The sixth graders have been working on a thermal energy unit in science around the driving question, “How do containers keep stuff from warming up or cooling down?”  It began with the students testing whether a new plastic cup sold by a store kept a drink colder for longer compared to the regular plastic cup that came free with the drink.  Students found that the drink in the regular cup warmed up more than the drink in the fancy fup. This prompted us to identify features of the cup that were different. From there we created a consensus model of what we thought was happening in each cup system.  We will continue our investigations and simulations to learn how energy transfers into the cup.

In Distance Science, the 5th graders learned about chromatography, which is separating one substance into its parts using a liquid. They placed dots and lines on a coffee filter with a water-based marker. They then placed the filter into a mixture of water and rubbing alcohol. After a few minutes, they were able to see how the color of the marker separated into its different colors. Afterward, they fashioned their filter into a colorful flower.

October 6th through October 12th was Fire Safety week.  Throughout the week the kindergartners learned about fire safety and what to do in case of a fire emergency.  On Thursday, we had a visit from the Blue Springs Fire Department.  The firefighters took the opportunity to talk with the kindergarten class about fire safety and what their job as firefighters entails.  The kindergartners then had the chance to look inside the firetruck, as well as try on some of the firefighters’ gear!

It’s been a busy first quarter in PE class at the elementary school! Getting back in
the routine of moving safely and continuing to build motor skills. Throwing is one
of the skills we worked on – Kindergarten, 1 st & 2 nd grade classes enjoyed this
throwing game.