Seniors have 2 goals this year in Math – the Regents and the SAT. They have been practicing using a calculator to graph various functions. They are very focused and are working very hard.
Mrs. Wong
The seniors began their first year of Physics by studying motion. They measured how far a toy car can travel and how far a marble on a ramp can roll.
Mrs. Wong
The juniors were introduced to chemistry by making a class Periodic Table. Each student researched one element and displayed that information along with visuals for the class to enjoy. In lab the students observed signs of a chemical reaction. They mixed different solutions and recorded the changes that they saw: a color change, the formation of a precipitate; or bubbles.
Mrs. Wong
This drama class emphasizes the importance of the spoken word, and thus students will be practicing and preparing a variety of speeches, dramas, skits, and recitations. Last week we studied clips of great speakers (Martin Luther King Jr., Winston Churchill, FDR, etc.) and used them as models before giving our own improptu speeches. This week we will be sharing personal experience speeches and discussing preparations for the speech meet in March.
Mrs. Lapp
In the first few weeks of class, students have discussed the meaning of civilization, and have talked about how the creation of civilizations is actually a fulfillment of God’s creation mandate (that humans should fill and subdue the earth). Since we are made in God’s image, humans have the ability to create, to order their surroundings, and to think, speak, and write. These things enable us to form civilizations. We reviewed the Paleolithic Era and the Neolithic Revolution and are now beginning with a unit on Mesopotamia and Egypt, in which we are reading Babylonian creation and flood myths and comparing them to the Biblical accounts.
Mrs. Lapp
This week in Grammar we are learning about prepositional phrases. We are also using them to write poems that involve animals. The students’ use of prepositional phrases can be both creative and quite amusing. For example: Last night I dreamed of sharks. There were sharks everywhere. They were bathing in my tub, biting on my sheets, chewing up my books, and swimming across my floor.
Miss Laforest
This week in Social Studies we are investigating New York’s natural resources. Along with studying about our state’s resources and we are thinking of ways we can help conserve them. Students are also using their creativity to make a project using only natural resources from their environment that they will present in class.
Miss Laforest
This week in Math we are studying division, factors, and prime/composite numbers. We are introducing these areas in a hands on way. Using tile manipulatives and linear pieces we are creating what we are learning about visually. Using this approach students are able to “see” what division really means, why some numbers are factors and others aren’t, and what makes a prime number prime.
Miss Laforest
This month in Science we are studying why matter matters. Through various labs we are exploring the solids, liquids and gases around us. This week we experimented with surface tension- the “skin” that forms on the top of water when the molecules bind together; and how this occurrence allows some bugs to skate across water.
Miss Laforest
Students continued reading and working in their SRA Reading booklets. They used strategies such as reading the comprehension questions first before reading the story; they also used context clues to figure out word meanings. The goal was for each student to complete two stories at their personal, reading ability level. At the end of the week, students took a quiz on main idea and context clues.
Mrs. Foster