News

Chemistry Experiments Inside The New SLC

The new SLC building brought more than just a new gym; it also brought along two fully equipped science labs with sinks and bunsen burners! The tenth grade students in Mrs. Marcia Siebert's Chemistry class were more than excited to try out the new equipment in their unit on chemical bonds.

“In preparation to begin a unit on learning about the different types of chemical bonds,” Siebert explained, “students did an exploratory lab on the properties that will be observed when each representative bond type is put through a series of physical tests. In the lab, they saw how differently the substances respond to the physical tests. These responses will lead to the correct identification of each bond type once they learn about the nature of the bonds in class. The end result of the lab is once they learn about the bond types in class, to apply that knowledge and correctly identify what bond each substance had. They will then write an official lab report using their knowledge and results to support their predictions.”

Donning protective eye wear and aprons, the students set out to mix, dissolve, and their favorite part, light the bunsen burners to see what would happen when their solutions were heated.

Titus Pettersen said, “I enjoyed the hands-on science experience!”

While Bella De Los Reyes agreed, “Seeing and doing and the experiment is better than just reading about it in a textbook!”

Cactus Zentangles: A Colorful, Fun Art Project

"Cactus Zentangles" is the title of our most recently completed art project for third through fifth grade students. This project included learning about many different elements of art, featuring line, landscape, and color.

Fourth graders Lillian Grooms, Catherine Daniel, and Merritt Beecher agreed that "zentangle" is a fun word. "This was our first big project. It took three weeks!" The girls walked me through the steps of their project.

First, the students learned about the three parts of a landscape - the foreground, the middle ground, and the background. Next, they worked hard to create this landscape with lines to form a Zentangle. A Zentangle is a form of doodling that has patterns, or "tangles", that come together to form a Zentangle. From there they continued to use line designs to create more detailed artwork. Finally, the students used watercolor for the first time this school year.

Art teacher Mrs. Kylie Siegwald said, "Third through fifth grade students took line to the next level as they applied this art element to landscapes! I was extremely impressed with each student's choice of color as they worked to create a beautiful composition!"