DATE: 10/16/09
We are headed to Camp Letts in about a week and a half and in the meantime, we are very quickly learning to forecast weather! We have discussed energy transfer in the atmosphere and are currently mapping isobars in order to discuss air masses, fronts and pressure systems. Hopefully the students can count on sunny skies and warm weather for their Outdoor Education experience!
I have decided to hold off on the county assessments until after Outdoor Education in order to adequately prepare my classes. The specific schedule is below. There is a flashcard-making activity which will act as an excellent study guide for the assessment posted on my Study Guides page.
Assessment Schedule:
D class on 11/3
A and E classes on 11/4
B and C classes on 11/5
DATE: 10/7/09
We are wrapping up our discussion of the water cycle and clouds. Students will have a quiz on Chapter 16, section 1 on Friday (A, B, and E classes) or Monday (C and D classes). Students should use the Directed reading Worksheets for chapter 16-1, the class notes on humidity and relative humidity and the notes on clouds to study. The quiz score will not be included in the progress report grade.
We will be moving on to look at energy transfer and heating of the atmosphere and then air masses and winds. All of these topics will lead us to discuss weather (warm and cold fronts) and the results of changing weather.
Quarterly assessments will be given before we go to Outdoor Education. The specific dates will be coming and students will receive a study guide as well as a study activity (such as making flashcards).
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It was wonderful to see so many of you at Back to School Night last night. I uploaded the BTSN Power Point into my Class Information page. Your students are taking the atmosphere quiz today and tomorrow and will get their scores back early next week. They will also be asked to reflect on their current progress in science class and check TeacherEase. Please discuss this with them.
We will be starting Chapter 16, section 1 next week - the water cycle.
DATE: 9/17/09
Thanks to those of you who have already subscribed to my NEWS page. I look forward to meeting everyone next week at Back-to-School night.
In science, we have covered all of the introductory information and discussed science safety. We are now focusing on the properties and characteristics of Earth's atmosphere. The students will take their first quiz for me on Thursday (A, B, and E) or Friday (C, D). The quiz will cover safe behavior in the lab setting (study the contract) and it will cover chapter 15, section 1. There are both a safety and an atmosphere powerpoint to be found on my Powerpoints page. They include some warm-ups and notes in addition to what was done in class.
Please check TeacherEase regularly. And, as always communicate any concerns or questions right away.
DATE: 8/12/09
Another new school year is upon us! I am so excited to get started this year, and I look
forward to working with all of you - students and parents alike. My website has many links and resources to keep you informed about what is happening in science this year. Please use it often, and of course, email me if you have any suggestions or requests for improvement. I will post the HW by class nightly to be used as a back-up, in case students do not have the proper HW copied into their agenda books. It should not be relied upon as the ONLY means of knowing the HW.
Parents: I will update my NEWS page occasionally with reminders about topics, quizzes and tests. If you would like an email reminder sent to you, please register your email address on this page. I will also be using the web-based grading program Teacher Ease this year. With it, you will have access to your student's grade in real time. TeacherEase should be up and running within the first few weeks of school - we are waiting for the school to create one database for all our students. Please use this site and let me know ways in which I might utilize it better.
I look forward to seeing all of you on Back to School Night!