DEBATE & DISCOVERY

Hello everyone,

I hope you're all doing well! We’re heading into the final stretch of the school year, and I’m happy to share that things are going great in science class.

WHERE WE WERE

We recently finished PSSA testing! It went smoothly, and I'm sure students enjoyed having some special schedules throughout testing days. The weather was absolutely great during testing, and we were able to enjoy the fresh air! I’m proud of the students' focus and positivity throughout the testing period. We also just wrapped up our Weather & Climate unit, and I’m excited to report that students did very well on their unit test—the last major test of the year in science.

WHERE WE ARE

We’ve just finished the David Attenborough Netflix documentary A Life on Our Planet. The documentary connects directly to our next focus on human environmental impacts. It also relates to topics we covered in the Weather & Climate unit. Tomorrow (5/8), we will start work on our structured classroom debate. Each class will be split into four groups and tackle two essential questions raised in the film. Students will spend time researching, preparing arguments, and presenting their positions in what promises to be a thoughtful and engaging discussion. The debate is a great starting point for the unit!

WHERE WE ARE GOING

Following the debate, we’ll dive deeper into Earth's Resources and Human Impacts on the environment. The unit is heavily discussion and project-based. Many opportunities to learn more by studying and analyzing data, etc. We'll make connections to Pennsylvania—examining geology, natural resources, population, and more—to better understand how human activity shapes the environment at both local and state levels. This unit helps sum up a lot of key points discussed earlier in the year and takes it to another level.

Thank you for your continued support and engagement with our science classroom! If you have any questions or want to connect further, please don’t hesitate to contact me at curtis_catwood@conestogavalley.org. You can also follow our journey on Instagram at @classwithcatwood, where I share updates and snapshots of our exciting classroom activities.

Thank you,

Mr. Catwood