THIS WEEK, NEXT WEEK
I have had so much fun this week watching your kids dress up in the laundry we sorted in our Laundry Lab, make molecules out of beads that represented atoms, and today develop FDA guidelines for cereal in our study of pure substances and mixtures.
This weekend, students should be reading pages 42-44 and answering the four Solutions, Suspensions, and Colloids (S/S/C) Questions, either on paper or on Schoology.
Next week, we'll look at the three special classifications of mixtures - solutions, suspensions, and colloids - and review for our Section 2.1 Quiz, which is scheduled for Thursday, November 5.
ASSIGNED A.C.T.
The start of the second marking period is the perfect time to reset and re-evaluate. Starting this marking period, I will not allow students to "take a zero" (or NS) . . . that is the easy way out! Already, some of them did not have yesterday's homework completed. I am not going to allow students to fall behind as we move full speed ahead into the meat of our curriculum.
For the rest of the year, I will be assigning Academic Coaching Time (ACT) to students who fall behind on homework or classwork, who have low grades on tests and could benefit from test corrections and retakes, or who have failing grades and need extra help from me. I am always here after school (2:35-3:10 p.m. and beyond) for ANY student who would like my help. However, I may be requesting that your child stay for ACT to complete missing assignments.
As I explained to those who did not have yesterday's homework completed, I want their work, not their time. If I assign ACT for missing work, your child has two options: turn in the work, or stay after school. I'll update their grades, and we'll go on our merry way.
Thanks, as always, for your support as we set high expectations for all students in Foundations of Science!
AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY
Next week, I will be "introducing" my 9th grade students to my good friend, Amy Vinglish, who teaches English in my home town of Altoona. Ms. Vinglish is not only an English teacher (yes, that rhymes, and she loves it); she is also a master SCUBA diver. Amy is one of four teachers from across the country who has been chosen to participate in this year's Teacher Under the Sea program at the Aquarius underwater lab in the Florida Keys! You can read more about the program here:
https://aquarius.fiu.edu/education/teacher_under_the_sea/
From November 7-15, Amy will be working with actual scientists at Aquarius and Florida International University to bring real-world science to students virtually, via blogs and virtual field trips. Specifically, they're studying sharks' roles in ecosystems.
What does my friend's time under the sea mean for Foundations of Science students? It means that we have the opportunity to interact with her while tying in real world engineering (Aquarius, SCUBA, and other technology) as well as concepts from our 9th grade curriculum - namely pressure and gas laws (really important for SCUBA safety and a part of Unit 2) and sharks' roles in ecosystems (Ecology is our last unit of the year).
I hope your kids will be as excited as I am about this opportunity to use technology to explore another part of the world! Stay tuned!
I have had so much fun this week watching your kids dress up in the laundry we sorted in our Laundry Lab, make molecules out of beads that represented atoms, and today develop FDA guidelines for cereal in our study of pure substances and mixtures.
This weekend, students should be reading pages 42-44 and answering the four Solutions, Suspensions, and Colloids (S/S/C) Questions, either on paper or on Schoology.
Next week, we'll look at the three special classifications of mixtures - solutions, suspensions, and colloids - and review for our Section 2.1 Quiz, which is scheduled for Thursday, November 5.
ASSIGNED A.C.T.
The start of the second marking period is the perfect time to reset and re-evaluate. Starting this marking period, I will not allow students to "take a zero" (or NS) . . . that is the easy way out! Already, some of them did not have yesterday's homework completed. I am not going to allow students to fall behind as we move full speed ahead into the meat of our curriculum.
For the rest of the year, I will be assigning Academic Coaching Time (ACT) to students who fall behind on homework or classwork, who have low grades on tests and could benefit from test corrections and retakes, or who have failing grades and need extra help from me. I am always here after school (2:35-3:10 p.m. and beyond) for ANY student who would like my help. However, I may be requesting that your child stay for ACT to complete missing assignments.
As I explained to those who did not have yesterday's homework completed, I want their work, not their time. If I assign ACT for missing work, your child has two options: turn in the work, or stay after school. I'll update their grades, and we'll go on our merry way.
Thanks, as always, for your support as we set high expectations for all students in Foundations of Science!
AN EXCITING OPPORTUNITY
Next week, I will be "introducing" my 9th grade students to my good friend, Amy Vinglish, who teaches English in my home town of Altoona. Ms. Vinglish is not only an English teacher (yes, that rhymes, and she loves it); she is also a master SCUBA diver. Amy is one of four teachers from across the country who has been chosen to participate in this year's Teacher Under the Sea program at the Aquarius underwater lab in the Florida Keys! You can read more about the program here:
https://aquarius.fiu.edu/education/teacher_under_the_sea/
From November 7-15, Amy will be working with actual scientists at Aquarius and Florida International University to bring real-world science to students virtually, via blogs and virtual field trips. Specifically, they're studying sharks' roles in ecosystems.
What does my friend's time under the sea mean for Foundations of Science students? It means that we have the opportunity to interact with her while tying in real world engineering (Aquarius, SCUBA, and other technology) as well as concepts from our 9th grade curriculum - namely pressure and gas laws (really important for SCUBA safety and a part of Unit 2) and sharks' roles in ecosystems (Ecology is our last unit of the year).
I hope your kids will be as excited as I am about this opportunity to use technology to explore another part of the world! Stay tuned!