Grades Updated

Grades have been updated tonight.

Just closed on the new house yesterday. That makes getting grades done a wee bit easier. Off to bed!

Test Scores Posted

Most of the corrected test scores have been posted. Some tests were not corrected or students simply did not get the correct answer on the second try. Any tests that have not been posted will be checked tonight. Overall, the test scores followed the law of averages, and since the students have one test under their belt, they should have a better idea of what to expect next time. I can send the test home by parent request (email only please), but I normally hold on to them for exam review when I will pass them back out, and they will already be corrected :)

If you have feedback, please respond via email unless it's a procedural question from which everyone will benfit by the answer.

By the way students should be ready for a little pop _____ tomorrow:). They were told today. Blessings.

PowerPoint Download

Students, please click on this link to download the PowerPoint for the test review. Keep in mind that this is one of the few times I will make your notes available as I expect each of you to keep notes from class. Your study guide is in your notes, and I will give you the items you need to study either here on the blog or in the class. I know this is a big change from 6th grade, but the expectations are higher now. If you need help with any material, please come in before or after school for help.

Practice Questions

1. A violent wind blew a board across a 50 m yard in 1.5 seconds. What was the speed of the board?
2. The Wright Brother's first flight in a powered airplane covered 37 meters and lasted 12 seconds. What was the speed of that flight?
3. The world record for covering 400m in a drag racing car is 4.43 seconds. The top speed at the end was 150.27 m/s. What was the acceleration of the drag racer.

Test Date Moved to Monday, Aug 23

The test has been moved to Monday, August 23. The reason is that the students needed a bit more work on their notes as well as how to set up motion problems. The same material will be on the test as I wrote in the previous post. If you need help, come by in the morning before school. I am also here until around 3:45 PM on Friday.

Test On Friday

Alright, the first test of the year is coming up on Friday, August 20.

The following material will be covered:

1) Unit conversions
2) Motion definitions and formulas to include:
- Motion
- Speed
- Velocity
- Acceleration
- Displacement
3) Be able to solve problems for speed time and distance using formulas from notes.

Students may bring a calculator to help them, as well as a 3x5 card with ONLY formulas for speed, distance and time. They may also write down their metric prefixes. Nothing else may be written on the card. This card will be the only thing they may use to help them on the test.

Please post a comment if you have a question. We will review tomorrow and Thursday. Work hard and bring glory to God.

Grade Updates

Grades will be updated starting Monday.

Unit Conversion Practice Problems

Problems are due on Friday, Aug. 12 at class time.

Students need a basic calculator

Because I am rearranging some parts of the curriculum, each student will need a basic calculator starting on Thursday. We are going to learn about force and motion as part of studying the first day of creation. The calculator must be a stand alone unit and not on a phone. A good basic calculator can be bought cheaply at a discount store. If students already have a calculator for math class, they are more than welcome to use it in here.

I apologize for the inconvenience. If you have any questions, please let me know via email.

Open Office Software

This one is for parents, so if you are a student ask them before installing.

What if I told you there was a program that would both open, edit and save word processing documents, spreadsheets, databases and presentations in almost any format you can think of? What if I told you that program was FREE? Allow me to introduce you to OpenOffice.org, a free program that does all of the above and more. It can be installed on either Mac or Windows operating systems. It is about 350 mb in size which is similar to MS Office or Corel Suites but much more powerful. You can even create .pdf documents directly. OpenOffice is very similar in functionality to older versions of MS Office (XP, 2003). Since we use OpenOffice on our school computers, you may wish to install it on your home computer, so your child may use it to work on their projects at school and at home. Download from www.openoffice.org.

An Assignment

Alright kids, here's an assignment. Click on this link for some interesting reading. Now write a paragraph in your Science notebook telling how you may have used the scientific method to solve a common problem. A paragraph is 6 to 8 complete sentences. Good luck!

Smooth Opening

I could not have asked for a smoother beginning to the school year. I've been around education for over 13 years, and that was surreal. Hey, I'm not a Pollyanna, but the multiple prayers of those associated with our school have availed much. For them I thank God.

Welcome!

Alright, here's the first post for all students and parents. I'm looking forward to a great first year at PCA. Make sure to keep up with this blog as I will be posting regularly. A reminder to parents and students. Keep your posts respectful. If there is any question regarding school policy or a disagreement, please send an email directly to me so we can keep the blog an informational tool rather than a discussion board.

Here are a few things you'll need to have for this class.

• You'll need a green, pocketed, 3-ring binder for this class. No spiral notebooks allowed as they are messy. Please put your name and SCIENCE (yes, all caps) on the front. That way we can ID it if it is lost.
• A pen or mechanical pencil. Don't use regular pencils in the classroom, as the computers don't like the dust from the sharpener.
• A 1-2 GB USB thumb drive. Make sure it has your initials etched on it.
• A calculator will be required later. You may bring your calculator from math class.

My rules for class are very simple and few. If you do these things, I guarantee you'll pass.

• Respect people and property
• Show up on time
• Show up prepared
• Work hard

Your syllabus should be kept in your binder at all times. This is a handy reference. I will send an electronic copy with my first newsletter to parents.

I know this is a long blog post, but there's a lot of info that must be digested. I hope all of you have a great year. Keep in touch.