6th Grade Class - STEM Temecula Christmas Parade - 12-7-12

PARADE

The parade has always been one of our favorite group activities. It is so nice to get all dressed up to spread holiday cheer to our community.The kids did a great job (as always) and our fabulous parents joined in too. We really are very fortunate to have such supportive families. We wish all of you a safe and joyous holiday season. 

Article and Picture of STEM in the Press Enterprise:

http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/temecula/temecula-headlines-index/20121207-temecula-parade-lightens-old-towns-holiday-spirits.ece

TEMECULA: Parade lightens Old Town’s Holiday spirits

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BY NELSY RODRIGUEZ 

STAFF WRITER 

December 07, 2012; 09:32 PM 

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As bright and sparkly as a Christmas tree, the annual Temecula Lights Parade kicked off the holiday season Friday, Dec. 7, in Old Town.

Thousands of residents from every city in southwest Riverside County lined the streets of Old Town as the parade offered a feast for the eyes and ears.

“It's beautiful, look at all the people,” said Dean Savatmand of Murrieta as a float carrying a snow maker passed, shooting white snow flakes into the air. “Some people have never seen the snow.”

The parade featured old-time favorites such as a pack of dachshunds, numerous high school bands and cheerleaders in flirty festive costumes.

Other parade standards included members of Temecula City Council who stopped to thank the crowds for their support, and reminded them of other holiday activities. They offered blessings and well-wishes and even led the crowds to sing Christmas carols.

“The kids love it,” said new Temecula resident Lisa Pizdar, who brought her best friend's grandchildren to the parade. “They're out there break dancing in the street, having a blast.”

The sights also included vintage cars dressed in lights, kids groups, public safety displays and a bevy of Santa beards.

And, much to the pleasure of 2-year-old Audrey Grilley, several buses with lighted, spinning wheels. The excited toddler told her mom, Jessica Grilley, that she had no interest in meeting Santa but would have loved to ride on a lighted bus.

“That's the reason we're here,” she said. “She loves lights. She's really into it.”

On Friday, Dec. 14, Temecula will present a winter wonderland block party featuring kid’s activities, snow, Santa visits and other treats. That event also will be held in Old Town and is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

6th Grade Field Trip - Bates Nut Farm - November 8, 2012

http://batesnutfarm.biz/

Bates Nut Farm Educational Tours

We offer a variety of group tours and educational experiences that are enjoyed by all ages.

“Nuts For You” Tour: Year round except in October

Located just minutes from Escondido, a visit to Bates Nut Farm gives your group the opportunity to spend time on the farm.  Learn about the history of the Bates family and farm, starting in 1921 with Gilbert Bates and his “Walnut Slope Ranch”. Learn about how the ranch evolved from walnut trees to the retail business it is today. Find out how about how nuts get from the tree to your table.  Your tour includes:

• Bates Nut Farm History
• California Agriculture Nut History
• Learn how various nuts are grown and harvested
• Identification of various nuts
• Nutritional values & uses
• Behind the scenes tour of the roasting, packaging and storage area at Bates Nut Farm
• Marketing from the farm to the market
• Hayride
• Bag of corn to feed the animals
• Personal snack bag

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Notes From My Cell: 

Has seeds and start with flowers. Are fruits.

All pumpkins are girls...

Sisters of pumpkin: 
Knucklehead, ghost pumpkin, fairy tail or Cinderella pumpkin, on inside of pumpkin is orange no matter what color on the outside.

Cousins of pumpkin, squash, turbin squash, watermelon, gourds, cucumber - all fruit.

Big mac pumpkin - Plant on June 1. Harvest on Sept 27.

90-120 days to grow pumpkins.

"Jack be little" pumpkin takes 4 months to grow. 

Bottom of pumpkin was flower. 

Agriculture - farming of vegetable fruits nuts. CA #1 agriculture state in US. 

Nuts grow on trees. Almonds, Pistachios, Cotton. CA leading state to produce cotton to ship. 

Will never find a raw pistachio. Has to be roasted because of fungus.

How to harvest nuts- big tractor and shake the tree and nuts fall to ground. Machine vacuum them up off the floor. 

Small amt of almonds has as much fiber as an apple. 

Cashews are grown in Brazil on trees. On tree is fruit. One fruit produces 1 cashew. Fruit is very toxic to touch. Can eat the fruit on inside. Only workers become immune to it.

Pecans. Georgia, North Carolina.

Brazil nuts, pine nuts, hazelnut. Macadamia nuts have the highest fat content. 

Peanuts are root vegetables. They are related to green been. Legume. 

6th Grade Field Trip - Brass Rubbings Medieval Times - November 1, 2012

Many old English churches house monumental brasses.  Made of flat sheets of brass, the pieces are engraved with figures, coats of arms and sometimes inscriptions.  They are set in a stone slab on the floor or wall of the church.  Some are over 600 years old.

In great Britain during the Middle Ages the social systems were such that each local lord of the manor dominated the village and the church.  When the lord died, he was commemorated in his local abbey, cathedral, or village church according to his status.

Through the twelfth century stone and marble memorials, mostly recumbent statues were the usual forms of memorial. These statues filled every available space, wore badly and probably were not the medium for eternal memorials.

Memorial engravings on brass plates were more durable.  Space savers, they could be walked upon and cost no more than marble or stone.

Brass plates were brought from Cologne, France.  Transportation costs were enormous.  Brass was brought slowly and laboriously by horse and cart or down river by boat to the sea, then by boat across the channel and the North Sea and finally along muddy, stony roads by horse and cart to the engravers’ workshops.

The earliest English brasses date from 1275.  The early fifteenth century produced the finest monumental brasses.  The indents in the floors of the early churches remind us of the thousands and thousands of brasses.  Many of the finest were destroyed by the wholesale destruction of the great abbeys, the Cromwellians who plundered and the Royalists who used brass for munitions.  Elizabeth I issued edicts strictly forbidding any damage or mutilation of monuments to the dead and demanded restoration and repair of damaged monuments.  Brasses that survived other disasters offended Victorians who ripped them up and laid tile.

From the remaining military, ecclesiastical and civilian brasses, we learn much about the life, fashion, armor and customs of the villages, churches, and castles of the Middle Ages.

http://stlukeslb.org/StLukes/brass.html

Brass Rubbing - Griffon

Mama's Brass Rubbing

Description:  See a display of over 100 brass markers depicting medieval life.  Make waxed reproductions. (A piece of history you can take home).  Victorian Tea by Reservation.

Event Maximum and Minimum Costs: Admission to the exhibit is free.  Cost for materials start as low as $5.00.  Group rates for rubbing and for tea.  Mats and ready-made rubbings also available for sale.

Group rate details:  Groups of eight or more by reservation only.  Includes docent talk.  Tea and Rubbing--Adults:  $23.00, children (K-12) $13.00.  Rubbing only:  $6.50 (for any brass with standard price up to $8.00).

Event Website Address:  http://stlukeslb.org/StLukes/brass.html

Event Ticket Link:

Event Date:  October 24 - November 17

Event Start Time: 9:30 AM 

Event End Time: 4 PM

Event Phone number:              (562)439-9496      

Event Email:  brass.rubbing.lb@gmail.com

Event Location:  525 E. 7th St., Long Beach CA 90813-4503

6th Grade Field Trip - West Wing - Oval Office - Oct 26, 2012

http://www.qualitywestwing.org/

Every student's introduction to our government should be one that leaves a lasting impression of how fortunate they are to be living in America.

Naturally a trip to Washington, D.C. featuring a tour of Capitol Hill, viewing the Congress and the Senate in session, along with seeing our Supreme Court in action would be the most desirable. But now, there is a local option for your students.

Students will be given the opportunity to experience hands-on learning including: A film describing the obstacles our founding fathers overcame in establishing our government. Tests and puzzles to challenge student's knowledge of our government and its structure. Biographies describing the lives of famous Presidents. A detailed scale model of Capitol Hill including our famous monuments. Detailed replicas depicting the interiors and the House, Senate, and Supreme Court buildings in session. The Oval Office - the highlight of the tour. Entering the Oval Office will take your breath away. An interactive computer program that simulates a day in the life of the President of the United States. In this program a student can write a bill, balance the budget, nominate judges for the Supreme Court, do a press conference as well as learn about other important events that occurred during other presidential administrations.

U.S. Senate

An exact replica built by Hollywood set designers, this will be an experience one will not soon forget. Bring your cameras for a photo opportunity with the "President of the United States of America" in the Oval Office. We believe that this hands-on tour of Capitol Hill will be a memorable learning experience that will enhance your classroom curriculum. We certainly hope to see you and your class at the Quality West Wing Oval Office Tour - Washington D.C. right in your own back yard!

6th Grade Classes - S.T.E.M - October 20, 2012

Our Projects

Jitterbugs

The kids had a great time building their Jitterbugs. I was surprised how skilled some of them were at stripping wire. They all hooked up their own motors and power source. After we got them jittering, the kids started decorating. We used googly eyes, pipe cleaners, and puff balls. For seasonal fun, we played with dry ice. We learned dry ice is not frozen water but carbon dioxide. When we add it to warm water, and maybe some soap, we get some spooky results.

Jitterbug Video

6th Grade Experiments - October 15, 2012

Solar Power Kit

Explore the world of Solar Power energy. How does energy of the sun make things work?

Kit Includes:

PV Solar Cell

Motor

Diffraction Foil Disc

6th Grade Field Trip - Bar Mitzvah - October 13, 2012

 Bar Mitzvah -  (Abe's Co-workers son)

Bar Mitzvah and Bat Mitzvah

"Bar Mitzvah" literally means "son of the commandment." "Bar" is "son" in Aramaic, which used to be the vernacular of the Jewish people. "Mitzvah" is "commandment" in both Hebrew and Aramaic. "Bat" is daughter in Hebrew and Aramaic. (The Ashkenazic pronunciation is "bas"). Technically, the term refers to the child who is coming of age, and it is strictly correct to refer to someone as "becoming a bar (or bat) mitzvah." However, the term is more commonly used to refer to the coming of age ceremony itself, and you are more likely to hear that someone is "having a bar mitzvah" or "invited to a bar mitzvah."

So what does it mean to become a bar mitzvah? Under Jewish Law, children are not obligated to observe the commandments, although they are encouraged to do so as much as possible to learn the obligations they will have as adults. At the age of 13 (12 for girls), children become obligated to observe the commandments. The bar mitzvah ceremony formally, publicly marks the assumption of that obligation, along with the corresponding right to take part in leading religious services, to count in aminyan (the minimum number of people needed to perform certain parts of religious services), to form binding contracts, to testify before religious courts and to marry.

In its earliest and most basic form, a bar mitzvah is the celebrant's first aliyah. During Shabbat services on a Saturday shortly after the child's 13th birthday, or even the Monday or Thursday weekday services immediately after the child's 13th birthday, the celebrant is called up to the Torah to recite a blessing over the weekly reading.

Today, it is common practice for the bar mitzvah celebrant to do much more than just say the blessing. It is most common for the celebrant to learn the entire haftarah portion, including its traditional chant, and recite that. In some congregations, the celebrant reads the entire weekly torah portion, or leads part of the service, or leads the congregation in certain important prayers. The celebrant is also generally required to make a speech, which traditionally begins with the phrase "today I am a man." The father traditionally recites a blessing thanking G-d for removing the burden of being responsible for the son's sins (because now the child is old enough to be held responsible for his own actions).

In modern times, the religious service is followed by a reception that is often as elaborate as a wedding reception.

In Orthodox and Chasidic practice, women are not permitted to participate in religious services in these ways, so a bat mitzvah, if celebrated at all, is usually little more than a party. In other movements of Judaism, the girls do exactly the same thing as the boys.

This was his first time at a Bar Mitzvah. A touching ceremony. Amazing family with love, compassion, warmth and faith. A great experience!!!

6th Grade Field Trip - Big Horse Corn Maze - October 12, 2012

 It typically can take one-two hours to do the whole maze at a gingerly pace. Remember, there’s a lot of back-tracking and getting lost. The corn stalks are generally 6-7' tall, so you’re really inside a large living multi-path puzzle. 11+ acre’s of corn maze.

http://www.bighorsecornmaze.com/

Took the kids about 2 hours to get out of the maze. They had  a Super Fun time!!!

6th Grade Field Trip - Independence Hall Knott's Berry Farm - 10-10-12

Independence Hall - Knott's Berry Farm

Walter Knott's deep love of country and home drove him to build the country's only brick-by-brick replica of Independence Hall. It is complete with an exact replica of the Liberty Bell. The hall is offered as a free-admission educational resources to visitors and Orange County residents.

Independence Hall opened in 1966. It is an authentic 3/4 scale, replica of the original Independence Hall in Philadelphia, complete with a 2,075-pound Liberty Bell, weighing only five pounds less than the original. Listen to a re-enactment of a debate over the Declaration of Independence or examine other historical displays. It received a complete restoration in 1998.

The land across Beach Boulevard from Knott's Berry Farm and next door to Independence Hall used to have wide green lawns, a small lake and a train ride. This attraction was replaced in the 1980s to make way for more parking and for a corporate/large group party area.