Bushy Hill Adventures

The 4th and 5th graders had a great trip to Bushy Hill today! They learned survival skills like recognizing edible and useful plants and trees, making fire from friction and a bow drill, building a shelter and making cordage.

Leaf identification

Taking notes on leaf and tree characteristics

Fire making with Mr. Fixx

Building an all-weather debris huts using great teamwork

Cordage (rope) making from rafia palm fibers

Lessons from Miss Rumphius

The TCS 2nd graders read Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney for summer reading, and now they are ready to do their part to make the world "a more beautiful place"...starting with the TCS garden classroom! 

3rd and 4th Grade Field Work on Grass Island

It was a beautiful day for a field trip to Grass Island today! The 3rd and 4th graders spent the last few hours of summer and the first few hours of fall taking population samples of life in the intertidal zone, testing the salinity of the water and testing the water for phosphates, nitrates and nitrites.

We set up a salt water tank in the lab for more opportunities to observe and share our learning with others.

And we collected lots of interesting data...

Stay tuned for a collaborative mural in the cafeteria in which we will share our STEAM learning with the school community!

Robotics is off and Running!

We have a record turn out for robotics this year and are so excited! Here, the 4th and 5th grade members collaborate to build this year's missions, which all revolve around the theme "Animal Allies." 

Happy "New Year;" Welcome to the 2016-17 School Year!

This year I am very excited to be teaching science to first through sixth graders! I have been working this summer to set up Science Lab A to accommodate so many curious and eager science students. Stop by and see our new furniture, discovery center, animal friends and cool new technology! 

It has been a busy and exciting first few days in the lab...

This summer, the second graders read Barbara Cooney's book, Miss Rumphius, which is about one woman's quest to live a full life and make the world a more beautiful place by planting lupines for all to enjoy season after season. In science, our students examined false lupine (baptisia) seed pods to see how they could be collected, stored and spread in the future. 

The first graders will travel the world this year, across many continents and oceans, as water droplets that are part of our Earth's water cycle. Here are some ways the students appreciated and enjoyed water this summer!

We are excited to have a new 3D printer in the lab and look forward to printing models to represent lots of exciting learning ahead (not to mention just doing some fun tinkering!)

5th and 6th graders spent the first few days of science class discussing ways to set a positive and constructive tone for our learning environment in the year ahead. The students practiced collaboration and communication while explaining to a partner how to build a Lego model by listening to instructions but not peeking!