Christmas was great!

We had a great Christmas ... our children were in for Christmas for the first time in three years.  They are headed out this week and we will miss them ... again!  We all went out to eat yesterday and to a movie, Sherlock Holmes - A Game of Shadows (my family reluctantly but I was enthusiastic).  I got some great gifts ... two Sherman live traps to hunt for elusive golden mice of Kentucky this summer.

http://www.shermantraps.com/

I also got a new 10" smoker for beekeeping, some new Merrill shoes, a new tractor seat and some books ...  a great haul ... must have been good this year!

Starting Saturday we will be back to posting AP Biology updates and get down to work.  We will have less than a semester to cover a lot of material the 12 required labs!  I hope your ecology reading is coming along!  Softball starts back next week ... I will send out a practice schedule on our email list on Sunday.  I updated what I could on the KHSAA seasonal schedule today although some coaches have not listed their tournaments for scheduling yet. We will be playing in some tournaments this year without playing pool play ... lose one and go home ... great pressure!

Still taking lots of walks and seeing lots of deer.  Hannah and Rachel went with me today. Rained most of the day today!

Coyote Christmas ...

Early this morning after the deer moved on a single coyote visited our back yard.  In the last picture the coyote was in a hunting mode spying a cat close to our bird feeders.  Sue Neal intervened with a shout and some clapping ... sending the coyote running into the woods.

2011 Merry Christmas - no snow

No snow for Christmas .. but, that is okay.

John came over Friday night and Hannah flew in from San Francisco on Saturday morning.  Rachel and Kyle are expected in from Carlisle later this evening.

We had Christmas Eve dinner (as Conner family tradition) at Uncle Glen's house this year.  He gives good books for Christmas ... for me it was Earth - The Operators' Manual by Richard B. Alley ... a PBS Companion book ... We had a good evening and a great meal.

As I watch a total of 12 deer just behind our house eat the annual rye and clover I planted last fall ... wishing everyone a great holiday season and the best new year.

AP Bio ... take the day off ... NOT!

rr

Brass Caroling, Wrapping Presents and AP Bio ...

Sam Kent's brass caroling tonight in town.  Sam had about 15 brass players ... we went uptown and played at some several locations then to all the rest homes in town, the YMCA and hospital.  He has organized this for years ... I played the sousaphone, but not well since, I only play once a year.  I did play better this year for some reason or I am getting older and only think I am playing better ... one or the other.  We had chili at the Foster's house afterwards ... several former students played this evening and it was good to update with them.

Sue Neal and I have been preparing for our children to get home for Christmas.  I am pitiful at wrapping presents!  I have tried to take a walk each day during break since when we get back, softball will take up a lot of time.  Lots of birds, squirrels and deer ... ferns, moss and fungus.  I am already looking forward to spring!  I got rained on during my walk this morning but the rain sounds in the woods were wonderful.  Pictured below is a small brown toadstool from a walk this week ... a little larger than a quarter.

A little encouragement to my AP students to work on the Christmas reading assignment.  Also I would encourage you to watch the Anderson youtube video on Lab 12 before you return ... We will be using LaMotte kits which are different but, the procedure is the same ... a good pre-lab look!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEcBQurjUQ4

While reading the ecology material pay close attention to energy flow (food chains cannot be long!), the biogeochemical cycles (especially carbon-oxygen and nitrogen), population growth curves (J and S), symbiotic relationships (nitrogen fixation / legumes and bacteria or ... lichens are my favorites) and competition.  We will hit the ground running on the first day.  Be ready!

Christmas Break and rain today ... picts

We are in Christmas Break ... still grading papers though.

This weekend, we had Claire's parents down for lunch ... we had a great visit.

On Monday, I made up some bee candy to put in some of our weaker hives (15 lbs. of sugar, 4 cups of water, 1 quart of fructose syrup, 1/2 teaspoon of creme of tarter and 1 teaspoon of apple vinegar).  After cooking I put in aluminum pie pans the put a pie in each weak hive using the new shims I have made ... see picture below ... I painted the shims some bright colors for a change.  I checked all 18 hives and the bees were moving around some since it was near 50 degrees.

Today, I went for a walk early and the bees were out ... probably a few cleansing flights ... bathroom time! Lots of birds and squirrels out this morning when the sun was out.  Rain started at about 11:00.  I have been taking different routes each day on the walks to Long Creek and back.  Only thing green in the woods in late December are masses of moss and Christmas ferns.  (see below)  Some of the mosses are bright, almost florescent green.  Also saw some old logs with bracket or shelf fungus today ...  some pictures below ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bracket_fungus

Last day of school this semester and Christmas Break begins!

We finished up finals and final projects the last two days.  I handed out the AP Biology books this week with a Christmas reading assignment (Chapters on Ecology) and our first lab (AP Lab 12 - Dissolved Labs and Primary Productivity Lab) which will be the third day upon return in January.

It was farewell today for the students in Genetics (many are going on to AP), Selected Topics in Science and Introduction to Computer Programming (freshmen programmers ... we were the best ever!).  Below are students (some took off for Christmas Break early) in those three classes ... Merry Christmas to all and I hope you have a great and safe New Year with lots of 3s, 4, and 5s!

Got home about dark and John was here.  I took some groceries up to Granny and Uncle Glen was visiting so I stayed and talked for awhile.  Claire's parents are coming for lunch tomorrow.

Home late ... raining ...

Sue Neal and I got home late tonight ... I supervised after school detention then went to the end of softball practice.  Got home and went back to town for our faculty dinner ... getting home late.

Today in Genetics we had our final which was not comprehensive but over the last 7 chapters of our Ricki Lewis textbook.  Tomorrow, we will wrap out some paperwork and we are having breakfast in 509 to celebrate our semester of genetics.  I am making my nearly famous barnyard ... everything in the barnyard thrown into a skillet.

We finished our exit project presentations in Selected topics today.  Again some good thoughtful presentations with good support posters.

Tomorrow in computer science we will peer evaluate our final projects in Visual BASIC.

Half the school year is over tomorrow ... after Christmas, two sections of AP Biology and one section of Selected Topics in Science.  Looking forward to AP Bio ... I have some great students and we should get some serious work down before the AP Exam on May 14th 2012 ... a Monday morning.

Taking some pictures in class tomorrow and will post!

Finals start tomorrow and news from college!

Got home in time for a walk to Long Creek.  Lots of deer on the move ... I saw over a dozen.  Squirrels, a red-tail hawk, barred owls and a few frogs barely croaking in the wetlands near the creek.  I don't know what they were thinking, but it was over 60 degrees here today with sun.  Did not feel much like winter!  I have yet to see a coyote this fall but hear them often and since we have lived here, I only seen one bobcat.  They probably see me or more likely hear me coming.

Checked several bee hives on the walk ... all buzzed up on a tap to the side of the hive ... during the break I will check and feed some of them ... it is a long time to February and those first blooming plants.

I was at Berea College on Monday.  We currently have five former students there and they all seem to be doing well ... saw four of them while on campus, they were getting ready for finals and I hope finals went well ... Raissa, Allison, Kelly and Caleb.  I really like Berea ... it is the best deal in Kentucky for a great college education!

http://www.berea.edu/

It is that time of year when you hear from a few freshmen and how they have toughed out that first semester.  Erika reported in from Emory and Krisston from WKU ... both said they had good semesters.  I am happy for them.  I know that regardless of how it goes, it is so good to get home for that first Christmas!

At school today, in Genetics, we finished handing out AP books and Christmas assignments.  We went over our last discussion questions and some information about our final tomorrow.  I just finished typing it and it is a little heavy on the immune system, Hardy Weinberg and fertility.  Good luck tomorrow and then on to AP.  We are planning breakfast in 509 to celebrate the end our Genetics course on Friday as we hand in books.

In Selected Topics, we started our exit project presentations ... some good ones ... Pandas, serial killers, diabetes, the science of love and more.  It is important to learn how to gather and organize material.  We will finish these presentations tomorrow.

We start the peer review of our exit projects tomorrow in Computer Programming ... it will take part of tomorrow and all Friday to finish.  They look great!

Two days until finals ...

In Genetics today, we finished our last reading assignments of the semester.  Tomorrow will be review for the finals and some final discussion questions from the last two chapters.  We are also handing out the AP books for second semester.  AP students have a reading assignment over Ecology during Christmas break.  I am also handing out our first lab ... Dissolved Oxygen and Primary Productivity Lab (AP Lab #12).  We will do this lab the first Thursday upon return to school.  We will have two sections of AP Biology in the spring ... about 45 students.

In Selected Topics we wrapped up the preparation for exit projects.  Students will give their presentations starting tomorrow.

In Computer Science, we have several good exit projects started using some great programming (for beginners) ... string variables for passwords, invisible buttons and multiple forms.

Our softball team had weight-lifting after school but I had to supervise detention until 4:00 ... Coach Bunton and Coach Carter took conditioning.

Stayed after practice to write a recommendation for a student and got home after dark.

Talked to John and Hannah this evening on the phone ... it will be good to get our children home for a visit during Christmas break!  I need to update several parts of my website during Christmas ... too busy to do much during the semester.

Finals looming on the horizon ...

Students in genetics worked in reading groups on selected chapters of Napoleon's Buttons ...  we are reviewing the chapters on glucose, cellulose, molecules of witchcraft and caffeine.  One group is reading a chapter in Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman. We are working toward of final on Thursday with reviewing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_flat_and_crowded

ttp://www.amazon.com/Napoleons-Buttons-Molecules-Changed-History/dp/1585422207

Selected Topics spent the day in the computer lab working on their final projects due starting on Wednesday.

Computer Programming end of class projects are due on Friday.

Sunny weekend, back to work!

I was able to get two long walks in this weekend between projects.  Jeremy and Austin came out on Saturday morning and we took a long walk down to Long Creek. We were trying to find the trail mentioned in last week's newspaper article to the Long Creek wetland project downstream near Calvert springs.  The only trail we found crossed the creek which would not be easy.  We saw some beaver activity on the trees along the creek.

I took another long walk at noon today.  Below is the best waterfall I saw this weekend.  Water was falling over a thick slab of limestone on to the top of shale where I was standing to take the picture.  It is not on our property, but just across the fence at the back of Aunt Nell's farm.  Also below, we have a lot of birds now coming to our feeders ... goldfinches, red-bellied woodpeckers, nuthatches, cardinals, bluejays and many more.  Today, I looked off the porch and it appeared that the mourning doves were keeping watch on the feeders, branch at the top of the picture.

This is the last week of school this semester.  We are finishing up several projects and reviewing for finals this week!

Friday ... partial lunar eclipse tonight late!

We had our last reading groups' reports this morning on the Ridley / Genome book, selected chapters.  We took up the books and was able to get in some our discussion questions in Chapter 19 ... we will try to wrap up the text book on Tuesday.  We are still using Human Genetics textbook by Ricki Lewis.  I really like this book but, who knows in this time of austerity when we will update books.   Monday we will have a reading from Napoleon's Buttons book and will begin our review for the final.

We finished our study of animals and taxonomy today with a test.  We will start our final push on our student generated final projects on Monday ... wrapping up their research and working on their posters.

Checked Problem 7 (a tutorial with MC questions in Visual BASIC / multiple form project) today during class.  Everyone will wrap up their final projects next week.  Lots of interesting projects!

Got home in time to take a walk this evening but returned in the dark ... full moon ...  partial lunar eclipse in the early morning!  blood moon!

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2011/02dec_lunareclipse/

http://shadowandsubstance.com/

Big Bird Test, Club Schedule and Softball practice

We had club schedule today with several students out of Genetics ... tomorrow we have our reading groups and selected discussion questions from Chapters 19-21.  Today was Haiku Thursday, the topic was the immune system ... we had some great entries ... voted best by the class were entries from Alex B., Morgan and Aaron ... congrats!

 My favorite ... from Alex ...

No pathogens live
Against a powerful force -
Antibodies rule!

We had no one out of class for Selected Topics on Club Day Schedule.  We took our Bird ID test - The Big Bird test.  We also graphed data in our ACT practice time and started are short survey of human organ systems starting with the digestive system.  Tomorrow is our Animal Taxonomy test.

Several students were out of Computer programming last block but, a few students started their final project, due on the last day of the first semester.

Softball practice after school with some of seniors and juniors hitting after lifting.  I am so glad we are getting back to the cages and working on our hitting.

WInter finally reaches Kentucky?

We have enjoyed mild weather up to this point but, it appears we are in for some cooler weather (by Kentucky standards).  Snowed south and west of us today but all we saw was a few flakes.  We did not have softball practice today so got home in time for a walk to Long Creek and back.  It was dark by the time I got back to the house.  Stopped by some beehives and tapped the side ... each one gave a good buzz.  Each has a few thousand bees hanging out in a cluster with the Queen in each hive.  Some hives appear short on honey and I will have to feed them later in the winter.

At School ...

We have club schedule tomorrow so several students will be in and out of class.  In Genetics tomorrow it is Haiku Thursday ... topic is the immune system.  I will post a few tomorrow.  We finished our chapters on the immune system and cancer today.  We tried out some high end questions on the immune system from our Campbell Biology test bank.  On Friday, we will have our second reading group session on Ridley's Genome book.  We may try to get in some of the discussion questions on our last chapters tomorrow if, we have enough students remaining in class.

In Selected Topics, we finished our student of Animals and taxonomy.  We have the Big Bird test tomorrow (Bird Identification).  On Friday we will have our Animal and Taxonomy Test.   One more week to go and we will spend it on organ systems.

Our Computer Programming class is working hard to finish up their problem 7 and start their final projects which is their Final.

PSAT, Ridley, Chordata and Transparent Labels

Today in Genetics, we met in our reading groups and reported on Chapter 6 - Intelligence of the Genome book by Matt Ridley.  This paperback a little dated but still good.  We has second reading for Friday. We also spent some time on the immune system and HIV infections.  Tomorrow we will finish our study of the immune system, we have some Campbell test bank questions on immunity and Chapter 18 - The Biology of Cancer discussion questions.

We continued our study of vertebrates in Selected Topics ... Amphibians, Reptiles and Birds.  We discussed the advantages of a four chambered heart and the characteristics of each group.  We spent some time reviewing for our bird test on Thursday.

I had a student drop out of school from this junior class this week.  He was 18 and generally just gave up on school.  He was passing his classes and seemed to like school.  When he came by to have me sign off on his grade he seemed nearly ready to cry ... he said he would get busy on his GED ... he said he had a plan, working for a family member ... it breaks my heart.

Computer Science - We have solved the problem of invisible buttons using transparent labels.  I am still working on embedding videos in our visual BASIC programs.  Most students are starting their final projects.

We got our PSAT/NMSQT scores back today.  I did not see all scores but some our best students were in the 170's, not very close to the 212/240 you would need for National Merit Semi-Finalist.  I had five freshmen in my computer class that I encouraged to take the PSAT.  They made a good showing so maybe by the time they are juniors they might make run to that level.  Usually a million and a half juniors across the nation take this important exam.  There is nothing more important you can put on your resume that being a National Merit Semi-Finalist.

We had softball conditioning after school ... circuit lifting and some agility drills.  We had 23 players participating today.

Got home late.

Hitting starts in Softball and reading groups tomorrow!

This evening we finally got in our new sports center at the high school to hit.  We hit in flights with seniors coming in at 5:00 followed by juniors and on to middle schoolers ... finishing up about 6:30.  Forgot to take any pictures but will next time ... three full baseball cages and lots of room.  Our older players hit well and it was good to get back to work. We lift weighs tomorrow after school.

In Genetics today, more work on the immune system before organizing reading groups for tomorrow.  We are reading selected chapters in Matt Ridley's Genome book.  Tomorrow reading groups will report on Chapter 6 - Intelligence and we will wrap up the immune system.

Selected Topics in Science ... today we continued our study of animals ... starting our study of vertebrates with fish.  We took a practice animal taxonomy test and read a couple of articles in class ... Current Science.

Most students in Computer programming are finishing their last VB problem ... #7 ... a multi-form tutorial and quiz program.  We will start their final projects due at the end of the week next week when we finish Prob7.

Rained all day ... we got between 1-2 inches but northwest of here ... Paducah to Owensboro got over 5 inches.  The ground must have been pretty dry because not a lot ran off ...

Sunday - Rain and more ... some picts

It appears to be going to rain for a few days.  Yesterday was beautiful with sun and high of 65.  I was able to work on our driveway, put machinery away for the winter, and move some fallen tree limbs before heading to the Christmas Parade in town.

Our softball team had a float in the parade (thanks to Joe and Lynn!) and we had about a dozen players able to ride the float with a state championship banner on each side.  There we several hundred people along the route and we ran out of candy to throw out to small children.  It was fun and I espeically appreciated Allison stopping by from Berea to ride with us.  I enjoyed hearing about her first semester in college and all her stories.

On my way home, just out of Scottsville, I saw a fireball (meteor) in the sky toward the southeast.  It lasted for a few seconds and split into two parts before disappearing behind the tree line.  It was really bright and I thought it was a plane going down at first.

Today at noon, I took a long walk from the house, back of the goat field, down to Long Creek and back along Highway 100 to the house.  It was sunny when I started but, cloudy and windy by the time I got back.  The bees were flying at the goat field hives.  Took some pictures of the spring fed stream back of the goat field.  There are three small waterfalls each of about 3 feet along its half mile path. It runs above then on a layer of Chattanooga shale for most of the route before disappearing underground.  Even in the driest portions of the year, it has a good flow of water.  Lots of squirrels out today, as well as many birds.
Some picts from the walk below!

Saturday - Christmas Parade and some sun!

Yesterday at school we had several students out.  Attendance remains one of the most serious problems at our school ...

In Genetics, we worked on the immune system and some vocabulary.  Selected topics learned how to create a taxonomic key, then graphed, analyzed data and recorded data in their comp books and worked on bird identification and quizzed on bird ID.
Computer programming started their final projects.

After school I went of to BSA and got our pitching machines for hitting at the HS next week.  I had just enough time before dark to take a walk.

Other ...

Glasgow football loses in the bid for a state title and Franklin Simpson will be out later today ... six classes ... KHSAA loves the money.  With six classes, that means there is only about 35 high schools per class ... you are in the top 35 teams in state when you step on the field in July!  For basketball, softball and baseball, still non-classed ... which means you have to beat 275 teams, which is okay but not fair ...  Now we have next to no limitations on seasons thanks to the KHSAA, a hardship for teachers that coach, students that play more than one sport and hurts small rural schools.  I have always been a little disappointed with effort and foresight the KHSAA puts forth.  Now with the great Julian Tackett as commission, it has taken a turn for the worse!  I believe the classes should be the same for all sports ... not 6 in football and 3 in track and CC, and no classes on above.  Set a number for all sports!   Limiting seasons is NOT good for students ... period!

Finally ...
Again ... many of our "athletes" will be coming home for Christmas from college and not going back or transferring.   We have a responsibility as educators to fix this problem for the sake of students and their parents/grandparents.  Never choose a school on the basis of playing a sport ... nearly every time, it is the wrong decision!

 

Immunity, animal science and last VB problem

Yesterday we finished up our review game tournament of frequently asked AP Questions.  Congrats to Josh, Alex, Sandy and Aaron for their most wins in the class!

In Genetics today, we have our immunity chapter on the agenda for Friday.  One of the most important topics later in AP, we will spend some serious time tomorrow studying the cell-mediated and humoral responses.  Students have the chapter on intelligence to read for Monday in Matt Ridley's Genome book.

Selected topics finished up our study of invertebrates today ... protostomes vs. deuterostomes ... acoelomates vs coelomates ... and more.  We reviewed our bird ID cards and looked at a small video on elephantitis to go along with our study of parasitic worms.  Tomorrow, a bird quiz, ACT practice, our reading time and a practice test on invertebrates.

We assigned our last VB Problem before starting to work on final projects (student generated for their final).  This problem is a multiform problem.

We had softball practice after school.  Picture below is from our new weight room.  Next practice is on Monday.

Primates, Birds and Casino Royale

On Wednesday, we had a faculty meeting after school today so got home late.  Took our cat Bossy to the vet this morning before school and Sue Neal picked her up on her way home.  Bossy has an ear infection and at the vets, they washed out her ears after sedating her and treated her ... now she is worth so much we will have to keep her for awhile!  She was glad to be home and seems no worse for the trauma.

I still have a bad cold, and limped through another day at school.  Hope it is better tomorrow.

In Genetics we worked on Primate evolution and will finish this Chapter in our Genetics book tomorrow.  We also finished our review tournament.  I will have picts tomorrow.

In Selected topics we are working our way through the Animal kingdom and got bogged down in parasitic round worms today.  We also worked on our bird identification project.  Tomorrow Mollusca and Annelida.

In computer science we are checking problems before moving into multiple form programs.  We had some great programmed slot machines today!

We have softball practice after school tomorrow.  Congrats to both our boys and girls basketball teams for the wins at South Warren yesterday ... Congrats to Thaxton ... 26 points!  Wow!  An AP Bio student that can shoot!

First Snow today!

We had our first snow today after two days of rain.  Everyone at school was pretty excited but,  school as usual tomorrow since temperatures are just above freezing and the ground is so warm that it all melted.  I have a bad cold and had to limp through the day carrying a roll of toilet paper with me all day to control my nose.

In Genetics, we went over the rules and consequence of the rules for the Hardy-Weinberg Equalibrium as we finished Chapter 15 ... population genetics.  We are wrapping up our review game tournament ... still a couple of teams without a win.  Tomorrow ... on to Chapter 16  ... early primates.

In Selected Topics today we started our study of taxonomy ... starting with the Animal Kingdom.  Tomorrow Platyhelminthes, Nematodes and Annelida.  We also started studying for the Big Bird test ... bird identification.

In computer programming we are working on our casino problem ... VB Prob 6.  Also started to think about exit projects for our final.

Went to softball lifting but left early as not to give my cold to our players ... Coach Carter took practice.

Hope to feel better tomorrow! 

Water Lab over and Dissolved Oxygen Kits checked!

At school today ...

In Genetics we finished our Properties of Water Lab.  We also checked our LaMotte Kits for our first AP Lab ... Dissolved Oxygen and Primary Productivity Lab.  Replaced reagents in some of the kits and ran a water sample to get use to the procedure.  We are back to the book tomorrow ... Chapter 15 questions and a reading assignment.

In Selected Topics we finished our lab and will head back to our study of evolution and populations genetics tomorrow.  Also starting our study of birds and taxonomy.

We checked our first four problems in Visual BASIC today.  Students are doing a lot better designing and programming the graphical user interface.  Tomorrow is Problem Six and we will begin to develop our Exit Projects tomorrow.

No softball practice today so got home early.  We will lift tomorrow after school.  This evening,  sawed out enough wood for twenty or so shims for my hives.  About 2.5 inches tall ... high enough to feed the bees using a zip-lock bag and/or treat for mites.  I will try and get them put together this week and painted.

Rained all day and a slight chance of snow tonight so Sue Neal is starting to hope for a snow day.  We got over two inches of rain.

Back to School after Thanksgiving ... and the golden mouse!

Over Thanksgiving, Rachel and Kyle were in from Champaign, Illinois.  John and Claire were in for a couple of days too.  After hosting Sue's family for Thanksgiving, we had a chance to visit with our children.  Rachel and I went through all the hives again and fed light hives one more time.  We also put in the bottom boards getting ready for the winter to come!  One of Rachel's high school friends, Elizabeth brought her daughter, Evelyn over for a while and she put on a show! Evelyn is two. We got in a couple of walks in unusually nice weather.

Rachel and Kyle left before Sunday school.  After church, Sue Neal and I went into to school and worked for a while.  I wrote a recommendation ... it is that time of the year ... many students applying to GSP or colleges.  Back to the house now getting some things ready for school tomorrow.  Only 15 school days until Christmas vacation, we have a lot to do before then.

In Genetics tomorrow we will finish our lab on the properties of water and test water for oxygen content using our LaMotte kits / Winkler test.  We will be looking at the amount of dissolved oxygen in cool water compared to warm water.  Later in AP Biology we have a lab using these kits and we will make sure the kits are ready to go.

In Selected Topics, we will finish their water lab and finish our look at evolution / population genetics.

In Computer Programming, we will check our first five Visual BASIC problems before entering into some problems of intermediate difficulty.  Students will start on their exit project.

We start back into softball practice on Tuesday and our basketball teams start their seasons on Tuesday also!

I have been thinking about getting some small animal traps to see if we have any golden mice on our farm. Maybe get a couple of Sherman Traps ... http://www.shermantraps.com/

The habitat on our farm with is perfect but since they are mostly nocturnal, would be hard to locate on a walk.  An interesting small mammal that I did not know existed before having a conversation with Coach Hahus at the AP Session a couple of weeks ago ...  prehensile tail and arboreal!

Golden Mouse - Ochrotomys nuttalli

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_mouse

 


http://www.wildflorida.com/wildlife/mammals/GoldenMouse-FloridaEcotravelGuide.php

Thanksgiving ... Dinner was great!

Sue Neal had her family over of Thanksgiving dinner today ... lots of great food and good conversation.  Over thirty family members ... for food ... two turkeys, two honey-baked hams and two tables of desserts!!!

It was a beautiful day ... sunshine and low 60's.  Our bees were out looking around.  A few of our bees were out working some small flowers ... heart-leaved skullcap I think.  I went on a walk with Rachel about sunset ... lots of birds out and a American Woodcock flew up from a fence row.  They have wild and unique aerial display ... best displays in the Spring!  They are an interesting and not often seen bird.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/american_woodcock/id 





http://www.nycaudubon.org/NYCASBirdWatch/American_Woodcock.asp

Thanksgiving vacation - school out until Monday.

We had softball conditioning after school ... circuit training in our new facility which in nice!  The weight room is huge and Title IX certified.  It is really nice and will really help our players!  No more making up activities in the hallways of the school.
We have been having 15-24 players at each conditioning session and we will be inviting in the middle school players from last season after Thanksgiving.  The cages should be ready to go then also so we can get back to hitting.  Next workout is Tuesday, 11-29 after school.

In Genetics and Selected Topics today, we did a version of the penny lab to study the properties of water.  This lab ended with a student generated lab which did not go very well ... we will fix this when we return on Monday.  Genetics will continue to wrap up the last few chapters of the Ricki Lewis book and Selected Topic with return to population genetics and evolution.

Computer programming is working on VB Problem 5 which is to design a program and interface to make a tutorial for an elementary student to practice addition and substraction.  Our stumbling block today was not assigning random numbers to numeric variables and instead trying to do math functions with values stored in the objects on our visual interface.  That fixed ... we are ready to check our first five problems on Monday.

The rain finally ended after three days ... we ended up with nearly 2 inches of rainfall.  Will check for turnips tomorrow and get ready for Thanksgiving.  Lots to do before Thursday!

BGTC Trip and jobs ...

After getting my Genetics class started, we loaded Bus #56 (six trips to Key West and many other trips ... my favorite bus, 218,000 miles and counting) for a trip to Bowling Green Technical College.   Should have taken some pictures but in my hurry to leave school, forgot my camera.

http://www.bowlinggreen.kctcs.edu/

We took 31 students, most from our Selected Topics in Science class (mostly juniors) and a few seniors.  After a short talk from the admissions representative (the ACT is important!), we split up into two groups to tour the campus ... auto mechanics and body shop repair, culinary, radiology, welding, fire and rescue, HVAC and several more, all on the main campus.

We then moved nearby to a second campus for information technology and business classes.  Afterwards we ate lunch (most went to Taco Bell, where a couple of students set a record for most tacos consumed in 40 minutes).

We finished the day at the TransPark location ... machine tool technology and engineering technology ... electronics, applied fluid technology and robotics.

The instructors were great, they talked to our students at most stops ...  and our students were well behaved and attentive.  I hope some of students will consider BGTC as an option after high school ... very affordable (less than half of a 4-year public university per year).  Most students are out in the work force in two years and the coursework is transferable to WKU or any other KY public university if he/she decides to continue their education.  We saw five Patriot alums attending classes while visiting the campus.

Several of the technical options had an employers waiting list for graduates ... that is important!

Got back to school for the very end of fourth block.

Tomorrow we will wrap things up for the Thanksgiving holiday.  Genetics will be finishing our study of respiration and have a small lab on properties of water.  Selected Topics will continue our study of evolution and population genetics.  We are checking our Visual BASIC problems 1-4 in Computer programming.

BGTC Monday and Advance KY

Sue Neal and I, as well as, several other ACS AP teachers attended the Advance KY meeting in Louisville this weekend.  Sessions on Friday evening and most of Saturday.  In the AP Biology sessions ... how the 2013 test will change (more inquiry), then sessions on big topics ... Crick's Central Dogma, modeling concepts, Photosynthesis/Respiration, Mitosis/Meiosis and Cell Communication.  Some good ideas but, generally a lot of what we already do.

Lots of good teacher-teacher conversation about schools, schedules, labs and concepts.  Coach Hahus from Apollo was there and we spend some time identifying several wildflowers from pictures I had taken last summer and during the fall.  He is the man on species identification! Many other AP Bio teachers from across Kentucky and it is great to know that so many good teachers are doing great science for students.  Public education may still make it!

Got back late Saturday.  Today, I will have to write several GSP recommendations, so, probably go into school later when it is raining.

Monday, Ms. Pruitt and I will be taking a group of students from ACS to Bowling Green Technical College for a tour of their three Bowling Green campuses.

Next week. we only have school on Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving vacation.

Busy week ... anaerobic respiration and more bio!

At school today! ...

Genetics and Biotechnology is finishing up our review tournament ... we spent most of the time on a second look at respiration, focusing on anaerobic respiration and the intermediate products and the enzymes involved ... especially phosphofructokinase.  This led to a discussion on allosteric enzymes and feedback loops.  Tomorrow we will wrap up this discussion with a trip via internet to PDB and JMOL to look at some structures.  We also had a morning quiz with a couple of Hardy-Weinberg problems.

Over the last two days, I had to email parents that we will not be going on our NYC IV trip in the spring.  I could not get the cost of this trip on President's Weekend as low as last time, in fact, not close ... no affordable direct flight ... I tried to reduce costs by leaving early on Saturday but with a 1-stop flight would not get there until after noon.  Just too expensive for 48 hours in the NYC!  For the price we were at, two people could go for the weekend on SW Air on a direct flight, stay outside of midtown and pick up tickets at TKTS at TImes Square.  We have taken students on over a dozen trips and this was the first time I could not make it work ... a little depressing!

In Selected Topics, we worked on evolution ... how organisms change over time ... from the flu virus to elephants, the story of Darwin, isolation and gene pools.  We had a good discussion with some great questions with good discussion on several issue. Tomorrow, we will continue our study of natural selection and animal science.

Tyler and Presley below won our Best of Kentucky - Daniel Boone Gunpowder Making Championship.  Their stuck to their research and it paid off!

In computer science we revisited out "Guess the Number between 1-100" problem using a GUI.  We had a good start and will get in some good Visual BASIC programming before Thanksgiving break.

We had softball conditioning after school ... lifted weighs and did a little running.  We had 20 players attending.

Club Schedule and lots of rain ...

Today was club schedule at our school.  Which means students are going and coming in each block to the clubs ... DECA, BETA, FCA, Chess Club, FFA and many more.  Hard to get much done on a day when half your class is gone.  Tomorrow is a regular day and we will try and take up where we left off.

In Genetics first block, we assigned some discussion questions from Chapter 14 for tomorrow and we will be working on anaerobic respiration. 

We finished our chemistry unit today in Selected Topics in Science by finishing the write-up of our gunpowder lab.  Chemistry test tomorrow ... mostly periodic table and balancing equations.

We did small group instruction for Microsoft Visual BASIC in our computer programming class.  We start our first problems using this language tomorrow.  Some simple stuff to start with before we get into some great programs.  Using the Graphical User Interface will be fun and we should be able to put together some great programs!

After school we had softball practice lifting weighs in our new facility.  The weight room is a Title IX spec weight room and will be great for our players.  Lots of equipment to work with rather than Coach Roberts getting some free weight together and doing a circuit workout in the science wing hallway.  We did without for a long time, it is a wonder we have done as well as be have in the past!  Our next practice will be on Thursday.

Got home and talked with Hannah for a while on the phone.

Rained off and on almost all day ... about an inch and a half which will help my plantings of clover and annual rye.  Deer season is underway in Allen County so it is not a time to be walking around anywhere without orange clothing!

Gunpowder Lab - Daniel would be proud!

As part of our study of chemical equations, today was the Daniel Boone - Best of Kentucky - Gunpowder Championship.  Students researched recipes to make gunpowder days before the lab.  Today, student groups were given 8 grams of potassium nitrate (saltpetre) with many other ingredients they could use ... sulfur, charcoal, sugar, baking soda, salt, dishwasher detergent and more.

Students worked to prepare their samples (samples were small ... 10-30 grams) and toward the end of the class we went outside for me to light them.  Students were judged on flash (more is better) and duration of burn (less is better).  Several students had great samples and others had great fire retardant.  Congrats to Tyler and Presley ... Best of Kentucky for fall semester ... their recipe used 75% potassium nitrate, 15% charcoal and 10% sulfur. Will put on their pict tomorrow.  Students working on this lab today below ...

We took our unit test in Genetics today ... ouch! I didn't really think it was that difficult! ... tomorrow is club period but, we will start Chapter 14 and maybe some work on anaerobic respiration if we have enough students remaining in class.

Computer Programming had their PB Lottery scored today ... on to Visual BASIC tomorrow.

Softball practice today was on the field ... some running and bunt practice against live pitching.  Tomorrow we are going to start our lifting circuit training.

Stayed in town for the Allen County BeeKeepers Meeting at 7:00.  Phil Kraft from UK was there and talked about swarming.  Got home late ... a long day!  40 people attended from 10 counties, representing over 400 hives.  I look forward to the day when I can dedicate more time to my beekeeping duties.

Transformation royalty and Congrats to KP!

Today, we analyzed our plates from our pBLU transformation lab.  Congrats to Taylor, Sandy and Aaron for some big transformation numbers .... over 4000 on both plates.  Most groups got great results and will be ready to go in the spring when we repeat this lab in a slightly different version.  This is one of the required AP Bio labs that has students transform bacteria with a plasmid.
We will have our test on Chapters 7-13, plasmid mapping and Crick's Central Dogma on Monday.  All students have a review sheet for the weekend.

In Selected Topics we did a couple of readings in our newest Current Science magazine. One on volcanos and the other on rehab surgery of professional baseball players using stem cells and human growth hormone.  We also practiced a ACT Science reading passage and questions, afterwards, we graphed a table of data found in the reading.   Our gunpowder lab will be on Monday ... Students have researched the chemical reaction for gunpowder exploding and will make/light a small amount of gunpowder they have made from scratch ... most balanced formula will be selected by a panel of judges.

Computer programming finished up their last 2-D problem - Powerball Lottery Analysis.  Visual BASIC starts next week.

At 2:00, we had Kelsi's signing to play softball next school year at Western Kentucky University.  Lots of people from the community and a good time.  We are very proud of our softball team and of KP.  She works hard to be a great pitcher and deserves all the awards she have won ... and, helped our team to a state championship.  Congrats Kelsi!
It was good to see Billy Ray, her grandfather, a custodian for many years at our school and a great supporter of fastpitch softball.

Transformations, more than meets the eye!

Our genetics class worked through the pBLU transformation lab (Carolina Biological).  There is something to be said about actually doing a lab rather than a computer simulation.  Will take some pictures of the results tomorrow.  Our test is moved back to Monday.

In chemistry, we worked a little on balancing equations before doing some work on the famous chemists / scientists ... one was Faraday ... Ms Foster replied in our meeting after school that he was one of the most famous.  After reading about him this evening, I would have to agree. A common man make good story about a great experimenter!  We are beginning our review for our chemistry unit test but will conduct our gunpowder lab on Monday as part of our study of chemical reactions.

On the the 21st of this month, the Selected Topics class will be going over to Bowling Green Technical College for a tour of three campuses.  It is an opportunity to make contact with BGTC and to see first hand the courses of study they offer.

http://www.bowlinggreen.kctcs.edu/

Checked 2-D problems in computer programming today ... Tomorrow is our last day in qBASIC, Monday we begin our study of Microsoft Visual BASIC with the use of graphical user interfaces.

We had a science department meeting after school today.  We are going to adjust our Selected Topics class to contain more physics.  This will be a challenge for me since I am really a biologist.  I am interested to add a unit on electricity and circuitry to this course.

Coach Mark Carter took softball practice this afternoon while I was at the science meeting.  Tomorrow KP signs her letter of intent to play softball at WKU.

Bacterial Transformation Lab tomorrow ...

Big weather change here.  Windy, rainy and colder, a reminder that winter will show up eventually.  I am glad I made a last feeding of the bees yesterday. 

I have bought enough wood to make some shims for my hives to winter feed our bees ... these shims are about 2.5 inches wide and will look like a very narrow super.  Might be able to saw them out and put them together this weekend.  There are lots of opinions about using shims ... the most notable is the imirie shim.  I need something with more room for feedings.

http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/10-Frame-Imirie-Shim/productinfo/211/

Today as school ...

I found my Carolina shipment of live material today at school.  So, I poured the agar plates and started our bacteria (E. coli) cultures this afternoon.  Put the bacteria in our incubator for the night at 37 degrees C.  Tomorrow we will run our student groups through a transformation procedure to induce a few of the bacteria to take in our plasmid (pBLU).  This plasmid (small circular piece of DNA) has an antibiotic resistant gene (ampicillin) and a beta-galactosidase gene. 

www.accessexcellence.org/AE/AEPC/SEP/pBLUteac.pdf

We will use ampicillin agar to sort out the bacteria that have taken up our plasmid.  This is a two day lab.  Will take some picts tomorrow.

In Selected Topics, we spent most of the class period balancing equations, part of our Chemistry unit.  Tomorrow we will wrap up balancing equations and work on a Chemistry discovery timeline.

In Computer Programming, we are transitioning to Microsoft Visual BASIC,  we will start checking our final 2-D array problems tomorrow.

Coach Carter and Coach Bunton will take softball practice tomorrow, I have a Science meeting from 3:00 - 5:00.

KP will be signing a letter of intent to play softball for WKU Friday at 2:00 PM.  Will take some pictures and post them.  Her grandfather was a custodian at our school for years ... I know he will be proud on Friday!

Election Day and no school ...

Yesterday at school ...

In Genetics, we went over the material that was covered in the AP Session at Warren East on Saturday.  We reviewed for our test on Friday and prepped up our bacterial transformation lab.  We are using the pBLU lab from Carolina this fall.  pBLU is a plasmid that contains an ampicillin resistance gene and the beta-galactosidase gene.  This lab is one of the required labs for AP Biology.

In Selected Topics, we did our reading for the week from Current Science and finished up our study of the periodic table with a little vocabulary.  Balancing equations starts on Wednesday.

Our Computer programming class started their last qBASIC problem with the Poweball Lottery problem ... storing the last 100 picks and calculating the frequency that number occur and which numbers occur most often after each number is picked.  Visual BASIC demos start on Wednesday.

We had softball practice on the field ... not much daylight after school since the time change.  We did some time trials running, worked on fielding fly balls and had a homerun derby off the tee ... surprisingly, we had a few strikeouts!  Congrats to Ali and Kinsey for the best times during the time trial.  We are running at the lake on Thursday and hopefully will start our weight training next Monday if they release the new workout facility.

Today is election day so ... will vote this morning and then lots of errands and a bee check.

AP Science Session and an extra hour of sleep!

This weekend, we took 37 of our AP Science students (Biology Environment and Chemistry) to Warren East HS for a AP Science review session hosted by Advance Kentucky.  We do not offer AP Biology and AP Chemistry until second semester so that is a problem.  Several students that attend the Bio sessions are in Genetics and we have covered several of the content area reviewed.  There were students from several high schools there ... two of the four sessions were pretty good ...   Got home in time to take a walk.

Last night, was the time change ... fall back an hour.  It is Sue Neal's favorite night of the year.  I took another walk before church.  After church, spread grass seed and afterwards, got our tractor going ... it had a water hose leaking so could not do any of the jobs I had planned.  Spend most of the time until dark working on plants around the house.

Next week is a four day week.  We are off Tuesday for election day.  I am hoping to get a lot of papers graded before Wednesday.

Softball practice this week is on Monday and Thursday.  We are suppose to access to the weight room starting on Thursdays.

Friday - Go Patriots! AP Science tomorrow at Warren East

Tonight starts the first round of playoffs in football.  Our team plays Madisonville - North Hopkins at Madisonville.  Also, our CC teams runs in the AA regional at Warren East tomorrow ... Good luck to all our Patriots.

Our AP Science students are headed over to Warren East for one of three AP focus sessions in the Advance Kentucky program.  Even though we do not have AP Biology until after Christmas, several students are in my Genetics class and should have good understanding of the material which includes biochemistry, cells, and genetics.  Bus leaves at 7:30 from the high school. Should be fun!

Today over half our Genetics class was missing to the APES program.  We reviewed replication, transcription and translation.  We went over about half our discussion questions in Chapter 13, mostly nondisjunction problems during meiosis leading to conditions / syndromes like Down's syndrome, Turner's syndrome and more.

In Selected Topics in Science we continued our study of the periodic table and elements with Chemistry Bingo ... will have a picture of the winners Monday.  Students designed their own bingo cards ... below are the bingo card superlatives ... which included Most colorful, Most Scientific and more.  Left to right ... Paul, Kris, Gerika, Aaron and Miranda ... David was missing in action.

In Computer programming we worked on a difficult part of the Jackie Lottery problem which included reading a 2-D array and storing the results of calculations in a second single dimension array.  We are getting to wrap up qBASIC and head to Microsoft Visual BASIC.

It was a cloudy day and cool in Allen County today.  Got home in time for a walk to Long Creek.

APES Program continues and Chemistry Bingo

Most or our Genetics class was gone today with the APES program.  Those students that remained reviewed for our test next week.  Tomorrow we will work on our Alternative Fuels project and go over our Chapter 13 discussion questions.

In Selected Topics in Science, we continued work on our chemistry unit ... periodic table.  We started preparing our Chemistry Bingo cards today also.

Computer programming is working on their 2-D sorting problems .... most are working on the Jackie Lottery problem.

We had softball conditioning after school today ... 17 players attending.  We did the Run - Pull - Stadium Step workout ... 5 - 300 meter repeats with a tug of war between runs ... if you lose the tug of war, then you added a stadium step run ... a tough workout!  We are suppose to be able to get in our training facility after election day ... we need to get in our hitting routine soon!

Taped up some ventilation holes on hives with masking tape this afternoon late.  I need to go through our hives one more time before it gets cold.  It rained all day today ... good for late grass growth and our turnip patch.

APES Program on and Chemistry begins ...

Today for the rest of the week, our APES program (a program to introduce students to American Private Enterprise) is going on for many juniors in our genetics class.  We were able to finish our electrophoresis and plasmid mapping lab today.  Discussion questions and review for our test next week tomorrow in class.
I worked on our NYC trip today but, I'm finding affordable flights difficult to find.

Our Selected Topics class started our Chemistry Unit today with a study of the periodic chart.  Tomorrow we will finish this and begin our study of balancing equations.

Computer programming started the Jackie Lottery problem today ... Jackie is running a lottery for the Commonwealth of Kentucky but, her friends and family keep winning.  Students are writing a program to analyze the picks to date to discover her secret.

No softball practice today but, conditioning tomorrow ... we anticipate starting batting practice in our new facility after election day.

This afternoon, I walked on about 100 lbs of annual rye on area of our farm that might erode in the Spring.
The sunset was beautiful!

Softball - The dam hill!

Our softball team went out to the Barren River Dam for conditioning today.  We divided up into two teams and together, we ran 27 miles and 31 dam hills in 35 minutes.  As you can see above ... they were exhausted ... not really!  We stopped by Ranger Bob's for refreshments on the way back to school on my favorite bus ... #56!  The CC team went out with us ... they have their regional this weekend ... good luck!

We had a busy day at school.  In Genetics, we finished up running our gels which we will analyze tomorrow.  We went over our plasmid mapping problem from the day before and spent some time getting ready for our APES students to be gone the rest of the week.

We had our Physics test today in Selected Topics.  Tomorrow the Chemistry unit begins.

In computer programming we when over possible college choices / the US News and World Report rankings, before checking our first two problems using two dimensional arrays.  Most students are wrapping up their OYO 2-D problems before starting the Jackie Lotto problem tomorrow.

Got home late but squeezed in a walk to the bottom and back.  One the way up the hill, two Barred Owls were dueling and a group of coyotes fired up with howling and yelping in the valley behind our house.  It was a beautiful evening.

Halloween

Halloween today ... lots of students at school seemed pretty excited about getting out for some house decorating tonight.

Today at school, in Genetics, we started our electrophoresis, plasmid mapping lab.  It was a slow go since we could not share gels.  We will finish the lab tomorrow.  We will lose several juniors the last three days of this week for the APES program.

We have a Physics test in Selected Topics tomorrow, then on to our Chemistry unit.

Computer Programming is wrapping up 2-D arrays.  We will be checking two or our problems tomorrow.

Softball practice after school today ... scrimmaged with live pitching.  Tomorrow we are going to the Barren River dam with the CC team for conditioning.

Good weekend weather ... turnips and a praying mantis

It was a busy weekend.  On Saturday, we worked around the house getting things ready for winter ... mowed and trimmed the yard ... I picked some turnips for Sue Neal.  They were not real big ... the largest the size of a tennis ball.  On Sunday afternoon, I picked some for our neighbor ... if the weather holds, we should have some larger ones in a week or two.  Sue Neal cooked some today and said they were good and tender.

I checked and fed our bees today after Sunday School.  They seem to be doing well although a couple of the hives feel a little light on honey.  I finished putting in entrance reducers.  Killed a European honey that was flying around one of the hives at the goat field.  I wish I could find that nest and get rid of them ... I don't know how many honey bees the kill and eat each year but they are annoying and big!
While at one hive behind the house I noticed a praying mantis hanging out at a hive ... trying to eat bees?

Finally ... a pict of Sean in our electromagnet contest last week.  He and Cody won by picking up 61 paperclips with a D battery.  Congrats!

Friday - Lots of activities at school this weekend ...

Sue Neal did not go to school today ... so I was solo at ACS ... football team is playing Monroe for senior night and the band is in Semi-state held at ACS tomorrow.  Good luck to all!

To wrap up the week, in Genetics, we worked on our Chapter 11 discussion questions.  Prepped up our restriction lab on Monday and our Review Game tournament continued.

Selected Topics did a simulation on parallel and series circuits on our PhET software today.  We did a Christmas light simulation.

Our computer programming class is still working on 2-D problems and will continue on these problems next week.  Microsoft Visual BASIC on the horizon though.

It has turned off cold but, plan to do some jobs on the farm tomorrow so will take some pictures.

Rain, Cold and almost Friday!

Started raining last night and still raining a little.  I am afraid cool weather is on the way.

In Genetics today, after our morning quiz that only one person passed (must have a perfect score to pass), we worked on our discussion questions in Chapters 11-12 ... we will finish these tomorrow.  Also we have our review game tournament going ... Our labs from Carolina came in so several labs start up next week ... bacterial transformation, restriction enzyme analysis and our Drosophila crosses.

In Selected Topics today we prepped up our circuit simulation lab for Friday.  Spent most of the block reviewing for the Physics test which will be middle of next week.

Several students finished there tobacco cutting problem and will continue on a couple of OYO 2-D problems tomorrow ... on the horizon is our lottery analysis.

Sue Neal left school immediately after school ... stomach virus possibly ... I had softball conditioning after school, stopped by the conservation office and went the the grocery for Granny ... then, took her to revival.  A long day.

On Demand Writing this AM

Our freshmen, juniors and seniors participated in a field test for on demand writing this morning ... several prompts that required and article, letter or ...  I have a senior homeroom and all seemed to take the first block interruption in stride and worked through their writing prompt.  The rest of the day, we were on schedule.

Our Selected Topics in Science class handed in the Electromagnet Labs and worked on some physics problems ... calculating average speed, momentum, force and work.  We will be wrapping up our physics unit soon so, will have some pre-test practice questions tomorrow.

We working on our Tobacco Cutting 2-D computer problem today with good success.  Most students are getting a handle on working with 2-dimensional arrays.  Two simple 2-D OYO problems start tomorrow.

Nothing after school tomorrow.  I walked on some annual rye in low areas of our corn fields where erosion might occur in the spring ... about 80 lbs.  ... ran out of seed and will finish this weekend.

Softball conditioning tomorrow.

Parent - Teacher Conferences ... Field Test tomorrow!

We had Parent - Teacher Conferences this evening ... I had seven parents to come in.   Most of the students we have that do not do well miss school regularly. 

In Genetics today, we took a morning quiz and worked on some discussion questions before starting a review game tournament.

Selected topics worked on student generated labs ... Faraday's Law and a battery comparison.  We will finish up some vocabulary tomorrow.

In computer science, we worked on our 2-D problems ... everyone appears to have gotten a good start.

Tomorrow, during first block, we will take a field test in writing. 

Wish I could have been outside today ... it was beautiful and probably one of the few warm days we have remaining this year.

Parent - Teacher Conferences tomorrow

Another Monday ... In Genetics today, we only had about half the class hand in their quiz they were to prepare over the weekend ... casual and a red flag.  We worked on a little review of replication- transcription and translation.  Also, started our year-long project on alternative fuels ... biofuels / ethanol.  Tomorrow Chapter 11 questions and more.

Selected Topics worked on their electromagnets and we had our competition ... We had two teams make electromagnets with a D battery that could pick up 61 paperclips.  Congrats to Devin, Sean and Cody !!!   Tomorrow students will design their own experiment to test Faraday's Law and and different brands of batteries.

In Computer programming we started work on 2-D array problems ... back to work on something difficult and amazing ... sorting, the power of a computer!  We are going to end up with lottery number analysis in about a week and half ...

We had softball practice after school ... throwing, fly ball drill and some hitting.  There will be no practice tomorrow because of parent - teacher conferences.  Next practice will be on Thursday after school.

Got home in time to take a walk down to Long Creek ... lots of leaves have fallen already ... especially on the north facing hillsides.

Tomorrow is Parent - Teacher Conferences from 3:30 - 6:00.

Championship Rings

Saturday, I did a second feeding of our bees.  A couple of the hives are a little light and I will continue to feed them for a while.  I have started feeding bees in double zipper Ziploc gallon bags instead of Boardman feeders.  I put about a half a gallon of sugar water (4 lbs sugar per gallon) in each bag then cut a couple of 4 inch slits in the top with a razor blade.  So far, it has worked well.  Two possible problems may be the amount of propolis they build under the bag and sometime you lose a few bees that get in the bag when it is empty and cannot get out.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propolis

Today we had our ring ceremony for our 2011 State Championship Softball Team.  We had a slide show with music and a few speakers ... our players and coaches were thrilled to get their rings.  Several old supporters of softball were on hand and it was good to visit with everyone and eat a little dessert.  We have already started practicing with the 2012 team.  Six players with significant experience return for the 2012 campaign ... we should be good again.
Pictures below ...  Macey, Amanda and Catie look over their rings, Coaches, Mark and Robert check out their rings (Mark has a size 16.5) ... Chuck looks happy in the back ground ... and the sign that will put in front of the school ... maybe a little bigger than it should be ... hopefully, one of our teams can add another championship in the next few years.

Friday ... first freeze tonight?

We wrapped up a long week today.  Lots of after school activities and obligations ... but, the weekend finally.

Today in Genetics, we went over our retake Test II, Chapter 10 discussions questions and assigned some AP level multiple choice questions which are due Monday.  Many students in this class are taking the ACT test tomorrow ... Good Luck!

Selected Topics students finished their physics vocabulary for the simulation we finished yesterday with their drawing of their deep space Space Trucks.  We prepped our Electromagnet lab for Monday.  Remember those D batteries on Monday!

We finished up checking our graphic problems today in Computer Programming ... 2-D array problems start on Monday ... Microsoft Visual BASIC is on the horizon.

Got home at about 5:00 and went up to check on Granny.  She had been to PT this morning and later to eat lunch at Dumplin's.  No big news from downtown Holland!

I noticed someone picking turnip and mustard green at Burl's Big Turnip Patch this evening ... we have had a lot of people stop by. Uncle Burl would be pleased about that!  I plan to feed our bees again tomorrow and plant some bulbs.

Picture below are the winners of the structure contest last week ... Aaron and Rex ... this is their 2nd contest win!  Congrats!

Force, vectors and a tug-of-war

Today in Selected Topics, we finished our computer PhET Energy Park physics simulation ... we will work on the vocabulary and write up tomorrow.  We also tested each individual student for the amount of force they could generate pulling elastic workout tubing attached to a door.  We put these values on the board and chose up teams so each team had a equal collective force.  Each team then applied this force in a tug-of-war.  The action and winners below...

In Genetics, after our daily quiz, we reviewed Crick's central dogma and went over our discussion questions in Chapter 9.  Tomorrow we will discuss our Chapter 10 questions and have some sample AP questions for replication, transcription and translation.

We are still checking problems in computer science, but tomorrow, will start problems using 2-D arrays.

We had softball practice on the field today ... lots of throwing, fielding and some hitting.

Our softball team's ring ceremony will be Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm.

I have not been home before dark this week so no walks or pictures from the farm ...