Birchard's Blog

 Shout out to Mrs. Stephanie Anderson for donating eleven new microscopes to St. Malachy. The old microscopes were outdated and many of them were in disrepair. The new microscopes are very nice and work well for middle school students. We have used them several times already. Thanks for giving this experience to the students of St. Malachy!

6th Grade Science

We have been leaning about cells, cell structure and using microscopes. The kids have loved being the first to use the new microscopes and they have been amazed at some of the stuff that they have seen. We will be learning more about the cell theory and cell structure and function as the unit progresses. 

7th Grade Science

The seventh grade had an opportunity to use the new microscopes also. We have moved on to studying DNA, it's structure and function. We extracted DNA from strawberries last week. Ask them about that experience. We will be moving on to DNA replication and the role that DNA plays in protein synthesis.

8th Grade Science

The eighth grade has been studying properties of matter. They have been doing a great job of recognizing physical and chemical properties as well as changes of state. 

 Congratulations to Mrs. Stoner and Mrs. Taylor on a successful Christmas program! Our students Pre-k through 8th did an outstanding job! 

6th Grade Science

Sixth grade science has been working on their Earthquake and Volcano unit. We just finished a quiz on heat transfer, which is an important concept in the movement of earth's mantle. I am pleased with the progress that everyone has made as the year is progressing. 

7th Grade Science

The seventh grade has been getting used to using microscopes. They do have some background in the use but I have been excited to see their growth in using this important tool. We are going into studying cells and cell physiology. 

8th Grade Science

The eighth graders have been learning about the periodic table, atomic structure and chemical bonding. It is fun to see them come to a basic understanding of how chemistry works. I really think they are creating a great foundation to be successful in their future science endeavors. The entire group seems to work so well together. 

STEAM DAY

For STEAM(Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) day all of the classes participated in building the "Leaning Tower of Pasta". Students used engineering design ideas of compression, tension, and load to build the tallest and strongest tower out of spaghetti noodles and miniature marshmallows. 

STEAM DAY Pictures

Conferences

 A quick word to all parents about grades. I know many of you have shared some concern about your student's science grades at this time. Please be patient as the student's and I work to adjust to different expectations. It has been several years since I have taught middle school science students. I now remember that I have to use very explicit instruction both verbally and written. Some of the results that I am getting on material is missing parts. That can hurt a grade also. I have great expectations for all of our students and I expect all of them to be able to understand and elaborate on various science concepts. That may be an area where the students will have to make an adjustment and always be engaged and ready to volunteer information. 

Many of the students scored poorly in all classes on our latest assessment in the grade book. For each class that was actually a book assessment that I used and I wanted to see how it worked. In the future I probably won't be using those in totallity like I did for that one. 

Please feel free to email if you have questions or concerns. Like you, I want your student to be held to high standards and to learn science content to make them scientifically literate citizens. 

Steve Birchard

 10/22

6th Grade Science

The sixth grade science class has been working on understanding what goes into the engineering process. We will have a culminating activity starting next week. The students will be creating a hypothesis, designing and testing a sound amplification system. Using common classroom items they will design there own speaker system. After developing it they will use data to analyze the effectiveness of their designs. Through this activity they will gain a greater understanding of the engineering design process. 

7th Grade Science

In studying the weather and ocean currents we have come across many science concepts relating to weather. The focus has been on the concepts of condensation, evaporation, transpiration, and sublimation. We will be doing lab activities looking at phase changes. I am looking forward to our next few classes as we learn about these important science concepts through weather. 

8th Grade Science

Most of this week we were working on a lab on magnetism and electricity. We began by talking about a hand-crank flashlight generator and how the current is produced to light the flashlight. We used dry cell batteries to create an electromagnet and we also used magnets to create electric current. Ask your student how they did this. 

Conferences

I will not be having individual conferences. You will be meeting with either Ms. Steinkamp or Mrs. Hensel for you conference. You will get some information from me at your conference on science for your child. I will be in the building for conferences on Thursday morning 9:00 AM-11:30AM. Feel free to stop in and ask any questions you may have or just to say hi!

Week of 10/4 Blog

 The Middle School students had a great visit to Kansas City. Everyone that attended was moved by the Auschwitz exhibit. I believe everyone had gained perspective from the visit to the Auschwitz exhibit. We also visite Science City in Union Station. The kids had a great time exploring so many science exhibits in one place. Ask them to share with you their experience at Science City. That is part of the assignment they had for the day, share their Science City experience with a parent/guardian. I applaud all of the kids on their behavior. They were respectful and mature.

Sixth grade science class is working on systems in science. Understanding systems are an important theme in Science. The students have been identifying and evaluating different systems. They are in the process of collaborating with a partner and creating a poster about their assigned system. Ask your child what their system is and what makes up the system.

Seventh grade has been learning about ocean currents and how they are effected by wind patterns, water temperature, and water salinity. They also did a career research project on a related career. Ask them about their slide show presentation on a career.

The eighth grade science class have been designing and building a roller coaster. They used their knowledge of forces, potential energy, and kinetic energy to create a roller coaster. The class divided into 3 groups and completed the roller coaster challenge. Each group was able to complete a successful roaller coaster. Ask them how they did it. Some of them even took videos of their coaster in action. 

 The 6th grade science class successfully completed their balance beam project last week. We went though the process that engineers and scientists would use in problem solving. The students brainstormed questions pertaining to the installation of the balance beam. This process include opening the packaging, planning the digging and setting up the balance beam. The 6th graders did a great job on this project. 

The 7th grade science class has been working on understanding earth's atmosphere and it's weather patterns. It was handy to have a real life example to use with last weekend being balloon days in Creston.  We also did some background on heat transfer and the behavior of liquids and gases. One of the highlights was when the students were challenged to make a "density column" with colored liquids of different densitys. Ask your child how theirs turned out!

The 8th graders have been working on energy transfer and transformation within a system. They really seemed to be gaining a great understanding of energy transfer. They are a sharp group. One way that they demonstrated understanding was through the use of Yo-Yos. They each did a small group presentation on Yo-Yos and the energy transfer in the system. We capped it off with a Yo-Yo challenge. Each student was asked to learn a Yo-Yo trick. Some had more success than others, me included. LOL! 

Birchard's Blog Week 1

 We had a great first week in Middle School Science. I feel like I know most everyone's name now. Getting down the daily routine is more of a challenge for myself than the kids. I will get it figured out. LOL! Our first day was spent doing a "getting to know you" activity. It is a great way for the students and I to get to know each other. I was really impressed with the variety of interests that our middle school students have. 

We also took some time to go over safety in the science lab. The kids were very receptive and I think they are ready to get busy doing science. We have great resources at St. Malachy. There may be times though that we need additional materials from home. I will try to give the kids a heads up well before we need things.

I can't wait to get started on week 2. We will start by discussing the "Nature of Science" and the importance of becoming scientifically "literate". After that we will be getting into the curriculum for each grade level. 

If you ever have any questions feel free to shoot me an email at sbirchard@crestonstmalachy.org. 

Have a great weekend!