Ridgevue Debate Guest Speakers

5th graders enjoyed a visit from a few members of the Ridgevue Debate team and Mrs. Drew the Speech and Debate teacher. They got to participate in a miniature version of a congressional debate. Students "wrote bills" and debated them. This was amazing to hear and they did an amazing job for impromptu debates! I was so engaged, I even forgot to take much footage. . . Check out a very short video of some of the hour long visit from the Debate team.

Squid Dissection

Smelly yet scientific describe our day! Thursday our 4th graders dissected squid and closely examined the internal and external anatomy. What an amazing experience! Thank you Mrs. Duerksen and all the parent volunteers that supported our young scientists!

A Day of Exploration

This week 4th graders welcomed a real biologist into the classroom. Mr. Trovillion, our mentor for raising trout in the classroom came in and shared his experiences as a biologist and some truly fascinating facts about rainbow trout! We learned SO much from him! Students were also introduced to classification and taxonomy through an activity that had them sorting objects. Before it was time to go, we had an opportunity to glow. Actually we learned about bioluminescence and participated in an activity that had students trying to find their own species in a dark room, where the only language was light. (Morse code signals). See footage of our busy day in the video below.

Real-World Sleuths

Officer Hobson and Mrs. Koho joined third graders today to share their real-world sleuth skills. Students were able to learn about various areas of police work and forensic science. We saw photos of the crime lab and learned about some of their high-tech methods to collect and examine evidence. Then students were able to use magnetic fingerprint powder, explore with an alternate light source (to find prints in a dark room), and ask questions. Did you know prints can be pulled off of a sheet of paper? We watched Mrs. Koho use a chemical and an iron to expose prints off of a plain old sheet of printer paper! Take a peek at some of these activities in the following video: