars.
... Like a big pizza pie!
We continue our study of moon phases as Mrs. Woolley's class demonstrates our model creations below.
Up the creek!
In the first week of Green Paws we went did a water quality study in the stream off of the Nature Trail. We found Damselfly nymphs, snails, red worms, and on Friday... a Salamander!
Lunar Eclipse THIS Friday!
This Friday evening the full "Snow Moon" will be partially eclipsed by the Earth's shadow. The best time to see it is 7:45pm, but it will last for 4 hours total. Learn more here: http://www.space.com/35627-february-full-moon.html
First grade is showing a lot of real growth in science.
What happens after a flower is pollinate, why, a seed grows! This week in 1st grade we are tricking lima beans into growing in ziploc bags after we investigate them with hand lenses. Ms. Coyne's class is showing us how it is done.
Boogie woogie woogie woogie
Fifth Grade will be investigating electricity, magnetism, and their relationship. We'll start things off simple by taking a look at circuits. Show here is Mrs. Smith's class!
When the moon hits your eye...
... it is the sun reflecting off of it. Mrs. Teuchert's class demonstrates how 2nd Grade is exploring how the moon changes throughout the month!
Grasping the concept of structure and function:
Kindergarten is continuing to investigate structure and function as you can see here with Mrs. Smith's class. Like any good scientist, we recorded before / after data and compared the results of our ability to put pegs in a foam board without and with our fingers taped! Most students saw a decrease in the number of pegs placed. Next we'll look at what doctors use to keep our bones from moving and brainstorm some ways to help our fictional friend Angelina with her broken wrist.
And the winners are....
The judges were so impressed with all of the projects. In many cases only a few points separated the places, but they were able to choose the winners from each class.
Lupiani
First: Jackson, “Does what a physician wear make the patient feel different?”
Second: Alaina, Nana + Lauren, “Time to Melt Some Crayons”
Third: Elizabeth, “Food Choices Matter”
Pirlot
First: Jacob, “Best Place for Bacteria Growth”
Second: Ethan, “How well do different liquids and light conditions help grow red bell peppers?”
Tie Third: Lilly, “Enzymatic!”
Tie Third: Elise + Maddie, “The Temperature Test”
Pizzuto
First: Prakash, “Electrolytes”
Second: Nathan, “What liquids work best for plants?”
Tie Third: Johanna + Kara, “Excellent Education”
Tie Third: Cavan, “Pressure”
Smith
First: Lucas, Howie + Henry, “Electric Potato”
Second: Ava, “Bubblicious”
Third: Amanda + Heather, “Candy Coke Explosion”
Stone
First: Allison, “The Golden Age of Sugar is NOT as Sweet as you Think!”
Second: Kendall, “A Plant’s Taste”
Third: Watson, “Mesh Speeds”
Swierski
First: Reed, “How do video games affect vital signs in kids?”
Second: Sila, “Does music with lyrics help people concentrate better or not?”
Tie Third: Carter + Ryan, “Drone Speed Test”
Tie Third: Ethan, “How do liquids affect metals?”
The following projects will be advancing to the District Science Fair on February 11th:
Jackson Hornsby, “Does what a physician wear make the patient feel different?”
Allison Chaloupek, “The Golden Age of Sugar is NOT as Sweet as you Think!”
Reed Glaser “How do video games affect vital signs in kids?”
Sila Karakayali, “Does music with lyrics help people concentrate better or not?”
Jacob Mark, “Best Place for Bacteria Growth”
Prakash Mitra, “Electrolytes”
Why yes, the world does revolve around me.
Second graders (pictured: Mrs. Woolley's class) are investigating how the Sun's position changes throughout the day. How do you do that in a 45 minute class? You use the Skyview app on the iPads to track the Sun's orbit throughout the day and use flashlights to create your shadows! After an all-class example, students worked in groups to gather data that we'll graph next week to use to help Mylo/Suzi/Angelina solve a problem about shade at the playground.
Nothing to sneeze at -
Our friends Mylo/Suzi/Angelina have found a bunch of "weeds" growing in their school garden! Where did the come from? How does the form (shape) of something affect its function (purpose)? Mrs. Friend's class is finding out by learning how plants are pollinated, and taking a crack at how farmers might help them.
Give 'em a hand!
Kindergarten is continuing to study how engineers consider structure (shape) and function (job) by examining the human body. Did you know that our fingers each have three bones, but our thumbs only have two? Does this structure change what our hands are able to do?
Mrs. East and Mrs. Colley's class demonstrate the model we made in class to take home.