Cell Structure Lab
The Living Environment Lab classes have become very familiar with the differences between an animal cell and a plant cell. In lab class they have observed each type of cell under the microscope while sketching the parts of the cell. Hypotonic and Hypertonic solutions were poured onto the cell to see its effects. In the case of the hypertonic solution (salt water), the student observed a shrinkage of the cell. This is the same type of outcome that would occur if salt water was poured in the soil of a plant. A diffusion lab was also performed in which a semi-permeable membrane was filled with glucose and starch. Small molecules would diffuse through the membrane while larger molecules would not. Students also observed osmosis, which is the diffusion of water through a semi-permeable membrane into a solution where the solvent concentration was higher. Color changes inside the cell and a color change of the solution outside of the cell gave an indicator if starch and/or glucose were detected.
Ms. Farrell
Adobe Illustrator
We have begun doing Adobe Illustrator tutorials, which the students are loving! We started from the ground up, learning first how to choose the correct settings for a new file. I spend about 2-3 minutes showing the new material, and the students copy the steps for a grade. We’ll be getting more advanced as we go!
Mr. Boyd
Analogies
Our Valentines analogies were both fun and great practice for critical thinking skills. For example, butterfly: wings as flower: petal or romance is to love as camaraderie is to friendship. Now it’s your turn. You decide which of the four (4) choices fits best. bracelet: jeweler as bouquet: (a) florist (b) arborist (c) flowers (d) herbalist. We also had a bulletin board display for Black History Month.
Ms. Hampton
Bulletin Boards
Students in the Resource Room have been asked to consider varied topics that relate to both their academic and spiritual growth. The Weekly Food for Thought Quotations and Daily Scripture are designed to strengthen students spiritually. Some quotes: It is better to be prepared when an opportunity presents itself than to have an opportunity and not be prepared. or When you feel least secure, God can be your Rock or Fortress.
For a special bulletin board project, the students were asked to consider gifts that God had given them and how they would use those gifts to bless someone else. They wrote their responses on colorful three dimensional Stars which were displayed on the bulletin board. We continue our positive word alliterations using the days of the week and the students have been very creative – Let’s make this a Magnificent, Marvelous, Magical Monday or Let’s make this a Terrific, Thankful, Thoughtful Tuesday, or Let’s make this a Fantastic, Fun, Fabulous, Five Star Friday!
Ms. Hampton
Explorers
This week we have started studying European explorers and their effect on the globe. We charted the routes of Dias, Da Gama, Coumbus, Balboa, and Magellan. We read a letter that Columbus sent to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to see first hand what it would be like to discover a new land. Next we will study the conquistadors and the negative ramifications of exploration and expansion.
Miss Schutz
Vocabulary
Last month was filled with catching-up and study-time for midterm finals. Behold, all things are new – including a whole new quarter. While we all know how to use the telephone to make a phone call, some don’t know we used quarters to make a phone call from the near-ancient public telephone. Many smile at knowing that the computer mouse is also called the ratón in Spanish – or that computer screen is also called monitor in Spanish, in addition to pantalla – pan-tahl’-lyah.
An increase in oral communication will also be encouraged this month, as we re-visit the perfectly imperfect past tense as it will be an ongoing practice throughout the Spanish learning.
Don’t forget – labeling items will help you increase in learning, and remembering, the vocabulary words.
Let us continue learning together,
Mrs. Jean-Pierre
More Vocabulary
We started the new year sharing our new year’s resolutions in the classroom. Many students shared that they wanted to improve their English and learn more vocabulary. So we started a vocabulary log and made a list of different topics students wanted to talk/read about throughout the semester. This month, our topic was the difference in education between Asia and America. The students had a heated discussion as they have experienced both school systems and came to the conclusion that a balance of discipline and freedom was both important for successful learning.
Sara Park
Helping those in need…
We are always looking for opportunities to instill in our the importance of ministering to those in need. An opportunilty arose through the contact of a parent who led us to “Project Angel Hugs.” Project Angel Hugs is a Christ-centered organization ministering to the emotional eeds of children with cancer and their families. To youth touched by cancer and their families, they offer encouragement through prayer, words, gifts, and festivities; harnessing the adundant energy from healthy youth to accomplish work generated by this project while instilling in them a pssion for volunteering.
Evangel students were able to touch a child with cancer by making home-made Valentine’s Cards that will be distributed o Valentine’s Day. We collected 170 Valentine’s cards from our students to send to Project Angel Hugs. The students really enjoyed being able to “reach out and touch someone” in need with card.
See “Galleries” for pics.
A Christmas Carol
But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas-time […] the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.
~Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Above is a quote from our most recent 9th Grade novel, A Christmas Carol. The class explored the themes of greed and charity, and compared Dickens’ writing to the Biblical truths. The students chose projects to learn about characterization and interpretation. Some students made movie posters, choosing well-known characters to play the different roles. One student chose A Nickelodeon Christmas, and selected different cartoon characters to play Tiny Tim and Scrooge. Another student wrote four letters to Scrooge; he coffee stained and burnt the edges to make them look older and more realistic. One of the most fun times we had was reading a children’s version of the novel. We dimmed the lights, put on soft Christmas music, and even had a fireplace projecting onto the overhead screen. The students enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere while getting to experience how different authors interpret Dickens’ famous story. We laughed and learned–Dickens would be proud.
Miss Miller
Chronicles of Narnia-The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Our 5th through 12th grade students had the privalege of viewing the new movie, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.” We were able to secure the entire theater exclusively for our students. We had a great time with snacks and viewing this new movie based upon C.S. Lewis’s books, “Chronicles of Narnia.” After we returned, students discussed the Christian Symbolism represented in the Bible! It was awesome!