Math and Science Night for Heritage School was last week. Organized by the Heritage PTO and run by Rob Walker (pictured in the last photo with Allison) it offered the kids in attendance some hands-on experience with science that supplements what they might experience in the classroom.
The big event for the evening was the egg drop. Kids could use pipecleaners and straws to create a design that would help their egg survive the impact of a 15-foot drop. I wandered over to the area as my traffic at the table to help kids make a hovercraft out of a balloon, CD and a little hot glue had slowed down. I found Ally trying to develop her design (see first photo). And had learned no one had yet produced a successful design.
Her idea was simple: to surround the egg with straws gathered at the ends so as to not let the egg fall out. Her first model fell apart right after the pre-requisite weigh in. We could tell the straws weren't evenly distributed around the egg and the ends were gathered too tightly, making the straws fold on the thin side. So we reassembled the design by evenly distributing the straws and using less tension on the ends.
It survived the second weigh-in and everyone who saw her design would stop, look and kind of half smile wondering if it would work. Ally of course was just so excited to see if her design would work she was beside herself. The last thing to decide was how to drop it. We discussed it and because I didn't think that the straws were thick enough to withstand a side impact, she decided to drop it vertically.
It was dropped and gravity did it's work. Landing on end at a slight angle it bounced off to one side. When the volunteer picked it up it had yellow egg on it and I was sure it had broke. But on closer examination, it had just landed in a pool of yolk and had not even cracked. Success!
I have never witnessed my daughter so excited by learning. As a parent, it was beautiful thing to witness. Even if the egg had broken she still had an infectious energy about her from problem solving and learning through trial and error. She was in her element.
This event comes at a time when we, as a district, will create our own design to prepare for the impact that 9.4 million dollars worth of cuts to our school district's budget will have. As parents we can no longer afford to sit idle, criticize others and hope the education that our kids will be good enough in the face of these tough times. It is time to take action and get involved. Our children's education and the budget cut design that is being created for the 2010-2011 school year is too important to crack and break upon impact.
Thank you Heritage PTO and Rob Walker and your numerous volunteers for hosting such a great and well attended event as Math and Science Night. I applaud these parent volunteers who know that their efforts can make a difference in education of our children.
I'm so inspired that I'm joining PACE as I am able, a district-wide parent advisory team that works to secure for all Medina students the highest advantages in education while continuing to focus on fostering educational opportunities that challenge highly motivated students. http://medinapaceteam.blogspot.com/
And what of Allison and providing her the element in which she will thrive as she enters her tough middle school (now junior high) years? It's hard facing the uncertainty that all of this creates. But the one thing I do know is that she needs me now more than ever. She needs me as her advocate. But how much more will she learn if, in my advocacy, I can lead by example and be even more of her role model too?
Ringing in the New Miles 3/2009 — We follow the members of the Medina County Bicycle Club as they brave the cold of New Year’s Day to log the first miles of the year.
Medina Memorial Day Parade 5/2009 — A silent slideshow that follows the Memorial Day Parade from start to finish.
Seville Farmer's Market 6/2009 — A glimpse at the seasonal offerings of Seville's Farmer's Market, held at Stanhope Park.
Tails and Tales 9/2009 — Check out this Wadsworth Public Library reading program for young readers that uses trained trerapy dogs to lend an ear.
Taliban Attacks Could Resume
-
A spokesman for the Taliban has announced its forces may resume attacks in
Afghanistan. This comes after the U.S. announced a peace agreement with the
grou...
A visit to Chicago
-
Here are a few picture postcards from our recent spring break trip to
Chicago. We had a great time walking the downtown, eating in some great
local spots...
Tinsel
-
(This is not me... I have no pictures from my childhood Christmas'. Not in
digital format anyway.) This silly post on Twitter got me thinking about
Christm...
Austin, TX / December 9th
-
Dawes are headlining KGSR's 21st Anniversary concert at ACL Live at The
Moody Theater on December 9th. The lineup also features The Gourds, Givers
and Mat ...
No comments:
Post a Comment