2013-2014 Waas Science - what a year!!!!!

This year has been a great year in science at WAAS! I have experienced so many new and different opportunities to learn and grow. I cannot even explain in words how much fun science has been but now I guess I am going to have to try to put it into words! In thinking about science this year, I thought about how Mrs. Giacomelli has made a difference in my life a s a science student.


The following link states 4 ideal qualities of a good science teacher and she has met all of them. She was able to make me laugh, enjoy what I was learning, be curious about my environment and how it relates to what I was learning and most of all she respected my thoughts and encouraged class participation and was also just very kind and thoughtful to me. I liked that a lot!
http://www.bachelorsofscience.org/4-ideal-qualities-in-a-science-teacher
I learned that being a good teacher means being able to make your student love topics that they would not otherwise like and a happy teacher makes for happy students! I was very happy in science this year and learned lots!!!


This year we did a lot of dissections! The most outstanding for me was the fetal pig dissections, it was just plain gross. I learned from this dissection that a pig's internal system works almost like a human's system. But that was not the only fun thing we did this year. To celebrate Science Olympiad, we played paintball. It was Mrs. G versus Mr. Simon, it was so much fun and I think allot more people will join SO next year for paintball!


We also had our school carnival and I have to say it was loads of fun. My favorite part was shooting my mom with a water gun. We spent the rest of the school year taking our final exams which I did for the first time and did very well. I was very happy. This year I learned so much! I can definitely improve next year on making sure I take good notes, listen well in class and follow directions during labs. All of which makes for a successful year in science which thankfully I had!


We wrapped our science year with our first annual boat regatta. Before this we had our last dance of the year which was a Hawaiian dance. I had lots of fun with my friends and did our 'Broadway Night" production in Explorations also. The boat regatta today was so much fun. Yasmin and I were on "Team Queen" and we dominated the "peasants" by placing first ! We really liked our prizes and I can't wait for next year and can't wait to use my gift card at the movies this summer! Our boat sank on the way back but after an awesome victory.
This was definitely the best year ever in science! Thank you Mrs. G ......you are the best!!!!!! Have a great summer and I cant wait to see you this summer at Chemistry camp!!!! woohooooooo!!!


                                                                             "Team Queen" getting ready to launch

                            And we're off! 

   Mrs. G and Mr. Simon need help! 

                       Paintball fun 

Me and Ellie at Hawaiian dance 

Broadway Night 

First place ..yeah! 

 Carnival fun 

I dissected a pig!!!!!

This week has been an awesome and fun week as usual in science! I was so excited to start the fetal pig dissection. Even though these pigs were never alive, I felt like they were going to come alive on the dissecting tray. The fetal pigs are probably the biggest thing we have dissected this year.












On Monday we did the external drawing of the pig. This helped me learn all the parts of the external body structure of a pig. On Tuesday we drew the bone structure of the pig. This helped me learn all the bones in the bone structure. I learned how each bone is used in the pigs. I also learned that the mandible is a facial bone.












On Wednesday we started skinning the pig. This process almost made me gag. I let my group take one for the team! I so could not be a doctor! On Thursday we explored the digestive system of the pig. We cut through the muscle and examined the organs, aka "guts". I learned that the pigs digestive system is almost like a human.












On Friday we went to play paintball to celebrate Math Counts and Science Olympiad. I had lots of fun shooting at people, it was my first time playing paintball! I can definitely improve by wearing more padding on my legs so next year I wont get so bruised playing paintball because "someone" shot me in the legs and left really bad bruises......that "someone" will remain nameless....or maybe not Mrs. Giacomelli!!! I have plans to get you next year! Be very afraid!!!










I have attached a link to a fetal pig dissection if you are brave enough to watch it!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWYpnLtXQrg

external pig drawing 

 Madison dissecting pig 

fetal pigs getting ready to be dissected 

DC Week

There is so much going an at school. We still have so much work to do, but there are so many fun activities coming up. I am really looking forward to paintball and the boat regatta. This week we had a really short week of science again because the sixth grade went to Washington D.C on Wednesday and came home really late on Friday night. I am exhausted. 

On Monday in science we took our Chapter 12 science test on birds and mammals. Thankfully it was open notes so it wasn't that hard. I am glad it was open notes because it had been a long weekend in Raleigh at Science Olympiad. I learned new vocabulary from Chapter 12 such as the difference between soaring and gliding. Soaring involves using currents of warm air to move upwards and gliding uses falling currents of cool air to move downwards.

On Tuesday we watched Myth busters. I learned that air pressure does affect a human body while deep sea diving. The myth is that if you dove really deep down and your air pressure was cut off that your body would push up to your head and that is the case! I have no plans of going deep sea diving anytime soon!

On Wednesday the 6th graders left for D.C bright and early at 5:00 am! We arrived in D.C around noon and had to do the first part of our tour in pouring down rain! It was a long bus ride! I enjoyed visiting the Supreme Court and the American History Museum. My favorite part of the trip was seeing Dorothy's shoes from the Wizard of Oz and the original Miss Piggy. I learned how the Supreme Court works that the justices are sworn in for life.

I think my dad and I can definitely improve on listening and following directions more carefully; because we were late getting to our bus because we went to the wrong museum to meet the group. I definitely need to make sure that even though my dad was responsible for me that I should also be responsible by listening to the directions as well. This is definitely a good lesson to apply when I return to science class.

We returned to Wilmington at almost midnight on Friday and I was so happy to get in my own bed! Another long, tiring week. I have attached a link of Miss Piggy and her friends at the national museum.

http://americanhistory.si.edu/press/releases/miss-piggy-joins-kermit-frog-smithsonian

WAAS at Spy Museum 

Standing in front of Supreme Court 

 Eyeball of sheep dissected by 8th graders