WELCOME TO 8 GOLD SCIENCE!

Hello everyone!

This is the first blog post of the year! I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all the new students this year! We have a great bunch, and we have been diving into thinking like scientists already! 😊

8th grade has converted to ALL Earth Science as we undergo curriculum changes, which happens to be my area of expertise and my favorite type of science!

Our units include:

• Astronomy

• Earth's History

• Earth's Processes

• Earth's Waters

• Weather & Climate

• Earth's Resources

You can learn more about the course here in my Syllabus.

Students have been doing activities in our Pre-Unit to Astronomy, Intro to Earth Sciences. This is to build some excitement and introduce topics we'll explore throughout the year. When we move into Astronomy next week, we'll start by learning how scientists study space and the universe!

Each year, I try to reduce printing, and this year, we will be using Digital Notebooks. They are guided notebooks, but they help reduce paper, and best of all... STUDENTS DON'T LOSE THEIR NOTES! It is so helpful to have notes this way. I've researched the effectiveness, which it is more effective than traditional handwritten notes. This is because digital notebooks allow for some customization by adding slides, images, gifs, and notes that help students understand a topic better. There will be a learning curve for some at the start of the year, but students quickly get the hang of it and enjoy using them.

Some non-science-related notes! I run the On Wednesdays We Wear... Campaign at school. Here is a calendar of the organizations we will raise money for throughout the year. Students do not need to donate but can during school lunches on Wednesdays. This month, we are wearing Blue on Wednesdays and raising money for the Boys & Girls Club of Lancaster.

If you ever have any questions, feel free to reach out to curtis_silverwood@conestogavalley.org 

Families, please note that I got married this summer. We are combining our last names, and the legal process for the change is definitely going to take some time. In class, I've been going by what my name will be, Mr. Catwood, but my contact info at the school still has my former last name. Eventually, this will change, but for now, it is still curtis_silverwood@conestogavalley.org.

You can follow @ClassWithCatwood on Instagram to see pictures of the classroom and photos of our class activities.

Below are images of a post-it note activity we did at the start of last week to discuss "What is Science?"

Thank you,

Mr. Catwood

(formerly Silverwood)

AND THE WINNER IS...

8 GOLD! Congratulations to our awesome students who have worked hard ALL year and did PHENOMENAL during our Color Wars event. I'm so proud of each one of them! They are all such great students. It's bittersweet that we're near the end of the year, but it is not a final goodbye yet—although it is the last blog post of the year.

Families, I would love feedback on the blog posts and what could help improve them for future years. If you have some time to complete this form it would be greatly appreciated: https://forms.gle/tsrkjz4UEGquPhWM7

Now... as we wind down for the year, in science we have debated, discussed, and explored environmental science topics within the last few weeks related to reducing human environmental impact on the planet. We looked closely at the geographical regions of Pennsylvania and we debated what type of energy could be best for the state that would cause the least harm. Students enjoyed debating and we have some great quick-witted minds on the team! It was fun observing and watching as they used what they learned to argue and discuss.

Over the next few days, the team will be running special schedules. There are some final academic things to do for some classes. In my class, if your student has any missing work I expect to have it turned in by tomorrow (5/31) but if they need more time, depending on the assignment, I'll allow until Monday. Students reading this, please check PowerSchool for missing work, I also gave out missing work sheets in class the other day.

Finally, I am going to miss the Class of 2028 a lot! This year has been fantastic. We have had a lot of fun and I'm looking forward to seeing them all graduate. This was my second year teaching, my third year at GHMS, but they have all made a huge impact on me and I hope that they have grown to love science a little bit more each day this year. Thank you families for your support and thank you to all my students for a great year! Good luck 8 Gold on your transition to High School!

Below are some photos/videos from before and after Color Wars:

Have a great summer,

Mr. Silverwood

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all doing well! I want to thank everyone who participated in the 8 Gold Fiesta we had during PSSAs. Thank you so much! We are closely approaching the end of the school year, but we are not finished yet! Still, one last unit before the very end.

Below is a photo of our Taco 'Bout a Great Year bulletin board in our POD:

WHERE WE ARE:

We are just finishing our Weather & Climate unit and took our unit test today (their last test of the year). Starting tomorrow, we'll begin watching a David Attenborough documentary called "A Life on Our Planet," which focuses on our new STEELS standards related to human environmental impact. After we finish the documentary this week, next week we'll break up into 4 groups per class period and debate two essential questions from the documentary. Students will spend the first day gathering information and facts to support their debate stance (the Affirmative or Negative) for their debate question. On the second day, students will work with their group to share their research and prepare a speech for their debate. This will be a fun way to transition from our Weather & Climate unit into the Environmental Science unit.

WHERE WE ARE GOING:

After our debate, we will move into doing a mini-project focusing on a profile of these 11 regions of Pennsylvania: Great Lakes, Pennsylvania Wilds, Upstate PA, Pocono Mountains, Pittsburgh & Its Countryside, Laurel Highlands, The Alleghenies, Valleys of the Susquehanna, Dutch Country Roads, Lehigh Valley, and Philly & Its Countryside. Students will research components about the geology in the area, natural resources available, population, etc. All components will then lead to a discussion on human impacts on our environment in Pennsylvania and to figure out what might be best for the state's future. Each group for each region will represent that region in our class roundtable discussion to create a joint proposal for energy in PA. This will be a fun way to end the year focusing on our Sustainability and Stewardship/ Environmental Literacy standards related to Natural Resources and Human Impact on Earth Systems.

If you have any questions, please contact me (curtis_silverwood@conestogavalley.org) or follow Science With Silverwood on Instagram (@sciencewithsilverwood).

Thank you,

Mr. Silverwood