HTHS Engineering Academy News

On April 5th, 2019, the HTHS Engineering Academy sent six teams to compete in the Alabama State Science and Engineering Fair at UAH. Students have been working hard on their projects all year, following the engineering design process to develop a working prototype to solve their chosen problem. The Engineering Academy instructors are Jason Dooley and Tom Moulton.  Congratulations to these hardworking students and their instructors. 

The following students placed or received honorable mention.

Reagan Shoop - Helmet with concussion sensors – detects level of impact from football hits, activates different lights to notify trainers.

o 1st Place in the Biomedical and Health Sciences Category at the UAH State Science Fair.

o Alabama Modeling and Simulation Council Special Award at UAH

o Boeing Company Special Award at UAH

o 1st Place in the medical category and overall Intel Award Winner at the UAB Regional Science Fair

o She won an automatic spot in the International Science Fair in Arizona.

Cameron Gallups - Insulin pump power source – Uses the motion of a person walking to produces power. Primary function is to maintain battery charge on an insulin pump. Can also be used to charge cellphones.

o 2nd Place in the Physical Energy Category at the UAH State Science Fair

o Association of Energy Engineers Special Award at UAH

o 3rd place in the Physical Science category at the UAB Regional Science Fair.

Kayla Donaldson, Will Bradley, and Coy Trammell - Infant Car Seat Temperature Sensor – Prevents infant deaths when they are accidentally left in the car. Emails parents, then 911.

o 1st Place in the Embedded Systems Category at UAH State Science Fair

o 1st Place in the Energy and Transportation Category at UAB Regional Science Fair.

Abby Manscill - Handicap friendly intersection – allows for more crossing time for individuals who need more time to cross. It will also look to see if crossing is still blocked before turning green.

o 4th Place in the Embedded Systems Category at the UAH State Science Fair

o Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Special Award at UAH

o Huntsville Electro-Optical Society Special Award at UAH

o U.S. Army Science and Engineering Honorable Mention Award at UAH

o Second Place in the Energy and Transportation Category at the UAB Regional Science Fair

Luke Burford, Alex Litwin, and Lucas Campbell - Gravity Generator – Generates electricity by a falling weight. Alternative power source that does not require the sun or wind.

o 3rd Place in the Engineering Mechanics Category at the UAH State Science Fair

o U.S. Army Science and Engineering Honorable Mention Award at UAH

o 3rd place in the Energy and Transportation Category at the UAB Regional Science Fair.

Carson McCombs and Jaden Arnold - Table Top Gaming Brain – Makes complicated games with lots of rules more fun to play by stepping gamers through all of the rules. Electronic game master.

o 4th Place in the Embedded Systems/Systems Software Category at the UAH State Science Fair.

o Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Special Award at UAH

o 1st Place in Computer Science at the UAB Regional Science Fair.

Jerry Tracey Visits Paine

The 4th graders in the classes of Mrs. McKinley and Mrs. Waites celebrated their current nonfiction unit and shared their research on Extreme Weather topics. Special guest, Mr. Jerry Tracey, chief meteorologist  from WVTM 13, visited Paine to enjoy and learn from the students. Mr. Tracey was impressed and commented on their depth of knowledge with their topics! 

Secondary Science Teachers Participate in Innovative ProfessionalLearning

HTMS and HTHS science teachers are collaborating in a unique, innovative professional development opportunity under the direction of Eric Lambert and Emily Menard, Alabama Science in Motion trainers.  The experience is the brainchild of TCS Science Coordinator, Dr. Phyllis Faust.  

The teachers are grouped for training according to the content they teach. 

Wednesday, October 31st – Earth Science teachers - Abbie Copus, Adam Henry, Laci Gray, Chad Dahlke, Jennifer Gerhart, DeAngelia Dailey

Thursday, November 1st – Life Science teachers - Connie Hambey, Doug Benton, Kimberly Swann-Carter, Angie Simonetti, David Barden, Katie Riggins, Kurt Kristensen, Tyler Marlow

Friday,  November 2nd – Physical Science teachers - Jada Burns, Kelly Kalchik, Rachel Higginbotham, Cynthia Thomas, Felecia Gulledge, Hunter Smoak, Kelly Till, Lisa O'Neal, Melanie Dimler

Teachers will work with Eric and Emily in the morning and participate in a Claim, Evidence, Reasoning (CER) activity.  In the afternoon, particpants will have the opportunity to design a lesson around a common topic/standard that will be co-taught by content partners from HTMS and HTHS in the spring of the year. A middle school teacher will co-teach a lesson at the high school and a high-school teacher will co-teach a lesson at the middle school. Teachers will not be teaching the same lesson to the students, but they will be teaching a lesson pertaining to the same topic/standard. 

This professional learning will be of great benefit for many reasons. The collaborative aspect speaks for itself. Allowing teachers to co-teach a different grade level provides teachers a firsthand view of where students are academically in a specific grade level.  It is difficult to forge collegial relationships due to time restraints, but this should help in this area.  While the fall professional learning day will pertain to learning and design, the spring professional learning day will be the actual implementation of the design.

Eric and Emily are excited about this possibility. Eric stated that he did not know any school system within the state that was doing this type of collaboration! This is certainly an exciting and innovative learning opportunity for teachers. 

Earth Science teachers - Abbie Copus, Adam Henry, Laci Gray, Chad Dahlke, Jennifer Gerhart, DeAngelia Dailey

Life Science teachers - Connie Hambey, Doug Benton, Kimberly Swann-Carter, Angie Simonetti, David Barden, Kurt Kristensen, Tyler Marlow

Magnolia Fifth Graders Studying Matter

Fifth graders at Magnolia are discovering that the weight and mass of matter do not change when its state changes.  Students found the mass of shortening, gummy candy, chocolate, and butter as solids, liquids, and then again as solids at the matter resolidified.  According to their teacher, Ryan Hook, at the start of the unit, many students predicted that the weight and mass would decrease when the solid changed to a liquid, so this has been a big "a-ha" moment for students!

Grade 5 content standards provide students with opportunities for investigation, observation, and explanation of a variety of scientific phenomena. 

Matter and Its Interactions Standard 1:
Investigate matter to provide mathematical evidence, including graphs, to show that regardless of the type of reaction (e.g., new substance forming due to dissolving or mising) or change (e.g., phase change) that occurs when heating, cooling, or mixing substances, the total weight of the matter is conserved. 

Problem Based Learning at Paine

During the third trimester at Paine Elementary second graders explored land forms, land masses and changes to land in their science unit using STEMscopes and Mystery Science.  To wrap up the unit for the trimester, students completed a PBL (Project Based Learning) activity.  Students were given the task of designing a barrier that would prevent erosion of sand due to wind and water.

The Task

Are you ready for a spirited competition on the beautiful beaches of California? Welcome to the Annual Sand Castle Days Competition. Every year during the Sand Castle Competition, there are teams whose castles are destroyed before they are finished, due to water and wind. You will be a part of a design team of experts who will design a barrier system to protect the sand castles from the natural forces of wind and water and the erosional destruction they could cause during the competition.  The barrier system protecting your sand castle must be made from any appropriate materials that are free and recyclable.  Be prepared as a team to explain why your design will be effective in preventing wind and water erosion.

The second graders used moss, plastic cups, foam plates, pebbles and popsicle sticks to create barriers to prevent the sand from blowing or washing away.  The majority of the models created by the students helped prevent erosion from either wind or water.  Students were more successful in preventing wind erosion, but one team was also able to completely prevent water erosion as well.

Second grade teacher, Mrs. Findley, reported, "All of the teams' explanations were excellent.  I was very proud of them and their application of what they learned this trimester.  I made brief videos of all of the teams explaining their design and why/how they thought their design would prevent erosion and sent them to their parents."

Science Professional Learning

From:
Phyllis B. Faust, Ed.D.
TCS K-12 Science Coordinator

Secondary science teachers participated in a professional learning experience facilitated by Eric Lambert and Emily Menard with ASIM on March 19^th and 20^th . Teachers participated in an Ice Melting CER (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) activity and an in-depth ADI (Argument Driven Inquiry) lab.  In order for students to be proficient in science, students need to learn more than terms and facts. ADI incorporates science and engineering practices (SEPs), crosscutting concepts (CCs), and disciplinary core ideas (DCIs). ADI also helps to develop science specific literacy skills so students can read, write, and speak in the context of science.  Having teachers experience this type of inquiry will strengthen the opportunities that are provided to students on a daily basis.

HTHS Science Teachers Participating in an ADI Lab

 HTMS Science Teachers Participating in an Ice Melting CER Activity

Kindergarten Science Planning

Kindergarten teachers from Paine met today to plan upcoming science units.  The teachers went through the StemScopes modules that they will be teaching the third trimester, and investigated the materials and equipment.  

Elementary Science Teachers Collaborate at ALC

First and fourth grade teachers from Cahaba, Magnolia, and Paine collaborated today on science lessons for the third trimester.  The teachers created PowerPoints to guide daily lessons and selected literature, videos, and other resources to enhance their StemScopes lessons.  Fourth grade teachers analyzed their science data from Scantron. 

Science Training

HTHS science teachers participated in a daylong of professional learning with ASIM instructors Eric Lambert and Emily Menard. Teachers were able to become more proficient using CER  (Claim, Evidence, Reasoning) and participated in various lab experiences. Another day of professional learning is planned in March with ASIM instructors.

Science Teachers Collaborate

Fifth grade science teachers throughout the district met Friday, October 13, to collaborate and learn together.  Their goals for the collaboration included developing better assessments, creating effective lessons, Participants included Mary Wilson, Cheryene McGuire, Monica Bramlett, Blaire Perry, Rashel Darnell, and Rhianna Redding.  Dr. Phyllis Faust, K-12 Science Coordinator, facilitated.

Total Solar Eclipse

On Monday, August 21, 2017, all of North America will be treated to an eclipse of the sun. Anyone within the path of totality can see one of nature’s most awe-inspiring sights - a total solar eclipse. This path, where the moon will completely cover the sun and the sun's tenuous atmosphere - the corona - can be seen, will stretch from Lincoln Beach, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina. Observers outside this path will still see a partial solar eclipse where the moon covers part of the sun's disk.

Who Can See It?
Lots of people! Everyone in the contiguous United States, in fact, everyone in North America plus parts of South America, Africa, and Europe will see at least a partial solar eclipse, while the thin path of totality will pass through portions of 14 states.

This celestial event is a solar eclipse in which the moon passes between the sun and Earth and blocks all or part of the sun for up to about three hours, from beginning to end, as viewed from a given location.  For this eclipse, the longest period when the moon completely blocks the sun from any given location along the path will be about two minutes and 40 seconds.  The last time the contiguous U.S. saw a total eclipse was in 1979.

Where Can You See It?

You can see a partial eclipse, where the moon covers only a part of the sun, anywhere in North America (see “Who can see it?”). To see a total eclipse, where the moon fully covers the sun for a short few minutes, you must be in the path of totality. The path of totality is a relatively thin ribbon, around 70 miles wide, that will cross the U.S. from West to East.  The first point of contact will be at Lincoln Beach, Oregon at 9:05 a.m. PDT. Totality begins there at 10:16 a.m. PDT.  Over the next hour and a half, it will cross through Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, and North and South Carolina.  The total eclipse will end near Charleston, South Carolina at 2:48 p.m. EDT.  From there the lunar shadow leaves the United States at 4:09 EDT.  Its longest duration will be near Carbondale, Illinois, where the sun will be completely covered for two minutes and 40 seconds.

When Can You See It?

Times for partial and total phases of the eclipse vary depending on your location. This interactive eclipse map (link is external) will show you times for the partial and total eclipse anywhere in the world.

Click here for more information about the eclipse. 

https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/eclipse-who-what-where-when-and-how