Newton's Apple
By Mary Lamare
The new, improved, science curriculum began with a bang!
The fifth grade started its survey course with in-depth practice with the triple-beam balances and compound microscopes. After everyone was a pro, we turned to the study of plants and plant cells. It's the perfect time of the year to look closely at leaves and flower petals, and the girls immensely enjoyed bringing the outdoors inside and viewing "it" under such close scrutiny.
The sixth grade Earth Science classes began the year by taking a close look at rocks and minerals. We meticulously sorted the iron out of breakfast cereal (yes...it really is there), made microscopic crystals from concentrated iodine solution, and dissolved various rocks in hydrochloric acid. We even tried making our own arrow heads using the ancient method of hand-chipping. It's pretty obvious that Native American peoples were far more talented in this area than their modern descendents. And by the way, did you know that even diamonds have a melting point and a boiling point? Ask your daughter what would happen if you dropped your diamond ring into molten lava. The sixth grade was the first to use our new cart of laptops to view interactive websites showing the rock cycle speeded up by several million years. The laptops are a wonderful asset to the school!
The seventh grade Life Science class has two double classes each week, giving us lots of time for labs. We studied Linnaeus' classification system with a game approach, and then attempted to define the characteristics of living things. Are seeds alive? Viruses? What about a packet of dried yeast? The girls "woke up" some yeast and fed two experimental colonies with sugar while keeping two control colonies sugar-free. We were able to observe signs of metabolism by placing water balloons over the tops of the test tube colonies and collecting the carbon dioxide produced through respiration.
GirlBots Begin Challenge
By Marie Walker
For 12 action-packed weeks, GSA's GirlBots will be driving hard to discover and share solutions to problems caused by climate change, while also programming robots to execute complicated Lego missions and challenges. The culmination of all this dynamic work is the First Lego League tournament in December, when our GirlBots will compete against other local teams who are solving the same research project and missions. GSA has two competition-level teams this year: the 3rd-5th grade "Jr. Varsity" and the 6th-8th grade "Varsity" teams. We also have three K-2nd grade teams that will participate in an area-wide celebration at the end of the season. Stay tuned as our sensational GirlBots storm the seas of challenge and change!