Welcome back parents and guardians! This year STEM classes are split up between three teachers, we’ll be posting all of our updates to the blog at the same time. Each teacher will have their name above the subjects they teach to hopefully make for a stream lined view experience. Lets have a great school year!

Mr. Long: 

Algebra 1: We are beginning our Algebra class by discussing rearrangement of equations paired with direct and indirect variation equations. Students have been working through multiple problems each day, as well as partnering and creating their own equations for each other to solve. 

6th Grade: We are working on understanding ratios and when they can be useful. The class has taken sample data from each other and created ratio problems and had them solved by their fellow classmates. We will soon be working on a project where student will take a reciept and analyze it to break it down into different types of items and find the percentages and ratios within. 

Mr. Spurlin:

Foundations of Algebra:  Started the year with some pretest assignments to see where the students are at level-wise.  We began with PEMDAS and order of operations and have moved on to decimals to fractions, fractions to decimals, and changing both to percentages.  The students have done very well at the start of the school year.

7th grade Math:  Started the year with some pretest assignments to see where the students are at level-wise.  No matter what level of classes, it is always good to review the basic math rules and fundamentals.  The class began with PEMDAS and order of operations and has moved on to decimals to fractions, fractions to decimals, and changing both to percentages.  The students have done very well at the start of the school year.  As I said, no matter the class, it is the basic rules to review and remind students to have an understanding and a great start to the school year.

7th/8th grade Science:  We started the year reviewing math skills which will be needed in class.  Using scientific notation and dimensional analysis to solve problems using conversion rates. This week we will start motion and force section.

Coach Jones: 

Our 6th-grade scientists have been busy exploring the amazing world of science! Over the past several days, we have been learning about the three major branches of science and discovering that each branch contains many different areas of study, or subsets.

We began by looking at the three major branches:

• Physical Science – the study of matter, energy, forces, motion, and how nonliving things interact.
• Life Science – the study of living things, including plants, animals, cells, ecosystems, and more.
• Earth and Space Science – the study of our planet, weather, rocks, oceans, the atmosphere, the solar system, and the universe.

As we explored these branches, students discovered that science is much bigger than the subjects we typically think about in school. There are hundreds of different “-ologies” that scientists can study!

Introducing “UPick Ology”

The students are now getting to choose their own path through science with our “UPick Ology” Project! Students have been given a list of activities to choose from. They must select three different activities that add up to a total of 30 points.

The goal is to give students a choice in how they explore science while encouraging them to investigate an area that interests them.

Why Give Students Choice?

Science is everywhere, and every student has different interests. One student might be fascinated by animals, while another is curious about space, rocks, weather, the human body, or the oceans. The UPick Ology project allows students to follow their curiosity and discover that there is a branch of science for almost everything they can imagine. 

Students are also practicing important skills along the way, including research, organization, reading, writing, creativity, communication, and scientific thinking. I’m excited to see which areas of science our students choose to explore and, more importantly, what new questions they come up with along the way!

Stay tuned to see where our young scientists’ curiosity takes them!