Biography

I am excited to be in my fourth year teaching here at Decatur, and I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself to those of you who are new to Decatur. I am going into my 23rd year of teaching, having served students and families from all across Chicago in grades 3-8, primarily in the subject areas of Science, Social Studies, and Language Arts. I hold a Master of Arts in Teaching Degree from National-Louis University, and in recent years I was awarded a Golden Apple in Teaching Fellowship and MSUrbanSTEM Fellowship. I have also earned National Board Teacher Certification.

I am extremely passionate about teaching and exploring Science with middle school students! My philosophy of teaching science revolves around guiding students into collaboratively exploring phenomena, both inside and outside of our classroom. Based upon their own observations, under the framework of The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), students devise their own evidence-based hypotheses, test their hypotheses with their own designed experiments and/or engineering creations, and after careful data analysis, they apply their language skills in a variety of ways to communicate their findings to a wider audience. Their audiences sometimes include students from other schools and locations, as well as professional scientists and engineers from local universities or corporate foundations, and even around the world via videoconferencing.

When I am not in the pursuit of quenching my own lifelong love of learning new things through Science, I love spending time with family and friends. In the picture you can see my family; my wife, Megan, our children Ruby and Hank, and Hank’s service dog, Dosido. I am honored to be your child’s teacher of Science this year and I look forward to working as a partner with you to help your child grow as a learner!

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Join us for Decatur STEM Night Wednesday April 12, at 4:30 pm!

Please join us for Decatur Family STEM Night on Wednesday April 12, 2023 from 4:30-6:00 p.m.! Open this doc to learn more including the link to register your family!

Week 29 of 2022-23| 5th-8th Grade Science

This week's slideshow highlights: some pics of 8th grade working with their second grade buddies to make spring chicken egg decorations; 7th grade students presenting in front of the class ecological case studies that focused on the question of "nature vs nurture" in how animal behavioral traits are found within certain species; 6th grade took on the roles of epidemiologists as they explored an interactive lab investigation together to find out what was the source of an infectious disease outbreak--they collected, analyzed, and interpreted data to determine the source; 5th grade did a lab investigation to determine how thermal energy added to a system causes changes to atoms that make up matter using glow sticks exposed to hot vs cold water; 6th - 8th grade students all enjoyed time together in the gym for the Winter Sports Assembly and March Madness competitions between homerooms; and as coaches Mr. Bahena and I enjoyed our students' second track and field practice outside this past Monday as our athletes get ready for their meets later this spring. Thank you for checking in with us and have a wonderful Spring Break with your family:)

Weeks 27 & 28 of 2022-23|5th-8th Grade Science

This week's slideshow highlights: pics of our 5 Decatur JHS students who each made it to CPS Citywide STEM Fair (Congratulations to 8th graders Francesca and Lucy and 7th graders Clare, Elliot, and Sienna who represented Decatur with grace), and then Elliot, Sienna, and Francesca, who each are advancing onto IL State STEM Fair, which will be held at SIU Carbondale in late April); pics of 8th grade exploring their new SEPUP unit on Waves; 5th graders wrapped up their unit on "Weather & Climate" and will move into exploring "Energy"; and 7th graders continued exploring genetics as part of their SEPUP unit on "Reproduction" along with pics of them gearing up for next week's JHS March Madness by working together to create table top basketball hoops.

Week 26 of 2022-23|5th - 8th Grade Science

This week's slideshow highlights: several pics of students leading parts of science lessons; 7th graders from Room 1011 working together to bring in supplies for the Student Council charity drive; 5th graders celebrating as Mr. Murray made an all school announcement of the charity drive class leaders as they made it up to 3rd place; a pic of a special visit to our Science lab by Mr. Roper's 1st grade class who were shown our class pet lizard, Curtiss, and asking their own inquiry questions to one of our 8th grade herpetologists who takes special care of Curtiss during our breaks from school; 8th graders forming a human chain to simulate the cross linking of polymers as part of their "Chemistry of Materials" SEPUP unit that they just completed; 6th graders playing classroom Jeopardy to review for their final exam on their "Geological Processes" SEPUP unit; and 5th graders each taking on the role of meteorologists forecasting weather as they continued exploring their "Weather & Climate" SEPUP unit. Thank you for checking in with us this week:)

Week 25 of 2022-23| 5th - 8th Grade Science

This week's slideshow highlights: 8th graders conducting a taste test experiment to see if they can taste the difference between tap water, bottled purified water (taken from a tap at another municipal water supply somewhere), bottled distilled water, and bottled spring water as they have been exploring plastics as part of their "Chemistry of Materials" SEPUP unit; 8th grade also investigated a lab where they crosslinked two polymers the same way chemists do who work to create various plastics as they made a plastic that resembled slime; 7th grade continued exploring genetics; 6th graders explored how natural resources are unevenly distributed around the world due to past geologic events and they performed some in-depth data collection-analysis-interpretation of how ground water aquifers are impacted as well by both natural events and human activity; and 5th grade continued their unit on "Weather & Climate" with a couple of cooperative investigations to learn more about prevailing winds and how they impact global and regional climates; and there is a pic of a rare sighting of the elusive "Leroy the catfish" in our classroom aquatic ecosystem. Thank you for checking in with us this week:)

Congratulations to these 5 Decatur JHS Scientists who are advancing from CPS Regional STEM Fair Competition onto the CPS Citywide STEM Fair! Only students who made it to the "Gold Medal" level advanced and Decatur was one of only a handful of schools to have all 5 regional entrants advance. We are so proud of these students and wish them the best at the city STEM Fair on March 17th!

Week 23 of 2022-23| 5th-8th Grade Science

This week's slideshow highlights: 8th grade students explored through a lab investigation and computer simulation how atoms and molecules move differently between the states of solid, liquid, and gas depending on thermal energy within a system as part of their "Chemistry of Materials" SEPUP Inquiry unit; 7th grade dug deeper into their "Reproduction" SEPUP unit by investigating how geneticists predict the likely outcomes of alleles of genes passing from parents to offspring through a coin toss model as well as with the use of Punnett squares; 6th grade learned more about the "Rock Cycle" by playing a simulated geology board game where they learned more about the natural causes and effects that drive Earth's rock transformations over time both at the surface and deep below in the mantle between 3 main types--igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks; and 5th grade became teachers as they worked in cooperative groups to create visual teaching lessons for the rest of the class on a lesson about the causes of climate. They learned from each others' lessons through a gallery walk of each groups' visual lessons. Thank you so much for checking in with us this week:)

Week 22 of 2022-23|5th - 8th Grade Science

This week's slideshow highlights: 8th graders continuing to explore molecular structure as part of their "Chemistry of Materials" SEPUP Unit of inquiry; 7th graders practicing the strategy of reciprocal teaching to build anchor knowledge that will be used in subsequent lessons in their "Reproduction" SEPUP inquiry unit; 6th graders investigating the role of convection deep inside the Earth's mantle which led to short skits that they produced and shared with their class as part of their "Geologic Processes" SEPUP inquiry unit; and 5th grade worked in small cooperative groups to read through a skit that included 18th century scientist and statesman Ben Franklin traveling through time to interact with today's climatologists and hydrologists to help explain the role of Earth's warm and cold ocean currents in impacting climates in different regions around the world as part of their "Weather & Climate" SEPUP inquiry unit. Thank you for checking in with us this week:)

Week 21 of 2022-23|5th-8th Grade Science

This week's slideshow highlights: 8th graders exploring how atoms combine for from molecules and compounds as part of their "Chemistry of Materials" SEPUP unit; 7th grade investigating how simple inherited traits are passed from parents to offspring, and then to a 3rd generation via genes; 6th graders began exploring how convection in the Earth's mantle causes tectonic plate movement in the Earth's lithosphere; and 5th grade investigated how thermal energy fluctuations lead to differences in water density, as well as differences in density of salt and fresh water via melting sea ice. They then connected this back to the Earth's conveyor belt of warm and cold ocean currents and how that can impact a location's climate. Lastly, there are some pics of 7th grade students surprising Mr. Murray with cards they made to celebrate and honor all that he does for Decatur as part of National School Counselors Week! There is even a pick of Mr. Murray stopping by to explore chemistry with our 8th grade class:)

Week 19 of 2022-23 | 5th - 8th Grade Science

This week's slideshow highlights: 5th grade class investigating Earth's ocean surface temperature distribution patterns to see if there is a relationship with latitude; 6th grade conducted a cooperative group lab experiment to test how "Green Roof" garden designs can lower indoor air temperature to combat the phenomenon of "The Urban Heat Island Effect", as well as how green roofs can reduce urban runoff that often leads to flooding; both 6th and 7th grade classes received a special visit from Northwestern University students who presented to them on their work as part of NU's chapter of "Engineers Without Borders/EWB"; the NU EWB members also led a cooperative group engineering and design STEM challenge where both 7th grade classes got together to see which team of 3 students could design the most effective water filter; 7th grade also wrapped up their Cell Biology SEPUP unit by taking their unit final exam and they began their next SEPUP Inquiry Unit on "Reproduction" by digging into how genes are passed from parents to offspring and sometimes contribute to genetic disorders such as Marfan Syndrome; and 8th grade class worked in cooperative research teams to collect evidence as they participated in a mock Chicago City Council debate on whether plastic, glass, or aluminum should be the material of choice for drink containers within the city as part of their "Chemistry of Materials" SEPUP Inquiry Unit. Thank you for checking in with us this week:)

Week 18 of 2022-23|5th-8th Grade Science

This week's slideshow highlights: 5th grade investigating the ratio of water to land on Earth, as well as how water and land absorb and lose thermal energy at different rates as part of their SEPUP Weather & Climate Unit; 6th grade investigated the scientific theory of "Continental Drift" as part of their SEPUP Unit Geologic Processes; 7th grade wrapped up their SEPUP Unit From Cells to Organisms with an interactive activity called "Disease Detectives", where they worked as epidemiologists to argue from evidence the cause of a disease outbreak, and 7th grade also played team Jeopardy to review for the unit's culminating final exam; 8th graders continue digging deeper into their SEPUP Unit Chemistry of Materials, with a cooperative group lab that investigated chemical vs physical properties, and they also began exploring the property of density through an online Phet Simulation. Thank you for checking in with us this week:)

Special Tribute to Ms. Mendoza

5th grade class made some personal cards for Ms. Mendoza to celebrate her time at Decatur and wish her the BEST in her new journey at Chicago's Field Museum! Thank you Ms. Mendoza, we will miss you and wish you all the best, and we look forward to seeing you again at future trips to The Field Museum!

Decatur JHS STEM Fair

All 7th & 8th grade students recently presented their STEM Fair Projects to their classmates and last week several students chose to present their projects to volunteer judges at our Decatur JHS STEM Fair. 5 students, two 8th graders and three 7th graders have advanced to represent Decatur at CPS Regional STEM Fair Competition! A special thank you to all of the volunteer STEM Fair Judges, who also share a passion for STEM learning, and included some professional engineers, Northwestern University STEM students, CPS Dept. of STEM leaders, and our very own Decatur LSC members: Megan Redfern; Dan Xu; and Norman Gelfand.

Week 16 of 2022-23| 5th-8th Grade Science

This last week of 2022 slideshow highlights: 7th & 8th grade students presenting their STEM Fair Inquiry Projects to their classmates, topics presented included a study on permeable pavements to prevent urban flooding, the most accurate form for basketball players' free throw shooting performance, and the effect of forest fire smoke on plants' ability to produce oxygen through photosynthesis; 5th grade students investigating climate types through analysis of climatological weather averages; the 5th graders also got to interview one of our 8th grade students as she presented to their class on her family's experience of surviving a recent historically dangerous hurricane when they lived in the US Virgin Islands; 6th graders observing their newly germinated cover crops and setting up more seedlings to use in their green roof experiments project along with a pic of happy volunteer 6th graders cleaning up Mr. K's desk; a fun pic of 7th grade homeroom 1011 students taken out on our playground that they then used to make and then send Holiday cards to all of our Decatur staff members; and some pics of 6th and 8th grade classes enjoying some "earned game time" to close out the last day before winter break! Thank you for checking in with us this week and Happy Holidays and New Year to your family! See you again in 2023:)

Week 15 of 2022-23| 5th-8th Grade Science

This week's slideshow highlights: 5th grade students teaching the class their data collection, analysis, and interpretation skills as they investigated monthly average temperature and precipitation data for Chicago as part of their SEPUP Unit. Weather & Climate; 6th grade students setting up their cooperative group green roof experiments by planting cover crop seeds for their green roof designs; 7th and 8th grade researchers presenting their STEM Fair Projects to their fellow classmates while their classmates also supported them with "Glows & Grows" during the scientific peer review process that all scientists practice before they can publish their research and discoveries. Science & Engineering topics that students chose to explore included a variety of STEM disciplines such as: microbial fuel cells that use soil microbes to produce electricity; oil skimmer boat designs to cleanup oil spills; effect of temperature on maglev train performance; effect of LED lights on sleep; Midwest farming methods' impact on aquatic nitrates that can travel downstream through rivers such as the Mississippi and lead to ocean dead zones in distant locations like the Gulf of Mexico; rabbit manure as an alternative source of fertilizer; miracle berries impact on taste receptors as a form of dieting for people suffering from diabetes; and many more exciting and innovative ideas our students challenged themselves to investigate! Thank you for checking in with us this week:)

Name: Mr. Gerard Kovach
Position: 6th-8th | Science
Email: gjkovach@cps.edu