The school year have come and gone, but throughout the year, our QCMS GEMS have experienced STEAM to the fullest as they worked hard fullfilling its promises. 

This last quarter of SY 2014-15, our class focused on two of the STEAM areas: Math and Technology (IT). 

MATH: 
With our math sessions, we have covered the introduction to Pre-Algebra (simplifying expressions & equations by combining like terms) and Algebra (multiplying monomials and binomials). These sessions explored concepts in 7th grade math and honors math, whichever class they might end up with. 

Aside from algebra, we also revisited personal finance and microeconomics, through Gen-I-revolution, a free game-based app that explores personal investing, among others. Each of them have access to this online program and will be able to work on them this summer if they so desire.

Information Technology (IT): 

Our gems definitely rock IT, with video game design & development workshop. This quarter, we had a game design challenge using the  Game Star Mechanic, a free web-based game development platform where students play, design, publish, and rate video games. 

Twenty students submitted their games for everyone to play as part of the challenge. 2 students won the "best game designer award", Ryland Kealey & Genice Rose. Runners up for best male designers are Cole Denham & Jayden Page; while runners up for best female designers are Katherine Hesche & Megan Swan. Congratulations!

Another IT program we explored during this quarter was Coding with HTML & Javascript using Codecademy, another free online HTML tutorial and development platform, where they learned basic coding elements, tags, and attributes. This is a great way to learn and explore web design, whether as a hobby or a career option.

And finally, we tried our hands on the basics of graphic arts design using PIXLR Editor, a free web-based photoshop program, where they navigated through the tools bar and the layer options. They were able to create an animal family photo using only one animal, isolated from its original background, duplicated and manipulated to create different images. 


All of these IT treats should keep your tweens busy this summer, if they ran out of things to do under the sun!

It has been a wonderful year of STEAM learning. The gems truly sparkled during the year with all the awarded recognition for their hard work.

I thank all of you, parents, for the support you have extended to me and my program.

We all have a common goal: to make sure that your child gets every opportunity to become the best they can be.

I hope that what their learning experience in STEAM have inspired them to face the future with confidence.

To my gems, congratulations for completing 6th grade and I wish you the best in Junior High. 
Always remember to be your best and do the best you can.  

Our very own Taylor Anderson was presented a 2nd Place Award for the Stormwater Poster Competition at the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Auditorium in Phoenix AZ. Aside from being recognized at the awarding ceremony which was held in time for the Earth Day Celebration, Taylor also received some goodies as part of her winning prize. Taylor was accompanied by her parents during the event. 

Also winning a publication spot in the Maricopa County Calendar is Mickey Skutnik's Poster (above, right). He will be given his share of the prize next week at QCMS with the Environment Officer visiting our class to grace the occasion.

Congratulations, Taylor and Mickey!

Hello GEMS Community!

It has been a pawesome first couple of weeks of school at QCMS-G11! Thank you parents for your support and consideration on some ocassional glitches of our first few weeks in class. But we are off to a great start! Everyone in class putting in all their effort into making this year a successful one.

A couple of students had been voted by the whole class as Gems of the Week. Last week, Quinton was our Gem and this week, it's Corbyn. They both came home with our bestie Wildcat Mascot stuff toy and a Bag of Gold Nuggets!

Keep it up boys! Girls, you're up!!! 

Thank you GEMS family for coming out to support our PTO effort. I saw a lot of the students from our class there with their parents today. It was great to meet some of the family. Corbyn and Katherine were genrous enough to share their dancing moves! You rock! That's the spirit! You made me proud!

This weekend, we have a family homework which is part of our Social Science lesson: the Geologic Timeline. Below is the video clip that I am hoping every family could watch over the weekend and discuss some of the theories (Big Bang theory, Moon Formation theory, and  Evolution theory) covered by the video. The following are some questions that might start discussions among your family members.
 
Discussion Questions
.......................................................................................................................
1. Does the Big Bang Theory make sense based on the evidence presented? 
2. What role does hydrogen play in the universe? Why is it such an important element?
3. What processes take place inside stars? When did stars first appear in our universe?
4. What processes lead to the formation of the moon? Do you consider this theory as a valid posibility?
5. When do scientists in this documentary say life on Earth first appeared?
6. Do you agree with the Evolutionary evidence that were presented?
7. What are some of the reasons dinosaurs became extinct, and what was the result for humankind?
8. How did the ability to sustain fire help humans thrive?
9. What effect did the first Ice Age have on our planet?
10. What effect does changes in our climate have on the Earth's future? 

For Northern Hemisphere observers, August is usually regarded as "meteor month" with one of the best displays of the year reaching its peak near midmonth. That display is, of course, the annual Perseid meteor shower beloved by everyone from meteor enthusiasts to summer campers. 

The Perseid shower is expected to reach its peak at 8 p.m. EDT on August 12. The bright moon will rise the around 9:30 p.m. eastern time on Aug. 12 and 13, and shine brightly the rest of the night. To make matters worse, the full moon rising Sunday (Aug. 10) will be brighter than it usually is because this full moon, called a "supermoon," will be the closest of 2014.

Despite the bright, nearly full moon, stargazers should still be able to catch sight of some Perseid meteors. The best nights to look for Perseids will be this week rather than next. That’s because the Moon will be setting earlier in the night, leaving a moonless pre-dawn sky to observe meteors. The meteors themselves will be less frequent, because it’s well before their peak, but the darker moonless sky will make them easier to see. [The Perseid Meteor Shower: 10 Amazing Facts]

Baseball is back!

While the season officially started three weekends ago with a Dodgers-Diamondbacks (GO-DBACKS!) tilt in Australia and continued with another NL West battle on the night of March 30th—this time with the Dodgers and Padres—Opening Day represented the true start of the 2014 campaign.

After a long, cold winter—literally in most parts of America—baseball returned. As with most great events, it was worth the wait.

The biggest positive takeaway to this point may be the fact that AZ D-Back Miguel Montero is starting to hit and looks like he could again make an impact in the middle of the lineup.

PHYSICS IN ACTION

Baseball players don't know how to hit the ball, says inventor and retired science teacher John Garver. His tips could help baseball players double their batting averages. By applying the rules of physics, Garver has figured out strategies that could radically change the game -- if players will take his advice. 

• Baseball is not the only sport that illustrates physics phenomena. Consider how different sports -- football, soccer, bobsledding, hockey, bowling and others -- demonstrate the concepts of energy, work, friction and inertia. Would knowing the science behind a sport help a person become a better athlete? Why or why not?
  
  
• What makes a curve ball curve? The stitches on a ball actually make it curve. The pitcher's fingers hold the ball along a seam, so when the ball is thrown with a snapping motion, it has topspin. Friction provided by the stitches causes a thin layer of air to move around the spinning ball in such a way that air pressure on top of the ball is greater than on the bottom, causing the ball to curve downward -- and the batter to miscalculate the position of the ball. 
  
  
• The curve ball phenomenon described in the preceding paragraph occurs partly because of the relationship between the pressure of a fluid and its velocity. Does this principle sound familiar? It was determined by 18th-century Swiss scientist and mathematician Daniel Bernoulli and is known as the Bernoulli principle. According to this theory, the faster a fluid moves, the less pressure it exerts. Where do we usually see an application of Bernoulli's principle? (flight aerodynamics)
  
  
• How does the Bernoulli principle apply to baseball? A spinning baseball has more air turbulence on top of the ball, producing slower air speed over the ball. Meanwhile, air moving under the ball accelerates and moves faster, producing less pressure on the bottom of the ball. The ball moves downward faster than would normally be expected.

LINKS:
Exploratorium: https://www.exploratorium.edu/explore/staff_picks/sports_science
Science Channel: http://www.sciencechannel.com/video-topics/sports/the-physics-of-baseball-pitching.htm