Forensics
The 11th Grade Forensic class just completed a unit and did a lab on a blood splatter. They are working on an essay on blood and will research information not discussed in class.
Mrs. Christian
Math Class
Students are investigating how fractions and decimals are used to find the principal interest rates in savings accounts. They area also preparing for their regents, which will be taken this month.
Mrs. Christian
Bow Flies
The forensic class just completed a study on Entomology. The students made life cycle posters of a bow fly and described how each stage of life helps a forensic scientist determine the time of death. All the students are really enjoying the class.
Mrs. Christian
Forensic Class
Students worked on how to identify questioned documents in cursive and in print. They worked in groups and tried identifying each other’s handwriting patterns. They even critiqued their own writings. They were able to examine how a person is indentified through their handwriting.
Mrs. Christian
US Government
During our study of the executive branch and its many regulatory agencies, we watched several news clips on current events and discussed both the pros and cons of government regulation in American life. We also read excerpts of Milton Friedman and listened to an audio version of Kurt Vonnegut’s short story, Harrison Bergeron, which led up to a discussion on the tension between liberty and equality. If we are all equal, then does anyone have the freedom to be different? If the government regulates people so much as to keep them all at the same level of equality, can freedom still flourish? Or as Dash, a character in Pixar’s The Incredibles says, If everybody is special, then nobody is.
Mrs. Lapp
US History
As we studied the Civil War, we investigated the causes of conflict between North and South and learned that although slavery played a huge part in the War, so did the issue of states’ rights. Students performed Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and did a video activity on the American Presidents during the pre-Civil War and Civil War eras.
Mrs. Lapp
Resource Room
December is such a wonderful month as everything around us remembers the birth of our Savior. This year we added Advent reflections to devotional/prayer time. Our favorite passage by Dennis Bratcher was:
“We live in a world in which bigger and better define our expectations for much of life. We have become so enamored by super size, super stars, and high definition that we tend to view life through a lens that so magnifies what we expect out of the world that we tend not to see potential in small things. But as the prophet Zechariah reminds us (Zech 4:10), we should not “despise the day of small things,” because God does some of his best work with small beginnings and impossible situations.”
The students read them and came up with their own reflections, which graced our bulletin boards. They wrote them on angel shapes and decorated their version of an angel. It is always nice to see students using their creativity especially as a way to worship.
Enrichment Class
Happy New Year’s. I pray everyone had a safe Christmas break. The group projects are starting to heat up. Most of the research has been done and now the teams are writing or typing their final papers. When your child has their work online they will be able to show you what they have been working on. The research has made way for the English side of learning. The groups are continuing to write about this new technology. The artisan is about to push their way into the project when the group starts working on their simulated web pages. This simulated web page is all about their technology. If you child’s group wins the regional judging they will get the opportunity to create a web page that may be put on the internet. Examples of winning projects can be seen at: www.dmail.exploravision.org. Click on winning entries and scroll to the age group you would like to look at and click view winning website. Time is short and the deadline is coming soon. January 25th for the paper part of the project and February 2nd for the electronic part of the projects.
God is good and His mercy endures forever.
Dustin Penland
LOL in Spanish
This month we hope to create a bi-lingual Comic strip. We shall see!
Mr. Hernandez
Spanish Designers
In December students made their own want Ads, as well as Design holiday cards – all in Spanish
Mr. Hernandez