Welcome back!
After a few hiccups, middle school was able to be on campus again on Friday, and it was a productive few days despite the unorthodox return.
MS is simultaneously jumping into some foundational chemistry concepts and gathering steam for their annual science fair projects.
The Science Fair will be held at DGS on Friday, 3/11. This week, we established several key deadlines to keep in mind to make the run up to that event as stress-free as possible. Although most of the work for Science Fair takes place at school, it's important that all middle schoolers speak with their parents and that everyone is on the same page to prevent it sneaking up on us.
Here are several dates to keep in mind:
1/14: All materials for experimentation should be acquired. (This is especially true if their projects will necessitate ongoing observations such as plant or bacteria growth.)
2/4: All experimentation should be completed (with the exception of longer-term observations noted above) and the blank display board should be purchased.
2/18: All data tables, charts, graphs, and photos should be completed/collected.
2/21-25: We will be out of school on these days.
3/4: Display board, abstract, and all components complete and assembled. (I ask for everything to be complete by this time both because it gives the kids a chance to present to their peers and practice responding to questions, AND simply because "things come up" and it's ideal to be done early.
In terms of science content, we have taken our first few days to review some fundamental principles regarding the structure of atoms and how our understanding of matter has evolved over time. On Friday, we had some fun with static electricity, using balloons, tape, and plastic strips to demonstrate how electrons can be transferred, influencing the charge of objects and causing them to attract or repel each other. Over the next few weeks, we will be focusing heavily on the periodic table, and students will need to gradually memorize the first 20 elements.
Thanks to Betsy for a cool master class on Genshin Impact this week. Please remember to dress warmly during these winter weeks. Our area is shaded and often 5-10 degrees cooler than the rest of campus.
In the event of absence or quarantine, please check the Google classroom regularly in order to keep up with assignments or activities. Looking forward to another wonderful week!
Comments