ACT Prep for Juniors Today and Tomorrow ...

Tomorrow second block, we will be continuing our ACT prep sessions.  I have been using Barron's ACT Prep 17th Edition as well as a Science Section Cheat Sheet designed by Ms. Cornwell.  All our juniors will take the ACT test next Tuesday.


In AP Biology 2nd block, we finished up our BLAST lab and worked on Chapter 26 in Campbell ... cladograms, Miller/Urey and a geologic timeline.

In computer programming we finished checking our last qBASIC problems.  Off to Microsoft Visual BASIC on Monday.

Tomorrow in Selected Topics in Science we will continue our study of invertebrates.

ACT Prep starts tomorrow ...

Today in Selected Topics we worked on some practice ACT questions.  Second Block started their study of Invertebrates ... Sponges through flatworms.  Tomorrow we will have second block AP Biology and will finish up our BLAST lab and work in Chapters 25-26 ... phlogeny and cladograms.

Computer programming is wrapping up qBASIC ... we will start Microsoft Visual BASIC problem on Monday ... finally.

ACT for juniors will be Tuesday of next week.

Too late, getting back to the house to take a walk tonight but yesterday on a walk saw a rufous-sided towhee ... frogs were still chirping away at below 50 degrees.

BLAST lab continues and ACT prep up starts ...

Today in AP Biology, we started our BLAST Lab (AP Investigation 3).  We took four genes from a prehistoric organism and compared the DNA sequences to other organisms using BLAST.  We will finish this lab tomorrow.

http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi

Tomorrow, our juniors will fill out ACT forms/questionaire.  We will do this in flex which will start the day tomorrow.

Stayed after school to help a couple of middle schoolers with their Science Olympiad Genetics problem preparation.

I had time to take a walk to Long Creek and back before dark.  I saw some wood ducks and several squirrels. The frogs were still going wild in the bottom.  Wood ducks below ... not my picture / www.fcps.edu

Spring Peeper, frogs are back and BLAST Lab on Monday.

We got in another full week of classes with warming temperatures and a hope of spring.  After school today, I took a walk to the bottom and the frogs (hundreds) along Long Creek and the wetlands were making a lot of noise.  Yesterday it was 70 degrees with a thunderstorm just after dark.  I was outside enjoying the thunderstorm on the porch when I saw a spring peeper on our sliding door ... our cat Bossy was checking it out from inside the house.

Today at school, we finished our unit on chemistry in Selected Topics.  On Monday, we will be starting  the BLAST Lab, analyzing DNA strands from a prehistoric organism.










http://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi

Gun Powder Lab and Electrophoresis ...

Yesterday in AP Biology we ran our Electrophoresis Lab ... we used a Carolina kit to simulate genetic testing for cystic fibrosis.  Tomorrow we will finish analyzing our gels and move on to our BLAST lab and phylogeny/cladograms.

In Selected Topics in Science,  we are studying chemistry and chemical equations.  We researched gunpowder production in Kentucky and the best recipes to make gunpowder.  Below are some pictures  from today's lab.  Congratulations to our winners in the Daniel Boone - Best of Kentucky - Gunpowder Championship!

Biotechnology, Chemistry and 2-D arrays ...

Tomorrow in AP Biology, we will again be working in Chapter 20 ... Biotechnology (bacterial transformations, restriction enzymes, gel analysis and PCR).  We have some mapping problems to check and a quiz on Chapter 20.

Today in Selected Topics, we did some research on our upcoming gunpowder lab and made a connection of Allen County to the War of 1812.  We also prepared for our Chemistry Bingo game on Friday.

Both of my computer programming classes are working on 2-D arrays to store and analyze numbers ... we are nearing the end of our qBASIC unit.

Whis weekend is a Science Olympiad scrimmage at our high school.

Took a walk after school to Long Creek and back after school with Hannah ... cloudly but no wind ... a nice walk.  Checked some bee hives while on our walk ... looks like some hives did not survive our cold winter.

Cattle Production Corporate Style, Sandhill Cranes and School ...

Hoping to get a full week of school in this week!

Tomorrow is our 8-period day but also club schedule.  Selected Topics will be starting a unit on chemistry, AP Bio is finishing their bacterial transformation lab and computer programming will be working in two dimensional arrays.

Several groups of sandhill cranes flew over this weekend ... several hundred.  On a walk to the bottom, Hannah and I scared up a flock of over 100.  They put on a show circling and honking before flying away.

We went over to the Narrows looking for a cranes.  On our way back we stopped by the boat dock on the Barren River.  One of our corporate farmers had three of the calves hauled out by the roadway.  I guess part of the 5% loss ... regardless of the amount of antibiotics you push through them.  They were only a hundred feet or so from Barren River ... and the Allen County and Bowling Green water supply.  Makes you want to reconsider being a vegetarian and drinking bottled water ...  The center calf had an inspection tag still attached ... makes you wonder also about state and federal inspections???

Solar model, bacterial transformations and NO School tomorrow ... again!

Today in Selected Topics in Science we built a solar system model to scale using a golf ball as the sun. We used the front hallway of the high school and was able to scale out to Neptune ... we will conclude our astronomy unit on Friday.

On Tuesday, we did our bacterial transformation lab in AP Biology.  A few student groups came in today to count the colonies on their plus LB/Amp plate and now without school tomorrow it will be Monday before most students check the plates (LB and LB/Amp).  I put them in the fridge but they won't be as readable on Monday.  Most are not very serious biology students or they would have been in before, during or after school ... it only took a minute to count the colonies on the LB/Amp + plate.

Snow day tomorrow ... Warren County closed earlier this evening ... I knew we would not be far behind.

Come to think about it, club schedule is on Monday so some students won't be back to AP Biology until next Tuesday.

No School ... AP Bio Day tomorrow ...

Last week was our first full week of school since November.  Tomorrow, we will finish our mathematical modeling lab on population genetics.  Below is an Excel model made last week.

Tomorrow is our bacterial transformation lab.  We will be using the pGREEN lab from Carolina Biological.  Students will induce bacteria to take up the plasmid (during heat shock).  We will plate the bacteria on LB/Ampicillin agar and read the plates the following day.  On Thursday, we will calculate transformation efficiency.

Computer programming classes are still working on single and two dimensional arrays.

Bee School 2014 - in the books!

Last Saturday was the 2014 Allen County Beekeepers Bee School held at our high school.  135 beekeepers registered.  With speakers, vendors and children about 175 people attended.

Guest speaker was Dr. Tammy Horn (EKU/Berea).  My favorite sessions were by Kent Williams ... beekeeper from Wingo, KY... entertaining and always informative.  Sixteen classes were held in four sessions.  Many topics, including a beginner beekeepers track.  Smoke House served lunch ... both Kelley's and Dadant were present selling bee supplies.

A long but good day!