Reflecting on October

11/14/2016

November is already half over and I would be remiss if I blogged about November and ignored all the great things that happened in October. I'm so sorry for the delay in delivering this news but... as they say, better late then never… no?
So, to recap the whirlwind of October... there were so many great things going on – from robots, STEM, moles, and despots! Take a look...

TECHNO TICKS:
October 1, LOLHS hosted the annual Techno Tick Bash. The competition included several schools who brought their robots to compete and show off their stuff! It was absolutely amazing to see these robots work. The Commons had been transformed into the robot pits for each team and the Gym became the gaming floor. It was truly impressive to observe how these students maneuvered their robots. Each team beamed with pride and energy. Take a look!

STEM:
On October 8, Lucy Walters along with 8 students attended the “ Women in STEM” program at Conn College which was created by students from Connecticut College and promotes science education for girls with the hope that participants will enjoy themselves while applying the basic themes of science in a practical, experimental context. Women in STEM is held twice a year. Teams of no more than 4 girls competed in events that focus on Science (forensics), Technology (Computer Science), Engineering (building a tower), and Math (recognizing patterns). Each event was a 30 minute task that the teams performed to obtain a result or measurement. The challenges required teamwork, planning and lateral thinking.

We had two teams representing LOLHS. A "senior" team of Marissa Smith, Olivia Reneson, Laura Lee Wayland, and sophomore Hannah Morrison. Our "sophomore" team was Sophie Kyle, Emily Tan, Aoife Hufford, and Kathryn Atkinson. The morning sessions included the competitions and for the afternoon sessions, students participated in tours of the greenhouse, the observatory and two chemistry labs. There was also a discussion panel where the high school students could ask the college students about anything. The best thing about it was that it was all run by women. The competition events, the person in charge of the observatory, the tour of the chemistry labs and all the work... all women!

At the end of the day - our senior team won the competition! The program is highly recommended to all girls thinking about a career in any of these fields.

MOLE DAY SCIENCE LESSON
Celebrated annually on October 23rd from 6:02 AM to 6:02 PM, Mole Day commemorates Avogadro's Number (6.02 x 1023), which is a basic measuring unit in chemistry.
For a given molecule, one mole is a mass (in grams) whose number is equal to the atomic mass of the molecule. For example, a water molecule has an atomic mass of 18. Therefore, one mole of water weighs 18 grams and contains 6.02 x 1023 water molecules. In general, one mole of any substance contains Avogadro's Number (6.02 x 1023 molecules or atoms) of that substance. This relationship was first discovered by Amadeo Avogadro (1776-1858).
Take a look at some videos that might deepen your understanding of... THE MOLE!

On Friday, October 21 I was invited in to Chemistry classes to see what Mole Day means to LOLHS students. Students had to create and present to the class their representation of the mole. Projects included a crossword puzzle for the Mole Day Holiday, an amazing diorama with the engine as the mole and all the cars have elements on them. Students created children's books depicting the life of a mole, a homemade stuffed mole, posters, a mole day take on the pac man game, another used elements to spell out the words and one is a 3D version complete with candy that matches the element like candy corn for calcium (Ca) and Heath Bars for helium (He). Finally, one made a video of MDN... MOLE DAY NEWS... Take a look at some of our students' creative work!

The History Lesson:
In AP European History, students demonstrated their understanding about the European State Consolidation of the 17th and 18th Centuries. In groups, students took on the characters of the key players in Central / Eastern Europe, Russian, England and France. Each group had to highlight pertinent information by creating and presenting to the class the most important facts... in persona! Take a look at how much fun these students had!

With a Whole Lot O Spirit!
October concluded with a fun filled week full of SPIRIT! Each day of the week students dressed in assigned attire to earn spirit credits for their class - from PJs, salad dressing, holidays and finally their class color. During lunches each day, students participated in some sort of lunch room competition. On Thursday evening, the freshman class gathered to enjoy pizza and some class bonding when they designed and decorated their section of the gym in preparation for the pep rally... getting a leg up on the other classes with decorations. Friday was the culminating day filled with color for the rainbow: orange/yellow for the Freshman, Sophomores wore their new red 'SOPH' t-shirts, Juniors were a sea of green and Seniors, blue. During the Pep Rally, Student Leaders facilitated some fun-filled competitions between the classes. After the Pep Rally, the Gymnasium was transformed by the Student Leaders into a dance floor for our annual Homecoming Dance. I must say that this was probably the most 'spirited' spirit weeks we have ever had at LOLHS. It was great to witness such pride that our students have in our school community. Lots of fun was had by all.
(pictures are to follow... sorry)