1st Quarter Update

Hello chemistry parents and students!

The first quarter is officially over and I'm having a bit of a panic attack!  No, don't worry, all of my grades have been in for a while.  I'm talking about the fact that I have no pictures for this update!  That's a catastrophe...

We'll have to make do.  I'd like to first congratulate some students for a highly improved performance since the progress report.  When teachers give feedback (aka progress reports and the weekly grade postings in class, among other things) we love to see student response.  Some students have responded incredibly well.  Props to John F., Marie S., Bella M., Ben S., and Ashton A. for some monumental turnarounds in the second half of first quarter.  Some of these students saw as much as a 20 point increase between their scores on exam one and two, which truly must be celebrated.  Well done.

Speaking of excellent student work, in case you haven't been following the student blog posts of the week, take a second to browse some of your students' great responses, thoughts, and essays.  Some students are developing some excellent blogging techniques, but in particlar I'd like to shout out to Mandie C., Andre P., Katie F., Kristen R., Camila D., and Chris R. for some really exemplary blog posts and completion rates.  It's no secret that completing all of your homework is key to getting a good grade in high school and these students are proving it.

Recently, an extra credit project was assigned in which students got to design an iPod, iPhone, or iPad app on a topic we've covered in class so far.  Several students tried their hand at design, although two students in particular deserve special congratulations.  Jack B's iLab app was something that would be extremely useful in a lab where students could practice locating important pieces of lab equipment, and a teacher could keep tabs on which pieces were being used.  Erin W's app describing physical and chemical properties was phenomenal, with such a beautifully designed interface that would be incredibly useful for any chemistry student.  Nice job guys.

Finally, congratulations are in order for students that have been performing well on exams so far this year.  Chemistry is a hard class and my exams are not designed to be easy.  Congratulations to the following students for maintaining an A- or above average on all their exams this quarter:
Kate F.
Gordon H.
Zach M.
Erin W.
Kevin B.
Fernanda N.

Happy thanksgiving, and let's start the second quarter out with a bang: calorimetry exam on monday!

   

Post of the Week: Mandie C.

Changes In My Kitchen?: Mandie posted this great narrative on what's going on in her kitchen. Check it out!