2020-2021

 Welcome to my science blog. I will not be posting very often since I now use google classroom and ASPEN to communicate with students and parents. I do use the links in class and students can access data from home via the tabs. I'm looking forward to a great year!

Welcome Back!

It was a hot start to the school year today! This is the first time I've had an early dismissal on the Day 1. I want to welcome Ms. Flanagan to our classes this fall to do her student teaching. It is an honor for her to have picked me as her mentor because she was a student in this class. She and I have been working hard planning fun lessons and activities. Seventh grade will be learning about the lab and safety while 8th grade will be starting a lab in a few days and learning about the coastal studies project and our creek visits.

Prize Opportunity #3

This Monday there will be a solar eclipse! While we are just outside the optimal viewing area, it will still be spectacular. Send me one fact about the eclipse and I will add it to this post as they come in. NEVER look directly at the sun!

Here is a website with a free app about the eclipse http://bit.ly/2w8FCF3

Jackson - this solar eclipse is that it is the first American eclipse since 1979

 Nayan - the moon will obscure the sun for the longest time (2 minutes and 41.2 seconds) from a perspective near Carbondale, Missouri, and the next total solar eclipse will be visible on April 8 2024

Hannah - The last time anyone in mainland US saw a total eclipse of the Sun was on 

February 26, 1979.

Polina - The Solar Eclipse looks like it does because the suns diameter is 400x wider than the Moon, but the Moon is 400x closer to the Earth so it looks like the Moon fits inside the Sun.

 Cameron - the eclipse is the the solar eclipse happens once every 18 years 

Eva - the last time a solar eclipse was visible in the USA from coast to coast (as this one is) was on June 8, 1918

Henry - Never stare directly at a solar eclipse without special eclipse glasses. The sun can damage your eyes.

Red and Char - 

• not only humans but also animals act strange when there are solar eclipses, 

-llamas stand together during the solar eclipses.

-spiders tear down their webs during a solar eclipses.

-songbirds go quiet.

-farm animals lie down.

-chickens start to roost

• when the ​moon is blocking the suns rays from the view of people in certain areas of earth that is an eclipse
• the sun was off place until about the month ago when the sun was put back in place to have a solar eclipse in united states
• a solar eclipse only happens when the moon  passes in front  there earth sun to ma ke an appearance of he moon blocking out the sun  from certain of area on the planet

Owen - the US is the only country that will be touched by the eclipse's path of totality on Aug 21.

Evan - When the moon totally blocks the sun, that's called the totality.

A path 70 miles wide from Oregon to South Carolina was able to view the totality today. 

Only about 65% of the sun was eclipsed in the view from RI.

Awesome job everyone! This opportunity is now over

Prize opportunity #2

ID this crab for a prize.
Seen on the beach in SC.
Please don't post the answer
Send me an email so other people have a chance.
kaczynski.jim@jamestownschools.org

Happy Summer! Prize Opportunity #1

Happy Summer to all!

I hope you are all enjoying time off and doing good things. Over the summer I will post announcements and opportunities for you to earn prizes.

Opportunity #1 - June 27-July 8 - Take a picture of the moon, email it to me telling me what phase it is in (full, waxing gibbous, etc).

Meteor Showers on the way

Leonid meteor shower - November 16

Geminid meteor shower - December 13

Welcome Back!

It has been a great start to the new school year. We are using the topic of hurricanes to get back into the day to day procedures in science class. Students are logging into google classroom, sharing documents and will be learning/reviewing lab safety. Next week they will show you how our google classroom is set up.