Welcome back to school ! Now that we've gotten some ground rules established in class, we'll start doing labs and other activities using Lab-Aids SEPUP materials. First, up: the "Save Fred" activity for 7th graders, and the lesson entitled "Handling Hazardous Materials" for 6th graders. Tomorrow students will be given a sheet to place in their science notebook that will let them access their science books on-line whenever they want. Seventh graders are beginning a unit called Studying People Scientifically. Tonight's homework is for them to practice writing 5 STAR note questions on today's notes and handout. Remember, each question must be a complete sentence, usually starting with a 5W question (Who, what, when, where, why or how), subject, verb, object, and question mark at the end. Sixth graders are starting a unit called Studying Materials Scientifically. Depending on their class, they were either assigned to: * practice writing 5 STAR note questions on today's notes and handout; or * find and bring in a copy of a recent article about hazardous materials. I'm looking forward to a great year with all of Rippowam's blossoming scientists! For extra credit, post a hello or other constructive message to my blog, and sign it with your first name and last initial (since otherwise, I won't know to whom I should give credit).