Dr. O's Science Blog Page

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We are all so grateful for your donation to our project! It was a huge success! We spent 3 days on the dissection, and we hated to put them away, but the weekend and a teacher inservice day put a halt on our investigation. The students were amazed by the experience and will never forget it.

On the first day, we prepared for the dissection by rinsing the rats, placing them in the trays, discussing lab safety, and discussing the ethics and value of dissection. We also observed the external anatomy of the rat and talked about its adaptations for survival. The students learned how to tell if they were male or female, which led to many interesting conversations. The second day we worked on opening the rats, practicing a few forensic pathologist techniques, and then located all of the organs while comparing them to diagrams. The third day students removed the organs, measured them, described or sketched them, stated the function of the organs, and told which body system(s) they were a part of. Some students discovered that their rats were pregnant, and the WHOLE class got up to watch as they delivered the babies by "C-section." :)

One of my students has Addison's Disease, which involves the adrenal glands, and he was very excited to see that a rat has adrenal glands also. Another student whose mother is pregnant was amazed at how the rats organs were all smashed together to make room for the 13 babies that the mama rat was carrying, and he wondered if his mother's organs were like that too. They were all shocked to find out how big the liver was and how long the small intestines were. They thought the name should be LONG intestines. There is no way that I can tell you all of the wonderful things they learned and got to observe by doing this project! I hope you enjoy the pictures! This activity would not have been possible without your help!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Terrell

Thank You very much ! We have used the gardening tools to plant a small garden in the front of the school. The students really enjoyed this project. I know this project peaked their curiosity about plants and animals because they asked a lot of questions while they worked on the garden. They definitely took pride and ownership in what they did because they were not shy in telling other students to be careful not to mess up their work. The hands on gardening experience was something that the students will never forget. They have even made references to the gardening project to help them remember the parts of the flower for the reproduction unit we just completed. Thank you again for all of your contributions and commitment to student success!!”

With gratitude,

Ms. Chin

Your donations that allowed my class to obtain math centers and review activities are truly appreciated. Since I teach a combined class, there are many times that my students must work alone while I work with the opposite grade or where the older students are finished and the younger students are still working. In the past reading was the only thing the students had to do during this time.

While reading is a great thing, the students were becoming bored with it. The math centers and activities you provided for our class gave my students another activity to do when they are finished with their work and waiting for the other students. The activities are also great during our intervention group where we do extra practice with the lower students and advanced activities with the advanced students.

I truly appreciate your donations as do the students in my class. ”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Jones

I want to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of you for donating to "College is Number One on My List. Your donation truly made a difference to the college application process for our students. As a result, my students are beginning to understand that there are people that choose to support their academic development and your act of giving truly goes a long way. Since we received the printer, students have had access to printing out the supplemental forms to the universities/ colleges they have applied to through the Common Application online system.

As a charter high school under PUC, we have three commitments. One of those commitments is "Students commit to uplift our communities now and forever". This commitment is a strong statement that highlights how these students are being prepared to give back as they have been given by donors such as yourselves. One of the biggest lesson that my students have learned as a result of your donation is that their desire to want to excel academically is being noticed by others. Had it not been for your generous donation, they would have never experienced what they felt when they were told that our school had received a color printer for their use.

We are so fortunate and grateful to all of you. Words cannot express what you have given our school. Thanks to you and Donors Choose, an opportunity to improve on a system of generating print-outs and transcripts for students has become a reality. On behalf of my students, staff, and the school community, we thank you for your willingness to foster student academic success.

You are all much appreciated!”

With gratitude,

Mr. Valdez

Thank you so much for donating the microscopes to my science lab. The microscopes have impacted 4th and 5th graders greatly. They are enjoying using the instruments, and learning much about how to handle microscopes and slides. They have especially enjoyed the duo scope, since that allows them to look at just about anything they wish. Anytime they have finished their work and have a few minutes, they choose to use their time at the microscopes whenever possible.

My students are becoming aware of tiny organisms that they had no idea existed, as well as finding out that there is more to substances than they realized. Several students have realized they enjoy the world of science more than they thought they did, through the use of the microscopes.

Thank you again for your donations!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Rangel

You should see all 22 second grade students studying their math facts at the same time. The students are assigned to groups, each group has one computer. They stand in line behind their computer with their new leveled flash cards practicing while they wait their turn. I print out a computer report everyday to see which level of flash cards they need for their next level on the computer program "Math Facts in a Flash." The flash cards also came with paper pencil timed tests so they can take pages home to practice on. We are becoming true Math Wizards. Thank you again for your support!!”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Long

I had the opportunity to use the van der graff machine with all of my students. They were very curious to know what was in the box. When I took out the machine, they all wanted to know what it could do and it triggered a lot of excitement when I turned it on. It was extremely funny seeing how many of them enjoyed feeling shocked and learning how electricity is passing through their body, causing their hair to stand up. Those that were afraid of getting shocked, also got to experience this because the other students decided to hold hand and create a long chain so that the electrons pass through the chain and then shock their victims. Thank you for making this possible. They all had a great time and learned about electricity through in an informal, yet fun way.”

With gratitude,

Ms. Moya