Mrs. Unger's Health and Science Blog

We have been so busy in the science room this year.

We studied rocks and minerals, learned about planets, completed engineering projects, selected science books for fun reading, dreamed about our futures, built models of erosion,learned about weather, stars, our Sun, our Moon, clouds, air pressure, wind, natural disasters, storm preparedness, natural resources, types of soil, and looked at our microscopic world under scopes.

The middle school saw the bay up close with a seal watch cruise. We learned about watersheds, marine life, food webs and plankton. We discussed pollution and energy sources. We explored the topic of global climate change. We took a few more steps toward our goal of “becoming stewards of the Earth.”

Hopefully, we will have time this summer to see our world in a new way and appreciate God’s creation.

Let the universe open up to you,
Mrs. U

The third trimester at St. Peter School is devoted to Earth & Space Science. We are at an exciting time in the 21st Century, and we are poised to discover new and exciting phenomena in the universe every day through new technological advances. The students of St. Peter School will work to understand how our Earth moves in relation to the moon and sun, how our solar system is organized, what causes the tides and seasons, and how our planet is changing over time. We will study weather, climate, oceans, and other Earth systems. Also, we will check the news for the current discoveries happening every day, and tune in to videos from the International Space Station!

Be on the lookout for details about the Egg Drop Contest. This is an exciting annual event where students construct a device to protect a raw egg from cracking in a fall. I will be in touch regarding the date! Rules and requirements will be sent home with students in grades 1-8.

Let the universe open up to you,
Mrs U

Hello Students and Parents of Grade 8,

Here are some important deadlines you don’t want to miss:

Jan. 13  Complete Simple Solutions up until Lesson 30

In the next few weeks, your science fair manual should be your bffl.  It has everything you want to know about science fair.  If you do not read it and follow directions, this will seriously affect your grade!!!  I am available to answer questions every day at school, or by email mrsunger@verizon.net

Jan. 17  Bring in ALL Science Fair Data to make graphs

Jan.  19  Conclusion and Discussion sections for Science Fair are due

Jan. 23  Science Fair abstract is due-  check your manual for format!!!

Jan. 30  Science Fair project due (including backboard and binder).

Grade 8 has been designing roller coasters to demonstrate acceleration.  They did a fabulous job!  Grade 7 has been exploring atoms and how they bond.  Grade 6 is experimenting with waves and how they move.  Middle school will be taking Science mid-terms on Jan 12.  They have review sheets and should be compiling information for review and study.

Grades 3,4, and 5 are being introduced to atoms in the form of solids, liquids, and gases.  Grade 5 was amazed by the Periodic Table of the Elements because it was printed on a colorful shower curtain.  They are learning how to use the table and get info from it.

Grades K,1 and 2 are looking at matter in different forms.  Some grades had a “Properties of Matter” Scavenger Hunt!

Physical Science has been fun to explore with labs, songs, engineering projects, and many other activities.  We will continue with Physical Science topics until March, and then we will all switch to Earth & Space Science.

If any parents are interested in coming in to talk about their own science careers, we welcome you.  Please contact me via email:  mrsunger@verizon.net or by calling the school and leaving a message.  We will accommodate your schedule if you are willing to give of your time to make science come alive to the students at St. Peter School.  Thanks, as always, for your support.

May the universe open up to you,

Mrs. U.

Hi all,

We are still in the first trimester at St. Peter School, which in Science class means that we are talking about Life Science!  In the Kindergarten and First Grade Classes we are working with ideas about plant and animal needs.  Grade 1 designed an experiment to test if plants need light.  We’ll give you the results soon! (cliffhanger…).  Grades 2,3,and4 are learning about animal groups and plant reproduction.  Grade 5,6,7,8 are working in the areas of human physiology, cells and genetics.  Grade 8 is very close to having topics approved for  Science Fair, so you may be asked to participate in a Science Experiment!  Thanks in advance for your help and support!

Hi all,

We have been working on many life science topics these past six weeks, including how to tell the difference between living and non-living things, what are the basic needs of plants and animals, and how internal and external features help an animal to survive.  We explored human body systems such as digestive, cardiovascular, skeletal and muscular systems.  We also touched upon the involvement of the Nervous System on the other systems.  The older students reviewed cell organelles and Grade 8 studied genetics.

This year students help me take pictures to document the many activities we do in class.  Due to technical difficulties, I have yet to be able to upload pics here, but the pics will be shown on the web site.

Let the universe open up to you,

Mrs. U.

Hi all,

Here is an update of some exciting events!

First of all, we have completed our annual Egg Drop contest.  There were many junior division winners!  Congratulations to all those students whose egg did not break!  A special thank you goes out to Mr. Evans and his friends at Ladder 2 who arranged for the fire truck, and dropped the egg containers!

Grade 1:  Olivia Tracy and Rebecca Crawford

Grade 2:  Jacob Silva, Joshua Dean, Ella Centracchio

Grade 3:  Bethany Crawford, Haeleigh De Feo, Alexander Biernacki, Renee Fontaine, Tess Der Manouelian, Sara Langevin

Grade 4:  Ed Egan.

And remember, don’t ever give up!  There is always another opportunity next year.

For the senior division, the winners were:

Greenest Entry:  Peter Cavanagh

Most Creative:  Sam Young

Biggest Splat:  Malia Cruz

Lowest (Best) Score:  Sophia Lawson

Congratulations to all winners!!!

Also, we are winding up the year in Science and Health with a few more topics per grade.  And for Grade 8, there is a weekly review of science topics each Tuesday, 8am to 8:30am, in preparation for Science Placement Tests at area high schools.  Participation in this review is totally optional, but will also be helpful for final exams!

We are lucky to have area scientists come in to present info about their respective careers.  John Stevenson, PhD, spoke to Grade 8 about social scientists and how they work.  Other presentations are “in the works” for the coming weeks, including a makeup chemist.   Mrs. Wynne, a pharmacist, has agreed to give a presentation to Grade 7.  Mrs. Casey, who works in Infection Control at Women and Infants Hospital, will be talking about how to prevent the spread of germs.  Mr. Fontaine, who works for the US Navy will come in soon to present to Grade 3.  Stay tuned for news of other presentations!

Let the universe open up to you,

Mrs. U

We were so proud to have our Grade 8 students acknowledged for their hard work and dedication to Science Fair.

At the awards ceremony at CCRI:

Samuel Young received a third grant medal.

Adam Joyal and Victoria Piperata received second grant medals.

Ted Der Manouelian received a Best in Fair award.  In addition, he was nominated for a Broadcom Masters Award.  We will hear about the results of that essay contest in the weeks to come.

Congratulations to all of our winners, and especially Ted.  It is an awesome accomplishment to be chosen as one of the top ten projects in the RI Science and Engineering Fair.  Ted, you should be proud!

Let the universe open up to you,

Mrs. U.

Hello all,

The four winners of St. Peter School Science Fair will be going on to the state competition.  All four winners received detailed information about the RISEF competition which takes place on March 26 and 27 at CCRI in Warwick.  Parents, please ask your winner for all the details.  Public viewing takes place between noon and 3 on the 27th.  It is highly recommended and encouraged that St. Peter students attend this public viewing.  You will be amazed and inspired by the projects there.  If you bring a notebook and pencil you could easily have 20 possible ideas for your own science fair project.  It is a very informal event.  All you have to do is take a stroll through the aisles of the fair, and if you have any questions about the experiment, students are standing by their projects to answer them!  It is also a great way to show support for our participants!  Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or concerns:  mrsunger@verizon.net

We are heading toward our third trimester in Science.  All students study different topics in Earth & Space Science during the third trimester.  Also, we have the long-awaited Egg Drop contest for grades 1-8, in which students construct a device to protect a raw egg from breaking when dropped.  It is a fun event and parents are always invited.

Lastly, I wanted to address the issue of Health topics.  ALL students take part in Health classes EACH TRIMESTER.  Many students come to me and ask when we have health.  The answer is we have health during science class, every trimester of every year.  However, sometimes health topics may not be so obvious. For example, when we talk about the health of a person we are considering many factors:  physical, emotional, social, financial, and community health.  I am making an effort to identify health topics as they come up, so that students are not confused about when they are having health class!