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:)
Decatur LEGO League Team Participates in Regional Tournament
Our Decatur Lego League students participated in their Regional Tournament this Saturday at Michele Clark High School. Ms. Mendoza and I are so proud of both of our teams, The Golden Bricks and The Mini-figures! We had 22 students in total who were comprised of a mix of energetic, creative, and determined 5th, 6th, 7th, & 8th grade students! Team members learned so many skills that they will build upon as lifelong learners such as: problem-solving under pressure; gracious professionalism while learning to work as a team to complete a shared mission; computer science and engineering design practices; planning and delivering a team research-based presentation to professional engineers; and the importance of maintaining a growth mindset amidst challenges and adversity! Thank you parents for all of your support this year and we look forward to our team members continued collaboration to improve their knowledge and skills to prepare for next year!
Week 15 of 2022-23| JHS Science
This week's slideshow highlights: Several pics of 7th and 8th graders conducting the last stages of their STEM Fair Projects--testing their hypothesis and collecting-analyzing-interpreting their data; Several pics of 7th and 8th graders participating in other students' STEM Fair Project experiments as test subjects; 7th graders conducting a lab to collect evidence of plants giving off oxygen during photosynthesis in high light conditions and using oxygen during cellular respiration in low light conditions; 8th grade debating the tradeoffs of human use of plastic, aluminum, and glass for single use drink containers as part of their new unit, Chemistry of Materials; 6th graders exploring a computer simulation to investigate the different types of lithospheric plate interactions and movement as part of their Geologic Process unit; and a pic of a rare sighting of our class catfish, Leroy, in our aquatic Lake Michigan ecosystem. Thank you for checking in with us this week:)
JHS Students: Every kid is born a scientist and an artist!
Ms. Mitten has provided an opportunity for students to share your artistic creativity with this year's Decatur Yearbook Cover design contest! Submit your entry by next week! :)
Week 14 of 2022-23| 5th-8th Grade Science
This week's slideshow highlights: students observing the transfer of energy between organisms and predator prey relationships in our classroom Lake Michigan Aquatic Ecosystem during feeding times; 6th grade students have been busy working in cooperative groups of engineers to design experiments backed up by their team's research to test variables that impact the effectiveness of "green roofs", which they learned can help combat problems such as the "Urban Heat Island Effect" and urban runoff that often leads to increased flooding of cities like Chicago; an 8th grade scientists setting up their STEM Fair Project experiment that they devised to investigate natural substances that can be used to fight bacteria on surfaces; and 5th grade class enjoying some hard-earned game time as they played cooperative board games and card games at the end of class on Friday to continue to strengthen our classroom community! Thank you for checking in with us this week!
Week 13 of 2022-23| 5th-8th Grade Science
This week's slideshow highlights: 7th graders exploring the role of carbohydrate and protein macromolecules and their subunits in metabolism both outside and inside cells; 6th graders worked in teams to research how "Green Roofs" can be engineered to reduce urban runoff as well as the "Urban Heat Island" phenomenon; 8th grade wrapped up their physics unit with a lab investigating the effects of mass and speed on a vehicle's breaking distance to avoid a collision; 7th graders strengthening their classroom community through spending their "Earned Points" on some cooperative game time; 6th graders watching energy cycle through our classroom Lake Michigan aquatic ecosystem as the larger fish eat some feeder fish just added to the system; and this week's show ends with a JHS Community Building Incentive Trip to Waveland Bowl. 6th-8th Graders were split up into multigrade level teams and had so much FUN bowling together!
Week 12 of 2022-23| 5th-8th Grade Science
This week's slideshow highlights: a rare sighting of "Leroy the Catfish" in our classroom aquatic ecosystem; 7th graders set up a couple of science demonstrations and experiments such as "leaf chromatography" to investigate why leaves turn colors in autumn, as well as "How can Superworms eat and safely biodegrade styrofoam?:;Decatur 5th-8th grade students gearing up for their upcoming First Lego League Tournament by teaching each other coding and showing their creativity through planning their innovation projects; 6th grade was busy this week working in cooperative groups to research the topic of "Greenroofs" and how they help combat climate change, in particular the phenomenon of the "Urban Heat Island Effect"; 5th graders explored why the seasons change by analyzing and interpreting data from a Scientific Simulation of the Earth's tilt combined with its yearly orbit around the sun; 7th graders were excited to break open a box that just arrived that contains a hydroelectric kit that they will assemble and test to see how running water can transfer energy to produce electricity; 7th graders also observed as I dissected aquatic planaria so that they can see how planaria can reproduce asexually through binary fission and regeneration; and last but not least, another sighting of Curtiss, our class pet Bearded Dragon. Thanks for checking in with us this week:)
Week 11 of 2022-23| 5th-8th Grade Science
This week's slideshow highlights: Students having FUN working in their homeroom teams participating in our annual Oktoberfest community builder; 8th graders exploring Newton's Laws of Motion to explain their observations of observations of colliding objects and relating that to designing safer vehicles; 6th graders sharing their analysis of the Earth's interior; 5th graders explored patterns while analyzing data and interpreting data on how the angle of the sun impacts the amount of daylight at various times of the year; and a special visit to our Science classroom by Ms. Carrasco's first graders as our 7th graders loved showing them around the lab, including show and tell of our class lizard, Curtiss, our Lake Michigan aquatic ecosystem and tadpole tank, and even viewing small aquatic Planaria under our digital microscope; lastly, Ms. Mendoza and I were so proud of our Decatur First Lego League Robotics Team as they participated in a Saturday scrimmage at Whitney Young High School to gear up for our Regional Tournament in December! Thanks for checking in with us this week:)
Week 10 of 2022-23| 5th - 8th Grade Science
This week's slideshow highlights: 8th graders taking a classroom movement break to a song they learned in 1st grade; 8th grade explored physics by further investigating Newton's Laws of Motion; all students spent time on Thursday & Friday of this week continuing to explore Experimental Design to get ready for STEM Fair (7th & 8th grades it is a review as they are already working on their chosen inquiry projects--and for 5th & 6th grades it is an introduction as they will conduct small cooperative group experiments with more guidance from Mr. K). The explorations involved using microscopy to collect and record observations of various aquatic organisms (Daphnia, Planaria, Paramecium, Amoeba, and Euglena). Students were really excited to see them interacting, responding to environmental stimuli such as light, and in some cases, giving birth and consuming other species. The next step is to take the students' own questions so that they can design experiments of their own, such as the amazing regenerative properties of Planaria, while they apply the "Elements of Scientific Experimental Design", which goes to the higher order thinking NGSS Science & Engineering Practices. Thank you for checking in with us this week:)
Week 9 of 2022-23| 5th - 8th Grade Science
This week's slideshow highlights: All classes participating in an experiment to test to see where in our JHS Annex are there more microbes growing on surfaces as this experiment was a review of Experimental Design for 8th & 7th grade students, and an introduction for 6th & 5th grade students; 8th & 7th grade students worked on peer review of each others' STEM Fair Project Research Literature Review, as they are in the midst of their STEM Fair Inquiry Projects having also written their projects' Purpose Statements; students also spent 25 minutes this week spending their class' "Earned Game Time Points", thus continuing to strengthen classroom community by playing board games, chess, or card games during that time; and last but not least, Mr. K showing off a large-mouthed bass he caught this weekend as a way of encouraging students to spend more time outdoors in this Autumn season enjoying nature. Thank you for checking in with us this week:)
Week 8 of 2022-23| 5th-8th Grade Science
This week's slideshow highlights: one of our 8th graders sharing his dancing skills, thus bringing some humor to our Science class as he renditions for Decatur's Got Talent; several pics of students showing leadership by sharing their Science Notebooks as all classes spent time this week analyzing and interpreting data, as well as arguing from evidence, which are both important NGSS Science & Engineering Practices; 7th grade did a lab exploring the function of the cell membrane and there a a few photos of 7th graders getting right down to exploring with some new compound light and digital microscopes; 6th grade analyzed Geologic data sets from global GPS stations to investigate how the Earth's surface changes slowly but steadily in various locations around the globe, and how that information can impact the decision of the best locations to store nuclear wastes; 5th grade went from investigating the phenomena of Earth's Moon's phases, to exploring data sets of how Earth's amount of daylight changes throughout the year, as well as the angle of the sun, which sets the stage for further investigations as to why the seasons change in places like Chicago but not everywhere on Earth; as the Autumn season sets in, winter will be not far behind so 8th grade spent some Science class time outside this week learning about Newton's Laws of Motion as they continued exploring Forces and Motion; and last but not least, the presentation ends with some photos of 5th grade observing the live feedings of our fish from our Lake Michigan ecosystem, and the smiles on our students' faces are priceless! Thank you for checking in with us this week:)
Week 7 of 2022-23 | 5th-8th Grade Science
This week's slideshow highlights: several pics of students practicing the NGSS Science & Engineering Practices of Analyzing & Interpreting Data as well as Engaging in Argument from Evidence while sharing their ideas in front of their classes; 7th grade continued exploring Cells with a lab on Cellular Respiration; 8th grade continued exploring Forces and Motion with lab investigations on the role of imbalanced vs balanced forces on an object's direction and speed; 6th grade continued investigating the question of "Where should we store nuclear wastes?" by analyzing geologic data patterns of global earthquakes and volcanoes; 5th grade continued digging deeper into their "Solar System & Beyond" astronomy unit with a simulation on how to explain the Earth's Moon's phases; several pics and a video of students enjoying time with our classroom pet Bearded Dragon, Curtiss, and our Lake Michigan aquatic ecosystem; and each class strengthened their classroom community today with cashing-in their hard-earned incentive points for displaying Decatur's 3 Core Values of "Being Present-Enduring Challenges-Taking Care of Each Other" with some SEL game time! Thanks for checking in with us this week:)
Week 6 of 2022-23 | 5th-8th Grade Science
This week's slideshow highlights: Several pics of students displaying the NGSS Science & Engineering Practices of "Carrying out investigations", "Analyzing-Interpreting-Collecting data", "Obtaining, evaluating, & communicating information", and "Engaging in argument from evidence" as they like to share their ideas in front of the class; 8th grade continued investigating their SEPUP Forces & Motion Inquiry Unit by exploring the variable of mass on kinetic energy of an object and what causes an object to change direction; 7th grade dug deeper into their Inquiry Unit on "From Cells to Organisms" by investigating past scientific discoveries that led to the development of "Cell Theory of Disease" and they also began a lab exploring "how can we find evidence that cells are alive?"; 6th Grade continued their exploration of "Geologic Processes" by learning about the role of volcanoes in forming various types of igneous rocks as they continue to develop ideas on "Where to store nuclear wastes?"; 5th Grade explored the "Moon Phases" with an interactive/cooperative investigation trying to figure out the correct cycle of Earth's moon's phases. Thank you for checking in with us this week:)
Decatur's Lego League Team's First Meeting: 2022-23
Dectatur's Lego League After School Program kicked off this past week with a fun community-builder activity where each member wrote a question on a note that would help all members get to know each other better and then placed it inside a balloon that they blew up. The team then went outside on the turf, threw them up in the air for a few minutes, caught a balloon made by another member, and read the notes to each other out back at our new mosaic benches. This helped ensure that each member was able to get to know the names of their teammates, and learn something new about each other. Once back inside in Ms. Mendoza's Maker-Space Room, the team began digging into and discussing some videos that we posted on our Lego League Google Classroom page so that the team members can become acquainted with the overall theme for this year's competition!