08.27.08
Posted in Class News at 4:05 pm by al_gonzalez
Another school year is right around the corner! I am hoping to see many of you at our Middle School orientation, Thursday, August 28, at 6:30pm in the Middle School auditorium. This will go on until 8pm. Also stop by earlier Thursday, from 8am to 2pm, for Eagle Day where you can pay fees, purchase planners and pick up your child’s schedule. Aside from that I will see all of my students on Tuesday, September 2! If you haven’t received your back to school letter from your child’s teachers do check our school supplies webpage for a list of supplies so your child can start school prepared.
This year I will only have two of the three 6th grade Science classes. I look forward to working with this year’s 6th graders as that is my son’s class. I am also very excited to get to work with all of the 8th graders this year in Science. Some of them have been with me since 6th grade! I hope you’ve all had a great summer. Parents, if you need to contact me feel free to email me (al_gonzalez@csd49.org), send a note with your child or write me a note in their planner, or call the school (732-4219) and leave me a message. Also feel free to visit your child’s class or volunteer to help with a lab or join us on a field trip. I send home information about field trips as they come up. Contact me often so that we can help your child succeed.
Mr. González
Check my Homework Section to see what we are doing in Science.
Visit this page often to find out what’s going on in my classes! And feel free to leave a comment.
Use the links to the right to find what you need.
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06.02.08
Posted in Class News at 5:47 pm by al_gonzalez
Sixth graders will get an updated progress report Monday, June 9, and seventh graders will get a second one Wednesday or Thursday (they got one last Monday, June 2, and had all week to make up work). You can always check for updated grades online. Sixth graders will also get their Lesson 10 tests back on Monday, June 9. They took those tests the last week of May and had that week to come in at lunch and after school to finish it if they didn’t have time to finish it in class.
Have a great summer!
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05.18.08
Posted in Class News at 1:44 pm by al_gonzalez
Seventh graders will be scoring their plants labs (4th period will score 5th period’s and 5th period will score 4th period’s) on Monday, May 19. That is the last time I see them in those groups for two weeks. Tuesday through Thursday of the three weeks starting on May 19 seventh graders will be working in their boat groups spending one day per week out on the water and the rest learning maritime themes back in school. Monday, June 2, will be the next time I see my regular Science groups. At that time I will give them their lab rubrics so they can improve their grade that week. In Science for longboat curriculum we will be covering tides, tide pool taxonomy, and marine dissections (hydra, sponge, mussels, sea stars, crayfish and perch fish).
Sixth graders are working on the Energy unit in our Energy, Machines, and Motion kit. Once they get past lesson 10, the assessment for the first unit, they will be working on Machines as they learn about inclined planes, levers, and pulleys. We will try to get to the third unit on motion before the year is over but time is running out fast.
There is little time for turning in late work with only one month left of school so students need to stay caught up and get their blogging done right away. I will begin working on final grading before the last week so that I can be done with grades by the last week.
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04.27.08
Posted in Class News at 4:43 pm by al_gonzalez
The midterm is coming up and we keep telling our students to stay caught up. This is the last tri of the year and there will be little time for catching up once we hit June! Check 3rd tri progress here (if you need your password email me or have your child ask me). And I am still updating my HW/Daily Work section every week (sometimes two or three times a week) so check it often.
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04.15.08
Posted in Class News at 5:25 pm by al_gonzalez
In 7th grade Science we are going to study Global Warming while experimenting with our plants and hyrdoponics garden. I am planning to show most of the movie An Inconvenient Truth with Al Gore. I am sending home the following letter for parents to sign to show they know what I am planning, AIT Parent Letter 07-08. I am using the following resources for this unit of study, An Inconvenient Truth Study Guide and Take Part AIT Study Guide. I also made a website of resource links for kids to use during our study. Our study of Global Warming is part of a project we are doing for Earth Day with 16 other schools all over the country called the Great Earth Day Car Pool.
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04.05.08
Posted in Class News at 6:03 pm by al_gonzalez
I am updating 3rd Tri grades as often as I can so that students can stay caught up. The end of the year is no time to ask for extensions or late work! I must say that one thing that is hurting my students’ grades in Science is not doing their homework. Every time we complete a task in Science I assign students to write about it on our Science Blog. Those students who respond to the assignments are maintaining their good grades in Science but those who ignore their homework are really hurting their grade. So work on your blog homework and keep up with your Science assignments!
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03.16.08
Posted in Class News at 7:19 pm by al_gonzalez
Second Trimester grades have been updated. Check them out by clicking here!
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03.06.08
Posted in Class News at 4:52 pm by al_gonzalez
Here are a few pictures of the 7th grade teachers out on the water getting trained for the upcoming 7th grade Longboat outdoor education experience. This will all start on May 20!
Here’s Mr. Meacham with the Captain Nancy next to him and Captain Robin in the back steering. Hm, I wonder what Mr. Meacham is doing?
Here’s Ms. Berg with a nice young fellow who’s been rowing and sailing longboats for four years now. He sang sea shantis for us.
There’s Mr. DiPrete checking his oar (or getting his lunch).
And here’s a shot reflecting off of Ms. Berg’s glasses. That guy on the right taking the pict is me, Mr. G! :o)
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03.02.08
Posted in Class News at 10:55 pm by al_gonzalez
Sixth graders have completed their water quality websites. See them by clicking here. Sixth graders have also started blogging so you can leave them comments by clicking here. You will also find 7th graders writing about what they’re learning in Science as well and they would also love to get comments. Now 6th graders are studying Energy, Machines, and Motion! They started by building their own battery (read their blogs). For the next couple of weeks we will be learning about how energy transfers and transforms by doing experiments with charging batteries. A website with extra credit possibilities can be found by clicking here.
Seventh graders are making presentations to each other on the different stages of cell meiosis. Once they are done with those we will be starting our experiments on hydroponics vs soil planting. I’m really excited about finally starting that project.
I am updating Science grades as often as I can so please check them regularly to stay on top of your grades. If your password doesn’t work please email me.
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02.08.08
Posted in Class News at 6:11 pm by al_gonzalez
In 6th grade Science we are almost done with our water quality websites! Monday, Feb 11, Alicia from North Olympic Salmon Coalition will join us to discuss our B-IBI results from October. Then Tuesday the 12 is the last day for kids to make any changes or updates to their websites before they are uploaded. They should be ready to view by Wednesday, Feb 13. Just go to our water quality links page. Thursday is the Ballard Locks field trip so it won’t be until Friday, Feb 15, that we will start our new unit on Energy, Machines, and Motion!
In 7th grade we are taking time to do a bit of organizing of new notebooks as kids score their last few assignments. Students are using a Lab Write-Up Rubric to score their osmosis labs and together we will score the cells drawings and definitions as well as the mitosis drawings and descriptions. Then we will be ready to start meiosis. Monday, Feb 11, I will be passing out reminders to students for making up their missing work. I’ve been giving students progress reports and posting grades to my online progress reports website but they still don’t make up missing work. So if a student is missing or needs to redo his or her Plant Webquest or Osmosis Lab he or she got the Osmosis Lab and Plant Webquest Make-Up Sheet sheet. If a student is missing some of his or her blogging then he or she got the Blogging Catch Up Reminder Sheet sheet. If a student needs to make up his or her biology quiz or cells quiz then he or she got the Biology Quiz and Cells Quiz Make-up sheet sheet. Please ask your child if he or she got any of the above sheets because they explain what to do to raise their grades and require that you, the parent, sign the sheet.
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