The Faculty Corner

June 2006

From The Anacapa School Science Department. . .

Chemistry

Our Upper School Chemistry class has moved through a remarkable amount of material during this second semester.  We got off to a blistering start in February, tearing through a vast range of subjects that were conceptually challenging and also put our math skills to the test.  Over the last few months, we have covered subjects ranging from the nuclear chemistry that governs the reactions in our sun and in our most powerful weapons to the gas laws that give rise to cool mountain temperatures and the dew that forms in the morning.  This class is set apart by their relentless question-asking (in and out of the classroom) and their continuing desire to know the reasons behind what they see in the physical world around them.  One of my favorite things about this particular class is how it often becomes a forum for the students’ curiosity, which has been spurred on by newfound realizations and information about their world.

Science 8

Every time I walk into the eighth grade science class, I can count on two things: noise and motion.  This is far and away the most energetic and tightly woven group of students I have ever had the pleasure of teaching.  A group that I had previously thought only describable by kinetic molecular theory (sorry, bad science joke), the eighth grade has blown me away with their ability to pour themselves into their work when a challenge is thrown in front of them.  Throughout the semester, we have had a great mix of projects (both inside and outside the classroom) and thoughtful discussions that have led to huge leaps in each student’s understanding of their world.  Many of the concepts we have covered such as the properties of light and other electromagnetic waves were completely foreign, while other topics such as the principles of flight and everyday force interactions were familiar territory that we were able to expand upon in depth.  It has been a wonderful and memorable second semester in physical science that I hope will continue to foster this group’s inquisitive nature as they move into high school and beyond.

~ ~ Ryan Biornstad  

Life Sciences at Anacapa: Biology and Science 7

Our “studies of life” at both the Upper and Lower School levels have involved learning about dynamic interrelationships within living organisms and amongst biotic and abiotic factors within larger living systems.  Whether, as scientists, we are studying single-celled organisms or an entire biome, there are consistent principles that are evident in these living systems.  In both Upper School Biology and Science 7, we began the semester by learning the four principles of living systems that have been articulated by Dr. Richard Murphy from the Ocean Futures Society.  Within each class, we have applied the following principles to our own body systems and the biomes we have studied:

              Everything runs on energy.              

              Nature recycles everythin               

              Biodiversity is important.

             Everything is connected.

            Biology

The Upper School Biology students have applied these four principles to the ecological biomes they have chosen to research.  Their chosen biomes have included local, national, and global aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems.  Through Power Point presentations, each student has described the climate and distribution of their biome; given an analysis of some of the symbiotic and feeding relationships amongst the plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria found in “their” biome; evaluated an ecological issue; and suggested possible solutions.  In addition, students have submitted papers describing and explaining the primary and secondary sequences of succession within their biome.  To study our local kelp and tide pool ecosystems, we took a field trip to the Marine Science Institute at UCSB, which included a teacher-guided walk along the beach where we were lucky enough to see many tide pool organisms during the low tide.

Due to the high quality of all of the students’ Power Point presentations, we decided to create an Anacapa School Biology Biome CD for each biology student that includes all of the students’ biome presentations. (Thank you, Matt, for making these copies!)

We are now finishing the year with a study of human body systems.  We began this study by doing labs associated with the skeletal and muscular systems, followed by superb student presentations and demonstrations about the respiratory, endocrine, immune, circulatory, sensory, nervous, cognitive, reproductive, and excretory systems.  The students have also chosen topics of interest to them that are related to their systems.  Thus, we have learned about what causes hearing loss (ask your child about how iPods affect hearing—based on Noah’s research), how smoking affects one’s lungs (based on Chloe’s demonstration), and how to keep our immune systems healthy through proper nutrition and exercise (according to Matt’s presentation).  These presentations have been accurate, creatively presented, and applicable to all of the students’ current life experiences.  We look forward to the rest of the presentations.

We have also studied evolution.  For this, we used a DVD created by the Howard Hughes Medical School.  It is a set of lectures given to a select group of advanced high school students.  The lectures were given by scientists who were able to explain this topic in engaging ways that included some of the most recent research in this field.  The high school students on the DVD asked valuable, thought-provoking questions at the end of each lecture sequence that assisted in clarifying important points for all of us.

Science 7

The students in Science 7 have proven to be eager and curious learners.  They are an intelligent class that has demonstrated the ability to analyze and apply new information and then synthesize these new ideas with ones they have previously learned.  The diversity of learning styles provides a strong learning community for each individual student.

In the beginning of the semester, we paralleled the Upper School Biology students in studying biomes and creating Power Point presentations, though the requirements were geared toward Lower School life science standards (see above).  All of the presentations were well researched.  We are in the process of preserving the presentations on a permanent CD for each student.  Jocelyn is currently organizing the creation of an Anacapa Life Science Biome CD.  (Thank you, Jocelyn!)

After we studied biomes, we started focusing on animals (since the students had already studied plants with Ryan at the end of last semester).  We started with invertebrates.  The students are currently engaged in an experiment with red earthworms that are living in “worm condos” made out of tennis ball containers and wrapped with black construction paper.  The students have created “controls” both with and without worms. They chose what they want to research, created their own experimental questions, and designed their own worm experiments to find out how the worms biodegrade newspaper, leaves, and food scraps in a variety of different living conditions.  The students will be checking on these experiments up to the last day of class and will be welcome to take their earthworms home for further study.

Since the class has had a strong interest in studying human anatomy, we have chosen to focus on human body systems as we approach the end of the academic year.  Each student has developed an informative presentation.  So far, each of these presentations has sparked thought-provoking and inquisitive discussions about how our bodies function and change (especially during this time of adolescence).  Each day we have continued to discover that life is truly amazing!

~ ~ Bridget Lewin