Thursday, May 15, 2014

Gryphon Announcements for 5/15/14


GRYPHON ANNOUNCEMENTS
For Thursday, May 15, 2014
 “L” Day – First final exams (L3 & L4)

·      Good luck to our track athletes who will compete this afternoon in sectionals to qualify for the state championships!  Go Gryphons!

·      Are you interested in sailing, or learning to sail?  Attend a very brief informational meeting about a new club forming – a Sailing Club, Friday, May16, 4:30 in room 104.

·      New club interest meeting – we’re starting a SECME chapter (SouthEastern Consortium of Minorities in Engineering) at the L&N.  In this case, a “minority” is described as an under-represented group in STEM fields, so this is not about ethnic minorities, it is also gender – so girls, come on!  We’ll also be discussing plans for a fall college visitation trip overnight somewhere for fall 2014.  Come find out more Friday, May 16 at 9:00 in room 104.

·      Our STEM Venturing Crew (0101) will be having a pancake breakfast this Saturday from 8:00 – 10:00 at the Chili’s on Mabry Hood Rd.  Tickets are $5 per person – see student Eric O’Reilley to purchase.

·      This Friday, May 16 your parents need to use alternate pick up locations after school.  World’s Fair Park Drive will be closed due to an event.

·      Don’t forget to bring your signed permission slips for early dismissal next week – due tomorrow!

·      You will receive information today by email about summer school options.  Please look it over and send questions to administration or guidance.  This is a good opportunity to stay on track to graduate on time!

·      Today is a big day for our STEM classes. A year and a half ago, a group of our students took lab tours at ORNL as a reward for winning a STEM class challenge. On the way home, students designed a study based on the research conducted at ORNL’s marine biology lab. Later that spring, STEM 2 Natural Sciences wrote the methodology and worked to get fishtanks donated to the school. This winter, the project continued as the now juniors formalized the research proposal and Clark Smith and his team of engineers daisy chained the fishtanks to a centralized pump and sump system. 

Students did not let frustrations with setbacks deter, as today we have crayfish swimming in the filtered water ready the marine biology study.  Five students have volunteered to come in over the summer and conduct the research they planed. We are all proud of the tenacious attitude maintained by those who have worked hard to make this long-term project reality, and we look forward to their published work. We expect these tanks to be used for many diverse projects in STEM and science classes for years to come.  Plans have already been drafted for an expansion into a hydroponic greenhouse so other students can develop and conduct research in marine biology or plant sciences.


Quote of the day from Walt Disney:
Around here, we don’t look backwards for very long . . . We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things because we’re curious . . . and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.


Practice L&N Habits every day: Collaboration, Critical thinking, Design, Innovation, Inquiry, & Professionalism

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