WELCOME BACK!!

I am excited to be back this fall and look forward to a wonderful year of Science with all of you.   8^th graders- this is your year to shine as leaders of our school!!   And I have no doubt that you will.

Welcome to the new 6^th graders- it will be fun getting to know each of you. And welcome to our new families and new students- don’t hesitate to ask if there is something we haven’t explained.

To all parents:   Please contact me through either this classpage or my direct email ( kbiernat@stmaryeg.org) whenever you need to.   (Contacting through Standard Score (formerly Webgrader) has not always been reliable)   I can’t stress enough how important it is for parents and students to check the classpages weekly.   There will be a lot of good information here!  

Also, parents, if you  have an area of expertise that you would be willing to come in and share with our students, please let me know- this is a great way for students to see how Science applies to real world careers and decisions.   In previous years we have had hearts and eyes, presentations on skin and wind turbines and a presentation about Mars.   We all learn so much from these experiences!

There is NO hot lunch on Tuesday -- students need to bring a lunch AND a beverage!!!

Our junior high parent meeting is September 14^th – hope to see you there.  

For the first week of school we will …..

·        Review some basic Science Lab safety rules

·        Distribute our books

·        Talk about expectations for Science Notebooks: THIS IS DIFFERENT THAN LAST YEAR -  I have tweeked the rubric a bit based on student suggestions.     We will talk specifically about how it will be organized and graded.   Science Notebooks will be turned in prior to each  test.   They will be considered a SUMMATIVE grade.  

Specifically, in 8^th grade Science this week, we will

·        Review writing directions

·        Practice FOLLOWING directions

(Sound easy?   Wait until we try it J )

    8^th graders will begin this year with Astronomy. (Did I mention I went to Space Camp this summer ? J )

In 7^th grade, we will

·        Review independent and dependent variables and controls

·        First lab = Next week

·        7^th graders will begin this year learning about waves.

In 6^th grade, we will

·        Have our first quiz (I warned you!!) (hint—What is PHEOC?)

·        Get acquainted with the lab

·        Talk A LOT about safety!!

·        Discuss the Scientific Method

·        Identify different types of scientists and science

TECHNOLOGY HIGHLIGHT!!

Thank you for the whiteboards!   I am so excited to have them in our rooms.   We will work this week on getting comfortable with our new interactive whiteboards and document cameras!!  

I t will be a great kick off to a great year!  I was very energized after the Back to School Night on Thursday and can’t wait to see you all next week.