Events CalendarApril 2 Mars and Saturn in Conjunction in the predawn sky April 2-June 15 Indian Heritage Art Exhibit at UCSB April 7 View the Moon, Mars and Saturn in the predawn sky April 16 New Moon April 21-22 Earth Day Festival Alameda Park Lyrid Meteor Shower April 30 Full Moon April 30- May 6 National Screen Free Week Science at CharterSCIENCE FESTIVAL Thank you parents for supporting your child as they investigated a topic for the science festival. They created interesting displays on a diverse range of topics. Many families enjoyed viewing the displays. Please try to keep your child's display boards for reuse next year if possible. Also if you have leftover materials that you will not use please consider donating them to the school. CHARTER GRADUATES EARN METALS AT THE COUNTY SCIENCE FAIR Ben Bailey, Devin Ross, Lily Isaacs, and Ian Larkin received metals for their science fair projects at the county science fair at UCSB. Thousands of students complete a science fair project in the eighth grade. It is an honor to be selected to compete at the county science fair. Devin and his partner received a special award of 300 dollars for his project in the area of Astronomy. Lily received a special award of 50 dollars for her work in the area of environmental science. I was impressed that four out of the approximately 100 contestants at the county fair were former Charter students. Ben and Devin received gold metals and fifty dollars and were further honored by being selected to compete in the State Science Fair in Los Angeles. FIFTH GRADE STANDARDIZED SCIENCE TEST The NGSS aligned standardized science test that is given statewide to fifth graders is in its final piloting year. Schools and students will not receive scores this year. Next year it is anticipated that the test will be fully implemented and scored. Despite not being scored on the test this year, students feel better if they are prepared for the test. If you or your child would like to see what the test is like online practice is available here: www.caaspp.org/practice-and-training/index.html INDIAN HERITAGE ART EXHIBIT AT UCSB Students in the second and third grade have been fascinated with learning about the history of the first people of Santa Barbara and other Native Americans. They may enjoy visiting the exhibit that opens this month: Indian Heritage Art Exhibit at UCSB The Night Sky This Month This month features the Lyrid meteor showers. On Saturday, April 21, 2018, according to EarthSky, "Start watching late at night, or better yet in the hours before dawn Sunday, April 22. The annual Lyrid meteor shower will probably be at its best in the predawn hours, especially as the waxing moon will have set by that time. Assuming you’re in a dark location, you really can’t go wrong getting up in the hours before dawn Sunday and gazing skyward. You might catch some meteors, and you’ll surely see the three morning planets, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars, plus the star Antares!" earthsky.org/tonight/lyrid-meteors-best-before-dawn Science In the News and Try This At HomeScreen Time and Your HealthMany of you may have noticed that your child was a little cranky and out of sorts after changing the clocks this spring. This podcast for kids about circadian rhythm by BrainsOn explains why. www.brainson.org/the-tick-tock-of-our-circadian-clock/. It also discusses the effect of the blue light from screens on sleep. This science article for children also talks about screens and sleep. www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/screen-time-can-mess-bodys-clock If you want to find out for yourself whether or not screens have been messing with your sleep you can participate in National Screen Free Week: www.screenfree.org/. There are other benefits to being screen free as well - less exposure to advertising and more time on other creative or active pursuits.
On the other hand screen time is not all bad. This article in Science News for Students talks about how a moderate amount of screen time can contribute to teen's sense of well being. www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/blog/analyze/analyze-does-moderate-screen-time-boost-teen-happiness. If you don't want to cut out screen time but do want to avoid the effects on sleep the Harvard School of Public Health has some recommendations: www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/blue-light-has-a-dark-side If the subject of sleep interests you or your child here are some fun sleep experiments to try at home: faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chsleep.html
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Leise Thomason-BA Biology Brown University Categories |