Science at Lorin Eden Newsletter
From Mr. Stuart
Dear Lorin Eden Community,
This is your friendly Science Specialist teacher Mr. Stuart wishing you a Happy New Year! We went through a lot in 2020, but we got through it because of the Lorin Eden community’s resilience and the remarkable optimism, passion, and intelligence of our students. I am excited for everything that Lorin Eden Science will be able to offer in 2021. Here’s some of what you can expect :
- More experiments and engineering projects! Now that all students have received Science Kits, we’ll be able to do many more hands-on activities from home. I will be incorporating projects into my curriculum, and offering lots of opportunities for students and families to explore and experiment independently (the activity discussed in the New Year video is an example of an optional activity you can do with your kiddos).
- STEAM Fair! The Hayward STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics) fair will be virtual this year! I will encourage all students to participate, and help students on their projects in the coming months. Students can get started learning about the fair and thinking about what they’re going to do by visiting this website.
- Vaccines! We will be learning about the incredible work of scientists all over the world, and their achievements during this pandemic. The safe and effective vaccines developed by scientists for the SARS-CoV-2 virus (Covid-19) has already been distributed to over 12 million people worldwide! It’s truly a remarkable testament to the power of science. In the spring we will be learning about how vaccines work, why they are so safe, and why it is important to get vaccinated as soon as it is possible. It will be a great opportunity for students to explore how they can become the future scientists who can save the world!
Important Updates
Website
I have a new website! Visit it at StuartScience.com. I’m hopeful that creating the new site will fix problems reported from the old site, and improve communication to students and families. Watch the video below to learn how to use the website.
StuartScience.com will be your one-stop-shop for everything you’ll need related to science at Lorin Eden. Students and families will need to check it regularly because assignments and important updates will be posted there (as well as lots more fun stuff and extra credit activities).
There is a section of the site called Student Corner that is password protected and will only be available to the Lorin Eden community. Each class will have their own corner where I will post essential information like assignment for those students. Look out for an email from Mr. Haupert with the Student Corner password!
Lesson Recordings
Many students and families have requested that teachers start recording their lessons. I will therefore be doing my best to record lessons and post them to the password protected Student Corner. These recordings will not be a substitute for students regularly attending Zoom classes in person, but should be a helpful resource for those who need to occasionally miss a class due to technology or other problems. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding the recordings.
Prizes
I was so impressed by the over 425 videos that amazing Lorin Edeners made regarding their science kit materials. As promised there will be prizes for the students who made the most/best videos in each grade, and special prizes for the students who made the most videos in the school. Click here to see if your child won. Prizes will be available at Lorin Eden the next time teachers host a material pick up day.
Schedule
January 4th-8th is an “A week” which means that students in 4th, 5th, and 6th grade as well as in Ms. Baxter’s and Ms. Albert’s class will have live science Zoom classes. Next week (January 11th-15th) is a “B week” so 1st-3rd graders as well as Ms. William, Ms. Baxter and Ms. Albert’s class will have science Zooms. Please remember that students should log in at least 5 minutes before class starts to say hello and work out technical problems. Also remember that there will always be a science assignment for students to do on the weeks that they don’t have a Zoom with me. Go to the schedule page of the website for more details.
That’s all for now, thanks for being amazing! As always feel free to email me if you have any questions or concerns.
Stay curious,
Mr. Stuart
“Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art, starts with an act of imagination.”
– Jonah Lehrer