Focus on FOCUS

1. Focus on FOCUS March, 2006 Beyond the Blue Marine biology, our Beyond the Blue unit, has come to a close through student production of individual, hardback books filled with information about life in the oceans of our world. Each student used knowledge gained from web page research, trivia preparation, and exploration of weekly topics to fill pages with expanded vocabulary, definitions, descriptions, examples and illustrations. The books are incredible! Our research of endangered and threatened animals led to consideration of avenues for protection of the marine life we have come to know and love. Your young conservationists also explored the effect of pollution on marine life through experiments simulating the oil spill in Alaska’s Prince William Sound in 1989. We researched the accident of the Exxon Valdez and tried to imagine how much harm 11 million gallons could do to the wildlife of the area. The possible destruction became more real as each student participated in an oil spill clean up and in ‘wildlife’ rescue. We also enjoyed thinking about the creatures of the sea in terms of the ‘largest and smallest.’ Beyond the Blue took us to ‘great depths’ as scientists and thinkers! Austin, Jared and Darby attempt to clean up an ‘oil spill’ simulation which would endanger marine life (left photo) while Jessica and Jocelyn observe and remedy the results of such pollution (right photo). C.S.I. Cooper For the remainder of this school year, through the ‘lens’ of forensics, we will be involved in exploring life science, chemistry, math, language arts and social studies as well as deductive thinking and logic. Our examinations will be age appropriate as we become more thorough investigative scientists and thinkers. We will begin in Paris in 1911 with a real-life crime from history: the theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, Mona Lisa, from the Louvre. In addition to questioning the circumstances of the event we will learn about the history of the famous building in which the incident occurred. From there, we will travel a road leading to fingerprints, footprints, lip prints, soil characteristics, and handwriting analysis as we use data to arrive at solid, defendable solutions. The variety of experiences will include science experiments, research, measurement, statistics, information analysis, art, reading and writing. Sometimes, ‘snooping’ is a good thing!. AKS extensions for C.S.I. Cooper:3LA_A2005-1,2,3,4,6; B2005-7,8,9,11,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,24; C2005-25,35, D2005-36,37,38,39,40,43,45; E2005-50; G2205-68,71; 3SC_A2002-1,2,3,4,5; 3MA_E2001-39,41; 2003-2; 3SS_B1998-7,8,11,12,14,15,16; 5LA_A2005-1,3,4, B2005-10;11;12;16;17;19; B2005-25; C2005-28; D2005-35,36,39,41; E2005-45,52,55; G2005-62,67; 5MA_D2001-41,46; E2001-47,49; 5SC_A2003-1,2,3; 5SS_B1998-7,8,11,12,15,16,18. FOCUSShowcaseThe April 24th PTA meeting will be an opportunity for our FOCUS students to display their webpages and participate in additional demonstrations of the knowledge and skills from our recent science and math endeavors. Please mark your calendars to be here with us for an exciting presentation! More information will follow soon. Summer Programs For program information about GA Tech summer programs, admission requirements and on-line application, please visit the CEISMC Summer Enrichment Programs website at http://www.ceismc.gatech.edu/summercamps/homepg.htm or contact Anthony Docal, Program Director, at (404) 894-9879. For information about Gwinnett’s Summer Institute for Gifted Children, please contact Mrs. Watson for program specifics and an application. The program is the week if June 26-30th at Parsons Elementary School. The cost is $175 and registration deadline is May 26th. McConnell Middle School Probe Meeting There will be a meeting for parents of rising 6th grade PROBE students at McConnell Middle School at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 21st. Contact Mrs. Anne Thompson at MMS if you have questions.