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<p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">Hi! </span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">It's the beginning of a new quarter, and we are just getting started with our second unit of chemistry. I am in the process of grading notebooks (albeit not as quickly as I expected), but have had multiple afternoon meetings this week and have not been able to work on them. Students will leave their notebooks in the classroom until all notebooks are graded and have been advised that they are to complete work at home using binder paper. They can then add that into their notebooks when they return to class. They are all aware of this so please feel free to check in with them regarding work.</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">Grades are only a progress of how they are doing so far this semester. Students definitely have the opportunity to find ways to improve/maintain the work they are doing in class. If you are concerned, please reach out to me and we can discuss ways to help your student. I do want to share that all graded work is posted in Student/ParentVue, and that all work students should be reviewing/working on is on Google Classroom. </span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">With that, let's do a little recap over the last two weeks:</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">The week of October 7th - 11th: Monday students were introduced to the format of how to write a lab report. Students had to work with their group to write a lab report on a topic they found interesting. They continued work on this throughout the rest of the week where they had to write procedures, determine the materials/equipment they would need, as well as create a data table that someone could record data. On Tuesday/Wednesday and Thursday, students worked on their Unit 1 Reflection Parts 1 and 2. Part 1 was to choose a device they learned about and they had to write about what they learned and how to use it in the form of a letter, poem or advertisement. Part 2 of the assignment was to reflect on work they were proud of, work they found challenging, how to use the four different devices and how they intend to improve or maintain their current grade. While students were working on their reflection, groups were called up for their Unit 1 Practical (where they were randomly assigned a device to demonstrate how to use it). Students were allowed to help their group, but could not tell the answer, the units or touch the device. This was the first year that students did not come in at lunch to practice or to ask questions, and it was very obvious when it came down to the practical. It was a bit disappointing, but those groups were able to redeem themselves if they all came in during lunch/after school to try to improve their score. Students had the opportunity to work on their science notebooks on Friday, and were told to create their Unit 2 title page for Chemistry. </span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">This past week was VERY busy for us! Monday was Indigenous people day, so there was no class. On block day, students had to complete notes for three short videos and reflection questions. After completing independent work time learning general information about Chemistry, I did a lab demo using Sodium Polyacrylate demonstrating a fast reaction. Students came up to touch it, and were asked to wash their hands after handling the final product. If you are able, feel free to check in with them regarding that demo! </span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">On Thursday, we set up part of our Borax Lab. Students had to make predictions of what would happen when we added boiling hot water to Borax, and then had to prepare their pipecleaners to be in the shape of a snowflake. Today (Friday), we took Quiz #4, and completed the rest of Day 1 Borax Lab. They will check their results on Monday, which some of them seem pretty excited about..</span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">Next week students will be checking out their Borax results, learning about chemical reactions, and specifics about atoms and molecules. It's going to be busy for our 7th graders, so make sure to check in with them if you can 🙂 Please let me know if you have any questions/concerns and I will try to get back to you when I am able to. </span></p><p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:#000000;">Have a good weekend, </span></p><p>Mrs. Jennifer Estrella (she/her)<br>7th Grade Science<br>Herbert Hoover Middle School</p>
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