Grade 6: Week of November 22-23th

We are continuing to learn about the Rock Cycle this week - this time focusing on sedimentary Rocks! We will model the process of creating sedimentary rocks by showing weathering, erosion, cementation, and compaction. Your child will have various opportunities to examine different kinds of sedimentary rocks both this week and after Thanksgiving. Students may feel free to bring in rocks they believe are sedimentary. In fact, 75% of all rocks ARE sedimentary!

Students finished writing a test on igneous (volcanic) rocks on Friday and will receive their test on Monday. We have had fun examining the characteristics of igneous rocks and have put them into categories of intrusive - forming in the volcano - or extrusive - forming outside of the volcano. Students also had the opportunity to identify rocks' mineral properties using seven different tests.

Grade 7: Week of November 22-23th

Grade 7 has just finished a unit on the digestive system and healthy eating. You can expect a test to go home with your child on Monday. Grade 7s will write out a healthy menu with partners this week and we will vote on the best menu.

My grade 7 homeroom will also be decorating on Tuesday to prepare for homecoming week (November 29th to December 3rd). The theme is Winter Wonderland and we would appreciate donations of decorations. Thank you!

Grade 8: Week of November 22-23th

Grade 8s have put forth a wonderful effort on their ocean models and paragraphs! We will be ending the ocean unit and will have a test on Tuesday November 25th. After Thanksgiving we will begin a unit on "Resources and Pollution in the Hydrosphere".

SCIENCE FESTIVAL SEPTEMBER 11-26

University of Chapel Hill and Morehead Planetarium are hosting a Science festival from September 11-26th. There are two signature events: An afternoon with Myth Busters September 19th and the UNC Science Expo September 25th.

An Afternoon with Myth Busters

Morehead Planetarium and Science Center is bringing two TV stars who specialize in science entertainment — Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, hosts of the Discovery Channel television show "MythBusters" — to the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

"An Afternoon with Adam and Jamie" will begin at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 19, 2010, in UNC's Dean E. Smith Center. The event is part of the North Carolina Science Festival.

During the 90-minute program, Adam and Jamie will share stories from behind the scenes of their popular show. They'll also feature special video presentations of spectacular explosions and other "for fans only" outtakes.

The program includes a question-and-answer session led by UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp with opportunities for questions from the audience.

Tickets go on sale Monday, July 26, through www.tarheelblue.com. Lower-level tickets are $28 per person, and upper-level tickets are $18 per person.

UNC Science Expo

From rappers to race cars, you'll get a fresh look at science in our world on Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010, during the free UNC Science Expo, the first celebration of its kind on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.

The expo runs 11 a.m.–4 p.m. and is presented by Morehead Planetarium and Science Center as part of the North Carolina Science Festival. With activities for all ages, the expo offers science activities, demonstrations, performances and more!

A small sampling of the day’s activities includes:

• A talk with Nobel Prize winner Dr. Oliver Smithies, facilitated by UNC President Emeritus William Friday
• Demonstrations including catapults and trebuchets, virtual reality, wave simulation machine and Segways
• Stage shows including Baba Brinkman performing "The Rap Guide to Evolution"
• Science talks including sports and technology, science and music, North Carolina’s changing coastline, advances in cancer treatment and neuroscience
• "Science on wheels" exhibits featuring Ryan Newman's NASCAR race car, a Town of Chapel Hill fire truck and a UNC Healthcare ambulance
• Tours of UNC departments including physics and astronomy, mathematics, archaeology and anthropology, biology, North Carolina Botanical Garden and more
• The North Carolina Science Challenge – a series of hands-on activities that test the abilities of students in grades 3-10 to solve science problems creatively
• "Small Science" activity zone for kids

Please see www.ncsciencefestival.org and moreheadplanetarium. org for more information.

SCIENCE GRADE 7: SEPTEMBER 13-24

Grade 7s will take a test on severe weather on Thursday September 16th to demonstrate their knowledge. We will head full steam into the severe weather project on Friday. Students have already chosen their severe weather topic and will need their research (internet print outs, books, magazines) this Friday to begin to write notes. Dates of the project are as follows:

• Friday Sept. 17th to Tuesday Sept. 21st: Writing notes and working on the choice project. *Research needs to be brought to class to write notes.
• Wednesday Sept. 22nd: Notes and bibliography due. We start writing the essay in class.
• Thursday Sept. 23rd: Continue to write the essay.
• Friday Sept. 24th: Essay and choice project due. Presentations begin.
• Monday Sept. 27th: Last round of presentations.

*Any portion brought to class late will receive a maximum mark of 70%.

We are looking forward to seeing students' final presentations!

GRADE 6 SCIENCE: SEPTEMBER 13-24

Grade 6 is wrapping up its study on earthquakes, volcanoes, and plate tectonics. We have delved into the world of magma, examined evidence of continental drift, and have seen the devastating effects of the tsunami of 2004. Students will demonstrate their knowledge of plate tectonics on their test Thursday September 16th.

We will begin studying soil and its different components this Friday and continue for two weeks. We will examine Horizon 0, A, B, and C, and compare their different characteristics such as nutrient level and minerals. In fact, we will dig these layers of the soil up and do various experiments with it to test for permeability, cohesiveness, and so on.

SCIENCE GRADE 5: SEPTEMBER 13-24

Grade 5 is continuing to study about air pressure and how it affects weather. This week we did two air pressure experiments: one to test if air really had weight and the other to model how air flows from an area of high to low air pressure. We have also measured air pressure. Each day a new "meterologist" reads the air pressure of our barometer and its corresponding weather. As we learn more about each element of weather, we will begin recording our data findings. Students will write a test on air pressure this Friday. On Monday we will begin a new unit on clouds. Watch out for those cumulonimbus clouds!