6th grade - Volcano Alert!

A volcano is ready to erupt in the Philippines....go to www.cnn.com to find out more information.

Science fair Projects

7th and 8th grade students are expected to complete their experiments and data collection during Christmas break. Students will turn in a final copy of their experiment procedures and all data collected on Wednesday, January 6.

If interested students (not required, but some students have asked) can begin the preliminary sections of the research report. This includes:
1. Write one page about how you came up with your topic and what questions you came up with.
2. Write one page about what you learned from your three research articles.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, kristy.vena@earthlink.net

December Above & Beyond

The Star of Bethlehem

This makes a fascinating web search! So many theories out there about what the wise men really saw and why it drove them to seek a newborn king. Could it have been a comet or an arrangement of planets or a supernova? If you have clear nights mid-December, get outside and look for the Geminids Meteor Shower display.

Here's what you need to do:
1. Google the terms, “Star of Bethlehem” . Read at least 2 articles on this subject.
2. Go to this website: http://www.unmuseum.org/bstar.htm
3. Look for the meteor shower…..look at this site: http://stardate.org/nightsky/meteors/
4. Write a summary of all that you learned!

This is due by Friday, January 8.

8th Grade Update

I will no longer be accepting late work from the 8th grade class. All work must be turned in on the due date. Failure to turn work in on time will result in zero points for that assignment.

End of First Trimester

Hi all,

We are at the end of the first trimester...already! Any work that you want to turn in before I do my grades this weekend need to be turned in by Friday. There are no exception....all work in by Friday.

7th grade will have a test on Friday.

Above & Beyond can be downloaded from the calendar section of Engrade. If you turn it in by Friday it will count for the first trimester. After that, it will count for the second trimester.

6th Grade - Model Earth Assessment

The due date for the Model Earth project has been moved to Wednesday, October 14 in class (not after school). The rubric for the project can be found on page 46 of the lab manual.
The project must include:
1. sketches and designs

2. constructed model of Earth with a cut-away, including:
a. 3 layers
b. 2 continents
c. 2 mid-ocean ridges
d. 2 deep ocean trenches
e. 2 plate boundaries

3. class presentation

7th Grade - Optical Instrument Project

I have moved the due date of the optical instrument to this Friday. The rubric for the project can be found on page 15 of the lab manual.

It must include:
A plan for building the instrument including materials used
Answer the following questions for testing:
How did I test my instrument?
What changes did I make from my original plan?
Manual: step by step procedure for how to use the instrument.

Time Lapse Station Fire Video

This is the link to the time-lapse video I showed in class this week of the Station Fire. We were able to observe the formation of clouds at the top of the smoke caused by the intense heat.

Check it out:
http://www.urlesque.com/2009/09/01/time-lapse-tuesday-california-wildfires/

Welcome to the 2009-2010 Science Class

Welcome back!

Science Fair Winners

Congratulations to the following winners of the 2009 HNM Science Fair:

7th grade:
1st - Molly Birgen and Nikki Perez
2nd - Christian Zavala
3rd - Justin Gregory

8th grade:
1st - Emily Andersen
2nd - Mairead Blaes and Emily Romero
3rd - Erica Sanchez and Angela Gomez

These students have been invited to attend the Los Angeles County Science Fair in April. Go Raiders!

San Dimas High School Science Roadshow is back!!!

Let's do it again! The chemistry and physics students from San Dimas High School will be back on Wednesday, March 25 for show us some awesome experiments! It was a great time last year! Check out the pics:
http://www.bonita.k12.ca.us/sandimas/elliott/scienceroadshow3.18.08/index.html