5th grade

Starting to learn about force, work and friction.
Concepts to think about: How are work and force related? How does one affect the other?
This will lead us into learning about friction, work and distance.
Exploring with weights and spring scales and discussing the S.I unit for force which is the Newton.

8th grade

Starting sound energy unit and the ear.
Mini lab called Hanger Bonger. Materials? Wire hanger, string, fingers and ears.
Wrapping a string around a wire hanger and finger, students place fingers in ears.
What happens when the length of the string is shortened?

5th grade

Flowering plant unit completed, students have done a flower dissection, created very clever Flower Limericks, now they used their creativity and design skills to make a flower, name it and suggest possible pollinators.

8th grade

What a great day -
Students dissected cow eyes. This class is truly intrigued in each and every dissection we have done. It is a pleasure working with them and watching them explore and discover.
After studying light and the eye, the culminating lab was this one.
Students get to touch and see the various parts of the eye, from the lens and ciliary muscles, to the retina and blind spot.
They sketch, identify anatomy, use dissecting equipment (scalpel, probes, tweezers) and answer questions.
Right on Class of 2013!! We got our eyes on you! :)

4th grade

Utilizing the Orange Kits borrowed from the Academy of Sciences, the students are learning all about an important biome - our tropical Rainforests.
Following a mapping activity as to where the Rainforests are located, the students explore the various "Products of the Rainforest". They identify which part of the plant - seed, stem, leaf, root, flower - the products come from.
Chocolate, ginger, tapioca, rubber, cinnamon, palm oil, nutmeg - all are products from the Rainforests of the World.

5th grade

After going to the Transfer Station and learning about what happens to garbage and recycling, the students toured an area where the "Artist-in-Residence" worked. Students saw some very creative pieces made from items from the landfill or recycling.
They were inspired and wanted to create some of their own art.
Ms. Stamatis have the students a few days to collect material from their respective homes. Then "shopping" for parts, they had one class period to make something. Here is just a small sampling of their ingenuity.

5th grade

Flower dissections
A fun lab, students got to explore the inner parts of a flower. We hope to find seeds or eggs in the ovule. It's not easy to do. But it was great to watch them locate and identify other flower parts.