ST. A TODAY -- MAY 2017 ST A TODAY--MAY 2017 FINISHED COPY | Page 5

Learning Connections
FORM II STUDIES THE WEATHER
By Mrs. Agnew
Form II has been studying weather. On March 23, the students made their own anemometers. An anemometer
measures wind speed. Although these simple anemometers do not measure wind speed, they did spin in the windy
weather. When the students came inside, they watched several videos of other homemade anemometers. Who
knows, we may have some budding meteorologists in Form II!
DECISIONS FOR SUCCESS: FORM V MAKES BOOKS
By Mrs. Schmitz
After reading The Young Traveler’s Gift and The Noticer, both by Andy Andrews, Form V made
their own fabric-covered books containing Seven Decisions for Success. The Young Traveler’s Gift
revolves around a teenager who is learning to take responsibility for himself and his actions, and
how decisions he makes now affect the whole course of his life. The buck stops here. I will seek
wisdom. I am a person of action. I have a decided heart. Today, I will choose to be happy. I will
greet this day with a forgiving spirit. I will persist without exception. The students reflected on how
each decision can be applied in their own lives and decision-making processes. The final entry is a
personal letter from the Noticer, himself, and contains suggestions about how to plant the seeds of
happiness and accomplishment in our own lives and in the lives of others. We agreed that these
books are uplifting reading for those students who are ready to step into the world of high school
next year!
THE COLA LAB
By Gabe Kraus
This trimester, the middle school students participated in a cola lab to identify the percentage
of students who could correctly identify various brands of cola. In Form IV, 0% of the students
could correctly identify all three brands of cola. However, 75% could identify one correctly. In
Form V, one student identified all three brands of cola, and 50% of the students correctly identified
at least one. In the entire middle school, only five students out of twenty did not identify any
brands of cola correctly. My hypothesis regarding who would correctly identify the most cola
brands was correct. Although one of the students in Form V clearly knew her colas, a larger
percentage of Form IV could identify at least one! Although no one in the middle school had ever
tasted the store brand cola, the majority of our class thought it was the best! This was a very fun
lab and our taste buds enjoyed every second of it!