State Science Fair

Overhead view of 6th and 7th grade projects

From projects on spice inhibitors to jet propulsion, we saw it all!  Non-competing students spent the morning taking notes on 6th and 7th grade projects.  We then all headed out for a lunch and some gelato - even scientists need a sweet fix!

Taking a much needed break!

After lunch, we went back to the fair and spent the afternoon discussing projects with presenters and even seeing a seminar powerpoint presentation.  

Talking with presenters

Non-presenters then headed back to Iowa City while our participants, Adam, Halle, and Emma, continued to await judging.  

Standing post

Congratulations to all of our presenters for their incredible work!  It was not easy to create this project while also completing a history fair presentation!  Congrats to Halle for receiving an award for Excellence in Women in Science.  Congrats also to both Halle and Emma for their respective 11th and 5th place finishes in the 6th grade physical science category.  

Water Quality Testing

Determining transparency

The Wolves spent Wednesday afternoon back at Ralston Creek performing their first round of chemical and physical water quality assessments.  Timothy joined us for the day and helped students perform their tests.  The students began with physical assessments in which they measured the width of the stream, calculated stream velocity using a tennis ball, and determining water transparency.

Measuring stream width

Chemical assessments included using tests for nitrogen, phosphorus, dissolved oxygen, chloride, and pH levels.  Tests unfortunately showed that the creek had a pH level between 8 and 9 (be sure to ask a Wolf what that means)!  We'll continue to monitor the stream and see if this trend continues.

Collecting samples for chemical assessments

Back in the Water!

The Wolves spent Wednesday afternoon splashing around in the familiar waters of Ralston Creek.  Oh how we missed our muddy Wednesdays!  On this first trip, students worked in teams to create habitat assessments of the area.  Using math and science skills, they determined the length of riparian zones, number of microhabitats, types of stream banks at the stream transect and stream reach, and much, much more!  We're now moving on to discussing parameters for water quality including nitrogen, phosphorus, dissolved oxygen, and pH tests.  If the weather continues to stay warm, we'll spend Wednesday afternoon collecting water samples so that we begin testing water quality at the creek.  

Trip to State Science Fair is ON!

A big thank you to both Gretchen and Kim for making our trip to the State Science Fair this Friday possible!  As a reminder, we will be leaving school at 8am on Friday morning.  The students will return at approximately 5pm.  The competition runs for two days so while I will be riding out with the students, Gretchen will bring the students back that evening so that I do not have to drive back and forth between Ames (thanks again Gretchen!).  We will be going out to eat on Friday.  Please send your child on the trip with $10 - $12.  If you would prefer for them to eat a sack lunch, please just pack it as normal.  Also, even if you are sending your child with money for lunch, please send along a few snacks for the long drive.  Thanks and please let me know if you have any questions.

Regional National History Day Contest

On Friday of spring break, three of our students went back to work a little early by spending the day participating in the regional National History Day contest. Both junior and senior high students came to the Old Capital Museum to compete in several different categories including websites, performances, historical papers, exhibits, and documentaries. Our sixth graders presented their work to a panel of judges and competed against sixth through eighth graders from the surrounding areas. Only one student from each category was chosen to represent our area at the state competition in Des Moines in May. I am extremely excited to announce that two of our students, Halle and Emma, were chosen to present at the state competition in their respective categories. Please join in me in congratulating all of our students that participated in the fair on their hard work and dedication to this project!

History Fair Student Work

What an amazing night! From the Cottontails reminding of us "all we need" to the Wolves entertaining us with their engaging performances and informative websites, it was definitely a night to remember. Watching these performances reminded me of the amazing foundation that the K-4 teachers build before sending their students to the Wolf classroom - our work would NOT be possible without this incredible base.

I only wish that we had enough time to allow families the opportunity to see all of the students' work. Unfortunately, with the time constraints of the evening and the length of our performances, this was not possible (I would have had you here all night!). If you'd like to get a closer look at the students work or see the work of a child that you missed, please visit the History Fair tab under Student Work. Under this tab, you'll find links to student websites as well as short clips of performances.

Trip to State Science Fair

On Friday, March 30th, three of our sixth graders will be participating in the Iowa State Science Fair in Ames, Iowa. This is a great opportunity for the rest of the class to support their peers and get a preview of the work that many of them will be doing as sixth graders next year. Because of the length of the drive, we will need to leave school by 8am and will not return to school until 5pm. We are in need of drivers for that day. Please let me know as soon as possible if you can drive and how many students your car can hold. Thanks in advance for your help!