Our first 2 weeks back from Winter Break have been incredible! It has been great to see everyone again and jump back into class.
In Sustainability, we kicked things off by reflecting on the Winter Solstice, which happened at the start of the break. The Winter Solstice marks the shortest day and longest night of the year, and it’s a powerful reminder that light is starting to return to our lives. We discussed how people around the world celebrate the solstice and what’s happening in Earth’s orbit to cause this event.
We explored this by walking our globe around the sun, noting the Equator, the North and South Poles, and the Earth’s tilt. We also played with different scenarios, like imagining if Earth had no tilt or a greater tilt, and saw how these changes could dramatically affect our weather and climate.
Focusing on our current winter season, we looked at how Earth’s position in orbit is slowly bringing us closer to the sun, which means our days are getting longer again! To help visualize all of this, each student created their own globe using clay, toothpicks, and buttons to represent the Earth’s tilt and the continents.
We were then gifted a little winter precipitation and took advantage of the opportunity to explore what causes it!
Last week, we explored the difference between rain and snow and learned about what happens in the atmosphere to create both. We discussed the water cycle, and students learned how freezing and melting points affect water. They also explored how water droplets like to stick together, and when it’s cold enough, they begin to form ice crystals that get heavy and fall as snow.
We looked at lots of images of individual snowflakes and were amazed by how intricate and unique each one is. Students noticed that every snowflake has a symmetrical pattern with six sides
But then an interesting question came up: why do all the snowflakes look different if they're falling at the same time? We figured out that each snowflake is unique because it’s falling at a different rate. The atmosphere conditions are always changing, so as the snowflake descends, it goes through different temperatures and could even melt and refreeze, creating its own one-of-a-kind pattern.
To wrap things up, students made their own snowflake designs using cotton swabs to represent the six sides and symmetry of a snowflake.
To get our creative juices flowing again in Engineering, we kicked off with a fun challenge. Students were paired up and given free rein to build anything they wanted with air dry clay, but there was a catch. They had to do it without using their hands!
Using supplies from Maker Space, they got to work, thinking outside the box to solve the challenge. It was amazing to watch their problem-solving skills in action as they crafted some impressive creations, like cats and cookies to a carton of milk and butterflies.
Last week, we kicked off a new study that we’ll be diving into over the next few weeks—bridges and the strength of different shapes!
To start, I gave students two pieces of construction paper and challenged them to create a bridge between stacks of books that could hold as many marbles as possible. I wish you could have seen their faces when they got the challenge! Many of them were skeptical, saying that paper couldn’t work as a bridge because it wasn’t strong enough. So, we decided to test it out.
When we simply placed the paper between the stacks of books, they were right. It couldn’t even hold one marble. But then, I challenged them to think of ways to make the paper stronger. Some students wanted tape or more paper, but the only materials they had were the two pieces of paper.
Soon, the students started experimenting. Some folded their paper, others rolled it, and a few even built pillars. Each group took a different approach, and by the end, everyone had created successful bridges that could hold multiple marbles!
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be collecting data on which shapes can hold the most weight. We’ll look at cross-sections and explore why certain shapes are stronger and are used for specific builds. Eventually, our goal is to test different materials to see how they hold up under pressure, building on what we’ve learned about the strength of shapes.
I hope you enjoyed the photos!
Until next time,
Ms. Emily
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