Quarterly Review

What a fast couple of months it has been! It's hard to believe that the first week of September was my introduction to the Lake George students, staff, and community. Before coming to LGHS, I had been very fortunate to work my entire teaching career in a school (Minerva Central) that valued the connections that teachers make with and for their students... and I am thankful that Lake George is no different. So, I'm extending a round of thanks to everyone for welcoming me here, and in return am offering this glimpse of what we have been doing for the past two months in Room 10.

Earth Science students are now using their mapping and drawing skills to diagram the landscape as created by tectonic activity. They have learned the link between Earth's mineral deposits / rock formation and the convection currents that drive the movement of Earth's plates. They were fascinated by the fact that mineral exploration like the Klondike gold rush isn't just history - it's still happening. Here's a great video (and maybe our class has some future students who will "strike it rich!"): http://www.cbsnews.com/news/gold-rush-turning-mushroom-hunting-into-gold-in-the-yukon/.

Physics students have been experimenting with forces and motion. They've begun to realize that labs in Physics class involve playing with a lot of great toys... I mean, equipment. (The dreaded lab reports are another story!) Students had the opportunity to bring in a demonstration to show Newton's Laws in action. We ended up with a fun showing of Newton's First Law of Inertia - an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by a force. On Earth, this is due to the object's inertial mass - its tendency to resist motion unless a force is applied. Watch our video here. (And to see a demonstration of the effect of gravity, check out this outtake!)

Earth Science A students have been exploring maps as a model of the landscape. We've learned about the historical methods of surveyors who hiked the state's highest peaks, as well as the most modern methods of using aerial photography and RADAR/LiDAR (laser) systems to digitally map the land. (They LOVED this cool video of an unmanned drone used to produce 3-D topo maps.) Students learned how to use a GPS and we even went on a treasure hunt around school! Here's a website that students have been using to make digital profiles of the landscapes around Lake George (it's a Google Maps interface with a lot more functionality): http://geokov.com/GMapV3/Demo/MapMaker.aspx.

Science is everywhere around us, and LGHS students are proving it. We've had lots of artistic, thoughtful, and sometime hilarious submissions to the photo contest, and they are getting better each week! Want to see a selection? Photos that are shared publicly can be found by searching #lghsphotocontest on the website hashtagr.co. A few others are shared below...

STUDENTS: Don't forget to check your Google Classroom page.

• Earth Science (1st period) - https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/MTEzNDI1NFpa
• Physics (3rd period) - https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/MTE0MDgwN1pa
• Earth Science A (5th period) - https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/MTEzODE4N1pa
• Physics (7th period) - https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/MTkyNDA1Nlpa

PARENTS: Google Classroom does not have a built-in parent access feature (*yet!). Ask your student to log in and take you on a tour of our classroom page. Announcements and assignments are posted on a daily basis, so this time can prove invaluable as a way to help your student communicate about course expectations.

EVERYONE: Remind.com is a fantastic website that allows for scheduled, daily updates, and is available to anyone who wants to sign up.

• Earth Science text/email updates
• Earth Science A (two-year) text/email updates
• Physics students and parents: I can add this feature for your class if there is interest - just let me know.

Please don't hesitate to contact me for any reason...

Email: finks@lkgeorge.org
Website: classroom.google.com/
Location: LGHS 381 Canada St. Lake George, NY 12845
Phone: 518.668.5456 (1010)