Science Expo Day!

Today we celebrated all of the wonderful science we do here at Parker with our annual Science Expo Day. During this early release day, the entire school does nothing but science for the entire morning. Our Team designed and built 2-L soda bottle rockets. Unfortunately, due to the lousy weather, we weren't able to shoo them off. So, instead, we did 3 different activities. One, we built straw rockets and shot them off in the gym using air pressure. Two, we did a food nutrition label reading activity. And third, we built straw rockets powered by a balloon. Here are a few pictures of some of the things we did.

Parker Middle School Bird-A-Thon 2009 Results - Friday, May 15th

It looks like we'll end up with 33 species of birds seen/heard here on the grounds of the school. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate and bring in the number of migrating birds I had hoped for. But, be that as it may, we still had a good time, saw lots of birds, and raised some money for the bird garden!

We found the nest of the mallard duck that has been seen here the past couple of weeks. The eggs are gone, so we hoped they hatched and their mother lead them to water.

Other highlights included up close looks at a House wren, a Yellow warbler, a Red-winged blackbird, 2 Gray catbirds, a Baltimore oriole, a Gray catbird flying right between Maddie and me, and great looks a Red-tailed hawk be mobbed by a mixed flock of Grackles and Red-winged blackbirds.

Parker Middle School Bird-A-Thon 2009 Results


Birds seen/heard on the grounds of the school through Friday, May 15th were:

1. Common grackle
2. Mallard duck
3. Red-winged blackbird
4. Mourning dove
5. Crow
6. Goldfinch
7. Phoebe
8. House wren
9. House sparrow seen on
10. Song sparrow Wednesday
11. Flicker
12. Robin
13. Yellow warbler
14. Yellow-rumped warbler
15. Chimney swift
16. Tufted titmouse
17. Black-capped chickadee
18. Chipping sparrow
19. Starling
20. Downy woodpecker
21. Gray catbird
22. Warbling vireo
23. Ring-billed gull
24. Fish crow
25. Blue jay seen on
26. Red-tailed hawk Thursday
27. Blackpoll warbler
28. Eastern kingbird
29. White-breasted nuthatch
30. Herring gull seen on
31. Baltimore oriole Friday

32. Tree swallow

33. Green-backed heron (2) flyovers

Element of the Day - Tuesday, May 12th

Who am I? I am a light, but strong, silver colored, non-magnetic metal used in buildings, sports equipment, and pots and pans.E-mail me with your answer. Include the element's chemical symbol.
image from: i.ivillage.com

Element of the Day - Tuesday, May 6th, 2009

Who am I? I am a yellow colored, solid, non-metal. A compound of me can smell like rotten eggs. Compounds of me are used in making rubber, some medicines, and some fertilizers. Approximately 85% of me is converted to H2SO4. I am an essential component of all living cells.
E-mail me with your answer at dwilliams@reading.k12.ma.us Include the element's chemical symbol.Image taken from: dl.unew.edu.com

Student Plays - Greek Myths

Students in groups 66 & 67 performed their plays of several different Greek myths last week. They did a great job! The plays were: The Story of Theseus & Minotaur, The Story of Echo & narcissis, The Story of Odysseus & His Travels, and The Story of Atalanta.

Mr. Olivo streamed the plays live over the internet for friends and family to watch live at home!