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Science Newsletter 307
Science Newsletter
February 2019 Newsletter

The Science Department was definitely booming last semester as we welcomed our incoming Grade 9 and 10 Pre-IB students in September!  Our Grade 9 Science students were engaged in lots of fun laboratory experiments throughout the course.  The Grade 9 Science students also took a field trip to the Ontario Science Centre to explore Space and Space Technologies.  They got to see the IMAX film entitled, “Journey to Space.”  And, our Grade 10 Science students got creative by creating board games as their culminating activity to help review for their final exams.

In Grade 11 Physics, music and physics were fused together in a few activities where students needed to install apps on their phone to turn it into a decibel meter and sound frequency finder.
  Many of our music students really enjoyed this activity! And in our IB Physics (SL) course, students enjoyed throwing raw eggs in class!  The key is to throw and catch the eggs without breaking it.  To do this, they have to apply their knowledge of momentum that they learned in class.  Many students were excited as they went in front of a rocket to be launched to show projectile motion!  They also did some sophisticated sound analysis.  See the pictures below to get a glimpse of some of the exciting labs and demos conducted in our Physics classes this semester. 

I
n our Grade 12 Biology classes, students conducted a variety of labs Including extracting DNA from strawberries.  They also designed a lab on transport mechanisms and explored issues related to dialysis.  Our Grade 11 and 12 Chemistry students were also quite busy in the lab with their titrations and calorimetry experiments.  The highlight of the Chemistry course for many students was when they made fruit-smelling esters in their organic chemistry unit.  In our IB Chemistry (HL) course, students conducted explosive combustion reactions of gummy bears in high oxygen environments! 

Preparation for the annual academic competitions will begin later in February.  Students in Physics will have an opportunity to test their skills in the University of Toronto Leonardo da Vinci and the University of Waterloo Sir Isaac Newton contests at the Grade 12 level and the Physics Teachers Association of Ontario competition at the Grade 11 level.  Senior Biology students will compete in the University of Toronto National Biology contest.  Chemistry contests are offered by the University of Waterloo’s Avogadro competition in Grade 11 and Chem 13 News contest in Grade 12.  Please see your subject teacher if you would like to find out more about these competitions.

The York Region Science Olympics will be held in May at York University.  We are looking forward to giving some fierce competition again this year!  We will have 2 very enthusiastic junior and 2 senior teams who will be competing in the areas of Chemistry, Biology and Physics.  Please listen to the announcements or speak to any member of the Science Department if you are interested in being on the AMHS Science Olympics Team.

We are excited to have our HOSA Club again this year at AMHS!  Each year HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) Canada organizes Canada’s largest health science competition, featuring over forty competitive events. Some events are focused on developing profession-specific technical skills while others on important soft skills like teamwork, leadership and communication. For the Spring Conference, HOSA Canada is expecting a turnout of 3,000 students over two days at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on March 25-26th.  Our students are busy preparing for this exciting event!  We thank Ms. Anjum for supervising the HOSA Club.  The team meets every Wednesday after school in Room 284.

There are many opportunities for students to get involved in the Science Department.  We have a Science Club that meets every other Tuesday after school in Room 261.  We thank Mr. Martin for supervising this club.  Here, students have had the opportunity to do a variety of dissections, conduct chemistry experiments and so much more!  Also, we have a Lab Assistants Club that meets on Thursdays after school.  Lab assistants have the opportunity to set-up labs, organize and clean science equipment, make solutions and carry out various chemical reactions.  It is an excellent way to learn some chemistry and have fun at the same time!  All students will receive volunteer hours for their time.  If you are interested in either of these clubs, please speak to a science teacher.  We also offer peer tutoring or extra-help sessions every Tuesday and Thursday at lunch from 11:45 – 12:15 p.m. in Room 260.  We thank Ms. Elias for supervising the Science Peer Tutors.

We wish you much success as you begin a new semester.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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