PSSA TO PDSI

Hello everyone,

We’ve officially made it through PSSA testing! It’s been great to return to our normal classroom routines, and students are working on that transition of getting right back into learning, collaborating, and thinking critically. We still have a few more weeks left of our Earth's Resources unit!

Where We Were

Over the past two weeks, we finished watching David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet, which gave students a powerful look at how Earth has changed over time and the impact humans have had on the environment. To extend our thinking, students participated in structured debates where they analyzed evidence and shared their perspectives on big, real-world questions. We discussed whether transitioning to alternative energy sources can realistically replace fossil fuels, how the documentary argues that human activity has driven environmental decline, and whether that argument is convincing, and whether humans have the right to significantly alter the Earth’s environment to meet their needs. These conversations pushed students to think beyond simple answers and support their ideas with clear reasoning and evidence. Mr. Roberto and I were pretty impressed by the arguments posed by both sides of each debate! A job well done.

Where We Are

We are now shifting into investigating why floods and droughts have increased in recent years. Students will be working with real-world data sets and learning how scientists collect and interpret this information. Using tools like the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), total annual precipitation, and average annual temperature, students are identifying patterns and trends over time. These data sets come from organizations like NOAA and are collected using tools such as weather stations and rain gauges. Students will begin to understand that drought is not just about a lack of rain, but a combination of temperature, precipitation, and soil moisture conditions, which is what the PDSI helps measure on a scale from very dry to very wet. As we analyze both local Lancaster data and data from across the country, students will ask questions about what trends they notice, what surprises them, and what factors might be contributing to these changes.

Where We’re Going

Looking ahead, we will begin connecting these environmental patterns to how humans use energy and natural resources, and how those choices can impact temperature, precipitation, and extreme weather events. Students will continue building their understanding through discussion prompts focused on trends in Lancaster data and how energy use may influence climate patterns, especially through greenhouse gas emissions that can lead to global warming.

As we move into the final stretch of the year, students will apply everything they’ve learned in our Community Resilience Plan Project. In this project, students will identify environmental challenges impacting a community, analyze data and evidence, develop realistic solutions, and present and defend their ideas. Along the way, we will also take time to celebrate Mr. Roberto’s last day on May 7th and recognize all of the work he has done in our classes. This final stretch is all about connecting science to the real world, thinking critically about problems, and empowering students to design solutions for the future.

If you have any questions or want to connect further, feel free to reach out at curtis_catwood@conestogavalley.org. You can also follow our classroom adventures on Instagram at @classwithcatwood where I share updates and snapshots of what we are learning.

P.S. If you haven't purchased a Yearbook, there are only a few copies left. You can buy a copy here: https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/customer/1044712/Gerald-G-Huesken-Middle-School/

Stay Gold,

Mr. Catwood

EARTH'S RESOURCES

Hello everyone,

I wanted to start by apologizing for missing our last couple of bi-weekly updates. March was incredibly busy between early dismissals, schedule changes, and Easter break, and the time definitely got away from me. Although I was able to send a brief update in one of the Team's updates. I appreciate your patience as we get back into our regular rhythm for the remainder of the year.

Where We Were

We just wrapped up the final chapter of our Weather & Climate unit and completed our unit test. Overall, I was really pleased with the effort students put in. For students who are not satisfied with their test grade, test corrections are available. Students can go into Schoology, review what they got incorrect, and correct their answers on lined paper (making sure to number each question). They will earn half points back for each corrected response. I strongly recommend this for students who earned around a 70% or lower, but any student is welcome to complete corrections if they would like to improve their understanding and grade. Corrections will be due Monday during Core Extension.

Below: Some students' Severe Weather Parody Song Cover Art images.

Where We Are

We have now transitioned into our Earth’s Resources unit. We kicked things off by connecting it to climate change, using station rotations to explore different pieces of evidence and discussing the greenhouse effect. Next week, we will be watching David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet. This is a powerful documentary that looks at how Earth has changed over the course of David Attenborough’s lifetime. He turns 100 years old on May 8th, which makes the perspective in the film even more meaningful.

After the documentary, students will participate in a series of three structured debates based on the ideas and themes from the film. This is always a fun and engaging way for students to think critically and express their ideas, especially during a busy testing period.

Speaking of testing, ELA PSSA testing will take place Tuesday through Thursday, April 21–23. The following week, we will hold our debates, followed by the Math PSSA on April 28–29 and the Science PSSA testing on April 30. The science PSSA is 25% Earth Science (what we covered this year), 25% Physical Science (6th grade), 25% Life Science (7th grade), and 25% Technology & Engineering (Tech Ed courses 6-8th grades). I have given students PSSA prep questions to practice for the science PSSA, but it really comes down to understanding and analyzing graphs, data, diagrams, etc. Then being able to connect those images to vocabulary and concepts they've learned since 4th/5th grade. I think most students will do pretty well on it.

Where We’re Going

After our debates, we will dive deeper into our unit’s guiding question: Why are floods and droughts increasing in different parts of the world? Students will analyze both global and local data to understand these patterns better. From there, we will explore how humans use Earth’s resources and what it means to live sustainably. Students will investigate renewable and nonrenewable resources, how resource use impacts the planet, and what solutions exist to better manage these systems moving forward. The goal of this unit is to help students think like scientists and problem solvers, using evidence to understand how Earth’s systems work and how human actions influence them.

If you have any questions or want to connect further, feel free to reach out at curtis_catwood@conestogavalley.org. You can also follow our classroom adventures on Instagram at @classwithcatwood where I share updates and snapshots of what we are learning.

P.S. If you haven't purchased a Yearbook, there are only a few copies left. You can buy a copy here: https://www.jostens.com/apps/store/customer/1044712/Gerald-G-Huesken-Middle-School/

Stay Gold,

Mr. Catwood

ATMOSPHERE IN ACTION

Hey everyone,

It has been another busy and exciting couple of weeks in science as we continue moving deeper into our Weather and Climate unit. Students have been doing a great job asking questions, making observations, and connecting what we learn in class to the weather we experience every day (and their Weather Observations). There have been a lot of hands-on learning, demonstrations, and discussions that have helped bring these atmospheric concepts to life.

Where We Were

Over the past two weeks, we have been exploring the atmosphere, cloud formation, humidity, and precipitation. Students investigated the layers of the atmosphere during our Atmosphere CER Lab, where students plotted atmospheric data and constructed a Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning table about atmospheric structure and function.

We also completed a Relative Humidity mini-lab in which students used sling psychrometers to measure wet- and dry-bulb temperatures to determine humidity levels. This gave students a hands-on look at how meteorologists collect real weather data. Along the way, we have also done several demonstrations to visualize cloud formation, relative humidity, and precipitation.

Below: Video of some students doing our cloud in a bottle demo, and other photos from the past two weeks.

Where We Are

Today, students had a quiz that covered the concepts we have been exploring, including the atmosphere, humidity, clouds, and precipitation. This will help check their understanding before we move into the next major topics of the unit.

Starting next week, we will begin exploring air pressure and density, along with how they influence global and local winds. Students can expect more demonstrations and station rotations that will allow them to experiment with these concepts and see how differences in pressure and density drive movement in the atmosphere.

Where We Are Going

After that, we will transition into learning about air masses and weather fronts, which naturally leads us into our upcoming severe weather topics. To wrap up that part of the unit, students will be working on a severe weather parody song project, which should be a creative and fun way for them to show what they have learned.

If you have any questions or want to connect further, feel free to reach out at curtis_catwood@conestogavalley.org. You can also follow our classroom adventures on Instagram at @classwithcatwood where I share updates and snapshots of what we are learning.

Stay Gold,

Mr. Catwood