Middle School Science- Focus on Echo Hill Outdoor School 2019

The annual HCA overnight field trip wasn't always in the curriculum. In fact, the seventh grade didn't have an overnight trip until 2005 when I took our first group to Project Oceanology at The University of Connecticut's satellite research campus in Groton, CT. It was a fine program on Long Island Sound but the distance and logistics of getting there and back became problematic and too expensive to continue. The overnight aspect was appealing to the 7th grade because 5th and 6th went to College Settlement and the 8th grade went to Washington, D.C. on overnight adventures - and now the 7th grade did, too.   

Holy Child seventh graders have been travelling to Echo Hill Outdoor School (EHOS) on the upper Chesapeake Bay for several years. It is an highly anticipated three-day, two-night trip about 90 minutes from HCA. This year, 13 Seventh Grade intrepid students and two teachers made the trip from Monday, April 15th to Wednesday, April 17th.

The Chesapeake from The Bluff at EHOS

The weather was dry but VERY windy on Monday, but that didn't stop the superb staff at EHOS from taking us on our first adventure: a trip on the research vessel Twilight. Even though we didn't venture out into the larger bay, the certified USCG captain, Captain Ian, took our "crew" into sheltered inlets and creeks of the bay where we explored the local estuaries.

On the Twilight, our students gained hands-on experience about the importance of estuaries, watersheds, phytoplankton, and zooplankton. They caught and handled American eels, perch. and catfish in pre-set traps. They measured water turbidity with a Secchi Disk, saw numerous bald eagles, and learned about ospreys and their important role in the Chesapeake's food web.

That first evening was too chilly and windy for us to sleep in the platform tents so the staff put us into the dorms (boys and girls separate, of course). We were occupied with different activities before heading to The Whip (an old carnival ride structure re-purposed as a dining hall).

We learned about S.L.O.P. (ask a 7th grader!) and had fun doing so after enjoying the great food served family style. That evening, we went on a guided night hike to experience the quiet of the Bay and surrounding forest as sunset descended upon us.

On Tuesday, we went on our next adventure, the Giant Swing! Each student was encouraged to trust themselves, their equipment, and their teammates to go as high as they were comfortable on the 40-foot swing in the Adventure Camp. All students attempted the swing and many went all the way to the top!

After we congratulated each other on that mettle-testing adventure, where we were all successful in our own way, we grabbed lunch and headed on our next adventure to The Swamp and Scanoeing!

The boardwalk in the swamp.

Boarding the Scanoe!

Investigating methane-producing microbes!

Our investigation taught us, among other things, about the importance of swamps and marshes in the ecosystem, how organisms can adapt to environments without oxygen, and that mistletoe is actually a parasite growing in the swamp!

That evening, the staff provided us with a cookut in the woods where we enjoyed burgers cooked over a campfire (they even had vegetarian options available here, too). Following a hayride in the EHOS tractor, ably driven by James, we were able to spend Tuesday night in the bunks in our tents, girls in Near Side camp and the boys at Far Side camp. Conditions were rustic and somewhat primitive but everyone seemed to get a good night's sleep!

A typical EHOS tent

Sunset from The Bluff

On our final morning at EHOS, we ate in The Whip, packed for the trip home, and then headed
to the woods for a lesson in survival in the wilderness. We learned the fundamentals for constructing shelters out of materials at hand on the beach.

After that time on the shores of the Chesapeake, we headed to the woods to learn how to make a fire from materials found nearby...and how to extinguish it safely!

When we finished, it was time for a final lunch at the WHIP and then to board the bus home. We were all tired and maybe a little dirty, but full of memories from new and different experiences that will be with us forever!

Finally, many thanks to Dr. Kellich for leaving her children and joining us on our (non-glamping) adventure as the chaperone for the girls!

HCA's 7th Grade Class gathers with one of our instructors, Sauhil.

Middle School Science - March 2019

    The biggest science event of the year has come and gone! Students have received their assessments and the verdict is in: they did a fantastic job (for the most part)! Two eighth grade students, Marin and Victoria, elected to enter their outstanding experiments into the Delaware County Science Fair this year. (Entering the Delco Fair became self-selective last year since projects are no longer judged at HCA.)

     Marin entered her project, "Basketball Energy," and Victoria submitted hers, titled "How Do You Perceive Time?" Not surprisingly, both Victoria and Marin were selected to be interviewed by judges from academia and industry at the DCIU on Monday, March 11th. When students are called for an interview in middle school, it means they won an award!

     Victoria also won an award last year and built upon that success to win Honorable Mention in the category of Human Behavior this year. Marin entered her first Delco Fair this year as an eighth-grader (how about that for motivation!) and was rewarded with Third Place in the Physics category. Congratulations to Marin and Victoria on their hard work, motivation, and awards!

     Eighth grade students have been learning about the MINOH rule for conserving mass...in other words, learning how to balance chemical equations. They must demonstrate 90% proficiency in order to pass (or retake the test until they do so) since this is a skill they will definitely need to master in high school chemistry. I am thrilled to say that each and every student in the class achieved above 90% on their test on the first try! Way to go!

These are some of the balancing equation problems the 8th grade had to master!

     Grade 5 completed their study of populations and ecosystems with an in-depth study of our planet's six major terrestrial biomes. They collaborated in groups to research the climate and particular features of their assigned biomes and then used that information to build models of each in a realistic way. Their research was excellent and is displayed from the ceiling above each biome in the elevator hallway on the Middle School floor. Stop by and take a look the next time you're in the building!

     The 5th grade also started a new unit on energy and got off to a fun start by evaluating and verbalizing different ways energy from rubber bands can affect balloons. More fun while learning to come!

The Sixth and Seventh grade students hosted their parents after the ScienceEXPO and participated in some fun science activities. Seventh graders and their parents extracted DNA from strawberries while the Sixth graders investigated geode formation and broke open some Moroccan geodes with their visitors.

     Finally, Mr. Zwilling presented the wonders of liquid nitrogen to the entire school. He dazzled us and informed us in an entertaining way how LIN can be used in a number of different ways to improve our quality of life!

Middle School Science- ScienceEXPO 2019

CONGRATULATIONS to everyone for a job well done at ScienceEXPO 2019!

     Students in grades 6, 7, and 8, presented their finished ScienceEXPO experiments on Parent Visitation day last week! These projects began last October with ideas of problems to be explored and hypotheses to be formulated. For the 8th grade students, this was their third ScienceEXPO and most were very knowledgeable of the processes and procedures that allowed them to arrive in February with a well-executed project. Like the students in grades 6 and 7, the 8th graders submitted specific sections of their projects in small increments for review and revision. They followed the HCA ScienceEXPO website guidelines and turned their assigned sections in via Google Classroom for review. Examples of previous boards were presented and reviewed for strengths and weaknesses.

   

     After much work reviewing existing literature on their subject, outlining needed experimental materials (all in metric), and streamlining their procedures, they identified their variables and began their experimentation. All students ran multiple trials and collected data which were analyzed and put into Google Sheets to make tables and graphs. Then came time to make their presentation boards for display at school, culminating on Parent Visitation day. One constant they were provided with for making their board was, "How do you want to feel when you are in front of your board that day?"

                                       

I think they felt FANTASTIC!