River Monitoring Tomorrow

The forecast for tomorrow looks okay, we may luck out and not get any rain. But you should still be prepared with a rain jacket, also it will probably be muddy so wear appropriate footwear.

Here is a list of students who volunteered to help tomorrow and got their permission slip in on time. We will meet in Room 5 straight after school, and we will be back by 4.30pm

Behzad

Arvean

Everett

Jenna

Henry

Elyse

Matthew

Tom

Parth

Robyn

Lucas
Andre

Don't forget to work on your Science Fair Project

Hope you are all enjoying Winterim so far. Don't forget that this week is a great opportunity to work on your Science Fair Projects. You should all have started the experimentation phase of the project by now. Remember that on the Tuesday after you get back from Winterim your data analysis and graphs are due. I will be checking that you have your data collected in your science fair notebook, I will also expect to see data tables and graphs based on the data that you collected. Here is a link that may help you with this step of the process. As always feel free to email me with any questions dkehoe@novaschool.org

On Friday Jonah and Parth came in to work on their water filter experiment. Here is a photo of Parth measuring the turbidity of the water.

Annual Student GREEN Congress

We have a great opportunity to attend the Annual Student Green Congress held at The Evergreen State College on March 23rd. This is a great event hosted by South Sound Green, and the Nisqually River Education Project where we will have the opportunity to present our findings from our river monitoring at Moxlie Creek to other students involved in the same program. There are also a variety of science based workshops for the students to participate in. I would love to take the whole 6th grade, but unfortunately to keep numbers down I am limited to bringing a maximum of 8 students. This would mean that you would be excused from this day of school. You would also be responsible for putting together a short presentation of our Moxlie Creek results.

The 8 students will be chosen based on (1) students who volunteer to monitor Moxlie Creek next week. (2) Students who have no missing assignments in any class. (3) Random lottery.

Sign up for river monitoring next week (optional)

Next Thursday we are scheduled for the second river monitoring at Moxlie Creek. We will test for all the same things as we did in the fall (pH, DO, Turbidity etc.) and we will compare the results with what we measured in the fall. We don't have regular classes next week since it is Winterim so we will be monitoring after school on Thursday from 2.45 - 4:30. Since it is after school it is optional whether you want to attend or not. Everyone will be writing up a report on the results even if you don't attend the second monitoring. There is no extra credit for monitoring next week. But there is another incentive for monitoring (see post above). Since it is after school I want you to check with your parents to make sure it is okay with them and that they know that you will need another way to get home from school afterwards. Check with your parents tonight have them sign the permission slip and let me know for sure by tomorrow.

Energy in Ecosystems Quiz Results

Hey 6th graders, you may have noticed that your score from today's quiz are up on teacherease already. I have written in individual comments for all of 3rd period, but I'll have to wait until the morning for 4th period. Everyones score is listed right now though. Don't panic too much if you got a lower than expected score, it was a tough quiz and the class averages for the quiz were much lower than the overall grades for each class. Nobody got 100%, but nobody failed. 3rd period averaged 85.9% and 4th period 79.5%. I will go over the quiz tomorrow in class, and address any specific issues you may have. Common problems seem to be applying the 10% rule to more than trophic level and explaining the interactions between keystone species and other species, as well as a myriad of other small problems. Since we have so many assignments already entered into teacherease, even if you didn't do well at all, your overall grade probably only dropped by at most 4%.

Science Fair Planner

Now that you have decided on your topic and have done some background research it is time to get into the meat of the experiments for the science fair. Below are the important due dates you must meet along the way, and a brief description of each task.

Variables and Hypothesis – Due Friday 2/10/12

List the Manipulated Variable, Responding Variable, and 3 Controlled Variables. As well your hypothesis written in the way we have learned ("If __[I do this] __, then I think __[this]__ will happen, because ___ [of this] ___.)

Procedure and Materials. – Tuesday 2/14/12

Write a step-by-step plan for your science experiment. A good procedure is so detailed and complete that it lets someone else duplicate your experiment exactly. Also write a separate list of materials being as specific as possible.

Begin conducting experiment by – Friday 2/17/12

This date is flexible based on your own experiment, but by the time you come back from Winterim you should have completed or be most of the way through your experiment. Note down everything in your Science Fair Notebook, make a data table, be accurate and take photos of the experiment to use on your poster if you can.

Data Analysis and Graphs – Tuesday 2/28/12

Carefully review all of the data you have collected from your experiment. Use charts and graphs to help you analyze the data and patterns. Calculate averages if appropriate, and label all graphs or data tables.

Conclusion – Tuesday 3/6/12

Briefly summarize your results. State whether your results support your hypothesis. Evaluate your experimental procedure, making comments about its success and suggest possible changes or areas for further study.

Poster Board Due – Friday 3/9/12

Use a standard, three-panel display board that unfolds to be 36" tall by 48". Affix all parts of your science fair project to it, decorate it, include photos and graphs. Also include an Abstract.

Science Fair – Wednesday 3/14/12!

Come to school at 7pm with your Science Fair Notebook ready to talk about your project.

Parents – Since the students will be conducting the experiment at home* you should check-in with them along the way to make sure they are making progress, check if they need any materials or assistance conducting their experiment. If you have any questions please email me dkehoe@novaschool.org.  The Science Fair will be at NOVA at 7pm on Wednesday 3/14/12. All students are expected to attend, and parents can receive a service hour for volunteering to judge.

* unless they have made arrangements with me to do it at school

Background Research

Some of you have been asking about what to put in your background research paper due tomorrow. The purpose of the paper is to give you the information to understand why your experiment turns out the way it does. Hopefully I was able to answer a lot of your questions in class today. Here is some information you can include:

• Any other similar experiments or inventions that you are able to find
• Definitions and descriptions of any important words and concepts that describe your experiment
• The background science concepts associated with your experiment
• Answers to any questions you have about your science experiment
• Any mathematical formulas or technical language associated with your experiment you need to explain.

I got some of this information from http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_research_paper.shtml where you can find lots of other information.