WELCOME BACK!

Hello everyone!

Welcome to our very first blog post of the school year. I like to send these updates out bi-weekly to keep you in the loop on all the exciting things happening in our classroom. While life gets busy and I might occasionally miss a week here and there, you can generally expect a post every two weeks sent directly to your email and posted through MyPowerHub, our new contact portal with PowerSchool. I’m thrilled to have your students in class this year, so let’s dive right into what we’ve been up to!

Where We Were

We kicked off the year by establishing our classroom expectations to set ourselves up for success. Right away, the students were put to the test as science detectives to solve the mystery of who stole my Groot pen! Using their keen observation and inference skills to analyze the "crime scene," most cracked the case: it was Mrs. Knox all along.

We also completed our "Picture Perfect Procedure" activity. Students practiced writing detailed procedures and reflected on how important clear communication is in the world of science. See the results on my class Instagram page: @classwithcatwood. We also got familiar with all the exciting Earth science topics we will be exploring together this year in our Hexagonal Thinking Activity.

Images from the Crime Scene Investigation & the Hexagonal Thinking Activity:

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Where We Are

Right now, we are wrapping up our introductory Earth science "mini" unit and officially moving into Astronomy this week! We are jumping right into the fascinating phenomenon of Manhattanhenge. Students will be observing, discussing, and building their initial models to figure out how and why this unique event occurs. They'll learn how this driving phenomenon can tie into nearly every other topic that we study in Astronomy!

Where We Are Going

Looking ahead, we will continue diving deeper into our Astronomy unit, starting with Day, Night, and Seasons. Students will explore these concepts through hands-on activities, lab experiments, and analyzing different data sets. Once we’ve thoroughly explored these topics, students will show what they've learned through a Performance Task (what most students may just end up calling a quiz).

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. Don't forget to order your student's yearbook now! It is currently at the lowest price ($22) it will be all year. You can grab yours today on the Jostens Yearbook Site. If there's any questions about the Yearbook, please let me know! I"m the Yearbook Advisor for GHMS. Students and families can follow the @ghmsybk Instagram account.

Stay Gold,

Mr. Catwood