7th-8th Grade: Week of December 1-5

Howdy,
I hope everybody had a pleasant and safe Thanksgiving. We are now finished with the food chemistry unit and will start the sound unit tomorrow. The homework and DUE dates are as follows:

Tuesday, December 2: Sound travels at different speeds in different materials. Your homework is as follows:

1. Find out the speed of sound in water, air, and steel in miles per hour and put that data into table form.
2. I have heard that whales can hear the sounds from other whales hundreds of miles away. Has any research shown that to be true? What has research found?

Friday, December 5: Some towns have installed sound speakers outside to purposely annoy teenagers who gather together in public areas. The sounds are usually the mosquito frequencies we discussed or classical music. Do you think this should be allowed? Why or why not? Do teenagers have the right to gather in public places in large groups? Do a brief internet search for towns that have done this. Your answer should be a 6-8 sentence paragraph.

-Mr. Pfiester

9th Grade: Week of December 1-5

Howdy,
I hope everybody had a pleasant and safe Thanksgiving. The homework and DUE dates are as follows:

Tuesday, December 2: Students have the choose of writing a full paragraph on either of the topics below:

1. How is the West Nile virus spread? How did it get into the United States? Does it affect other animals also (such as pigs, horses)? Find out how many people have been infected, sickened, and killed by the virus here in Idaho. Find out if researchers have determined the shape of the virus. If so make a drawing of the virus.
2. Of course more people get the flu virus in the winter than summer and researchers have studied this phenomenon. What have they found? How many people are sickened and killed by the flu virus each year in the United States and worldwide?

Friday, December 5: Complete Section 19-3 Assessment Questions 1-5 (p. 490).

-Mr. Pfiester

9th Grade: Week of November 17-21

Howdy,
Friday's debate went well. Congratulations to both teams for a job well done. This week will be continuing our work on Chapter 19: Bacteria and Viruses. We will spend the majority of the week building models of viruses and bacteria. Students will be assigned to build either an influenza virus, T4 bacteriophage, or an E. coli bacteria. Please bring in craft material (such as yarn, buttons, glue, etc) to build your model. The homework and DUE dates are as follows:

Wednesday, November, 19: Students will complete 19-2 Section Assessment questions 1-5.

Friday, November 21: Students have the choose of writing a full paragraph on either of the topics below:

1. How is the West Nile virus spread? How did it get into the United States? Does it affect other animals also (such as pigs, horses)? Find out how many people have been infected, sickened, and killed by the virus here in Idaho. Find out if researchers have determined the shape of the virus. If so make a drawing of the virus.
   
2. Of course more people get the flu virus in the winter than summer and researchers have studied this phenomenon. What have they found? How many people are sickened and killed by the flu virus each year in the United States and worldwide?
   

-Mr. Pfiester

P.S. On Friday, as the last day before a major holiday, we will have a drinking straw tower contest. Groups will attempt to build the tallest freestanding straw tower during the class period. Should be fun!!

7th and 8th Grade: Week of Novemer 17-21

Howdy,
We will finish up the Chemistry of Food Unit on Thursday with the unit test. I will distribute the unit test study guide on Monday. The homework and DUE date are as follows:

Tuesday, November 18: Based on the unit study guide I distributed, answer the following questions in complete sentences:

1. What are the six groups of nutrients?
2. Which are macronutrients and which are micronutrients? What is the difference?
   
3. How do we test for glucose, starch, proteins and fats? How can you tell the difference between a positive and a negative test result?
   
4. Name one difference and one similarity between glucose and fructose.
   

Thursday, November 20: Study for unit test.

On Friday, as the last day before a major holiday, we will have a drinking straw tower contest. Groups will attempt to build the tallest freestanding straw tower during the class period. Should be fun!!

9th Grade: Week of November 10-14

Howdy,
This week we are spending the entire week preparing for (Monday-Thursday) and completing a class debate (Friday) on the proposition that "all students should be required to have vaccinations to attend school". The homework and DUE date is as follows:

Tuesday, November 11: Go to the website: http://www.middleschooldebate.com/resources/videoresources.html and scroll down to Sample Debates. Click on "Judge's decision for "Ban Boxing" Sample Debate" and watch the 15 minute video of the judge's decision. Answer the following questions in complete sentences upon watching the video:

1. According to the judge's decision, who won the debate? Do you agree with the judge?
2. Listen closely to the judge's comments. Do you agree?

Thursday, November, 13: Go to the same website as Tuesday and view the 25-minute debate: "The United States Should Lower the Voting Age.”

-Mr. Pfiester
PS. I am handing out progress reports to all students on Friday. Only those students who have a grade less than 80% need to have it returned and signed by parents.

7th-8th Grade: Week of November 10-14

Howdy,
This will be our last week on the Chemistry of Food Unit. A couple of interesting lab. experiments are planned. Please bring in a large empty coffee can tomorrow or Tuesday if you have any at home. The next unit is on Sound Waves. The homework and DUE date is as follows:

Tuesday, November 11: I assume you have at least a few brands of cereal in your kitchen cubbards. I'd like you to look at the Nutrition Facts listed on the side. The healthier cereals tend to be higher in protein and fiber and lower in sugar. Make a table that lists the nutrient content (for protein, fiber, and sugar) for ALL of your cold and hot (such as cream of wheat) cereals. Which one is the most healthy? Most unhealthy? What can you add to cereal other than sugar to make it more tasty and nutritious?

Thursday, November 13: I want us to have a healthy and peaceful lunchtime next year at our new school. I'd like you to come up with 3 ideas on how we could have such a program next year. Example: the school could play classical music in the cafeteria during lunch.

-Mr. Pfiester
PS. I am handing out progress reports to all students on Friday. Only those students who have a grade less than 80% need to have it returned and signed by parents.

Progress Report Schedule

Hello,
Although students and parents can easily check current grades, I am going to distribute progress reports on Friday, November 14 (Week 3 of Quarter 2), Friday, December 12 (Week 6) and Monday, January 12 (Week 9) to all students. Those with a science grade below 80% will require a parent signature.

-Mr. Pfiester

9th Grade: Week of November 3-7

Hello,
We are starting a new unit this week: Unit 6: Microorganisms and Fungi. This unit includes Chapters 19 (Bacteria and Fungi), 20 (Protists), and 21 (Fungi). We will be using the microscopes over the next few days. As there is a lot of new terminology and ideas presented, the only homework is DUE this Friday (Nov. 7). It is:
19-1 Section Assessment (p. 477): Questions 1-4.

Next week we will conduct a debate related to the discussion on page 484 of our biology text: Should Mass Vaccinations Be Required? On Tuesday-Thursday (Nov. 11-13) student groups will conduct research to support their view. The debate will be on Friday, Nov. 14.
Email me or see me if you have any questions/concerns.

-Mr. Pfiester
Reminder: Biology check-out forms are due back this Friday (Nov. 7).

7th and 8th Grade: Week of Novemer 3-7

Howdy,
We have so far tested foods and liquids for starch, glucose, and fats as part of our Chemistry of Food unit. This week we will test them for protein content. There is only 1 homework assigned this week as it is a 1 1/2 page paper due next Monday (November 10). Obesity is a huge problem in America today. There have been warnings that the life expectancy of Americans may actually decrease, in part due to obesity. Answer the following questions in each paragraph:

1. What does the initials BMI stand for? What is your BMI? You can find answers to both questions at: http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/. What is the BMI for an obese person? What do you think of your BMI being on your report card?
   
2. Obesity is a huge problem in America today. What characteristics of American society contribute to obesity?
   
3. Obesity is a problem right here in Twin Falls. What characteristics of Twin Falls contributes to obesity? Hint: Imagine riding your bicycle to the town library. What obstacles and dangers would you find? How many roads have bicycle lanes?
   
4. Can you think of ways that schools contribute to obesity? Do schools tend to provide very healthy or mediocre food? What percentage of children walk or ride their bikes to school? How many bicycles are in the Xavier Charter School parking lot?
   

This homework is considered a project and so will be about 5% of your quarter grade. Email or come see me if you have any questions.
-Mr. Pfiester

All Students: Week of Nov. 3-7: Journey North- International Tulip Project

Howdy,
On October 22nd, we planted about 110 Red Emperor Tulip bulbs as part of our participation in the annual International Tulip Project. Tuesday (Nov. 4), students will be working in groups of two and select another class participating in the project. The map of participants can be seen at http://www.learner.org/jnorth/maps/tulip_fall2008.html. Each group, using the school laptops, will need to determine the latitude, longitude, and altitude for their selected class. Once this information has been determined and shared with the class, we will predict when spring will arrive for each location. In the spring we will compare our predictions to the actual beginning of spring (as determined when the tulips emerge from the ground).
-Mr. Pfiester