Mr. Morphis' Blog

All science classes will be starting a unit on earthquakes this week. Plate tectonics, boundaries, faults, waves, and areas where earthquakes occur will be a sample of what this unit will cover. Remember the massive tsunami of 2004? It started with an earthquake in the Indian Ocean, called an undersea megathrust earthquake. Earthquakes have caused massive amounts of destruction, but have also shaped various landforms here in the US and abroad.

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It will cover the following topics: Flight, Velocity, Gravity, Acceleration. You will have to do some calculations….YES MATH…..for velocity, and acceleration. There is a study guide available as well as the HW packet/Study guide I assigned on Monday.

Some terms you should know: flight, lift, drag, thrust, force, gravity, velocity, motion, reference point, acceleration, speed, mass, weight, Bernoulli’s Principle.

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This will be another short week as we have Thanksgiving Break for Thursday and Friday.

For 4th period, we will stay in Physical Science for this short week, contradictory to what I said in class on Friday. I do not want to start a new unit with only three days, so we will go back into Earth Science the Monday following the break. Gravity and acceleration will be the focus this week!

We will finish up salmon and rivers this week for 7th and 8th periods. We are still glowing in the success of our field trip last week, as the feedback from the USFS and the BLM was all positive. ATA and Family School students conducted themselves responsibly and respectfully and had a blast at Whitaker Creek.

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Thursday we will be going on our all day field trip to Whitaker Creek in the coast range. BLM will be on site to assist in the viewing of salmon spawning and habitat discussions. What stage in the life cycle will the spawning salmon be in? We will compare the stage in the life cycle the salmon we will “hopefully” see are at compared to what stage in the life cycle the salmon are in our tank in the classroom.

You will need to come compared Thursday. The forecast is for rain, so this means a rain jacket and warm layers should be worn. Sturdy shoes, or even hiking boots if you have them. A bottle of water, your lunch, rain jacket, and sturdy shoes are basic requirements for a FUN field trip. If you just wear a sweat shirt and it rains, it will get soaked and you will be cold and wet!

We will be going over the expectations and reminders about what to bring in class on Wednesday.

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This is an odd week in the sense that Monday is parent conferences, Tuesday I will be at a tech conference in the afternoon and Thursday all the 6th graders and I will be going on an all day field trip to Whitaker Creek to view salmon spawning.

It is also the start of the new elective courses, which means the end of Robotics and the beginning of Renewable Energies!

We will continue studying salmon life cycles and rivers/streams for 7th and 8th periods. As mentioned before our field trip for salmon spawning will be on Thursday.

4th period will continue with Physical Science by taking a look at motion and friction.

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This week will be a bit odd due to the days off in the middle and end of the week. Wednesday is Veterans Day, which is a no school day, and Friday is the end of the nine week grading period; another no school day.

4th period will be studying Bernoulli’s Principle, which states that as the speed of a moving fluid increases, its pressure decreases. An example would be the reasoning for the soft top convertible of a car bulges when traveling at high speeds. The air moving over the top causes an area of low pressure, and the higher pressure inside the car pushes the soft top up.

7th/8th periods will be taking their test over rivers on Monday and look at the salmon life cycle in preparation for our field trip on the 19th.

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For 4th period we will continue studying Newton’s Laws of Motion. Monday we will discuss the 3rd Law and Tuesday will be doing a lab, which will be over all three laws. Wednesday will do our final edition of Newtons News for the 3rd Law of Motion, and Thursday will be a review day for the test on Friday! TEST ON FRIDAY.

7th and 8th periods will be doing their “click city” tobacco unit on Monday and Wednesday. We will do a lab on Tuesday, and start reviewing for the test on Rivers, which will be on Monday or Tuesday of next week. Friday will be a review day for the test.

The homework packet will be handed out on Monday and will be due on Thursday for all three classes. 4th period will need reading packets 6,7, and 8 .

7th and 8th periods will need reading packets 6 and 7. I have copies of all the reading packets for all three periods if you have misplaced yours, but as I have stated in class several times it is your responsibility to keep your reading packets AND your responsibility to come to me and ask for replacements if lost!

NOTE TO 6TH GRADERS: YOUR PERMISSION SLIPS FOR THE FIELD TRIP ARE DUE ON TUESDAY 11/3, NO EXCEPTIONS!!

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