Week of 10/14

Hello! We have a decently exciting week planned! Sort of!

Here's the breakdown:

 Monday 10/14: Columbus Day! We are off of school, but you should be studying for tomorrow's quiz.

Tuesday 10/15: Quiz #6, followed by a class work activity on mitosis. Nothing is due and you have no homework.

Wednesday 10/16: Lab Day! We are doing another lab involving microscopes. LAB REPORT IS DUE FRIDAY. There will be 10th period for anyone wishing to have help on their lab reports (or to finish back work, or to retake tests and quizzes...).

 Thursday 10/17: Levels of Organization! We will be taking notes and discussing how cells are organized to make whole organisms. Homework: Page 105, #1,2,3, and 5

 Friday 10/18: Vocabulary Day! We have had a lot of new vocabulary since our last test. We will be doing a class work assignment to reinforce it all before we move on. Due: Lab report, and page 105. Homework: TBD Have fun!

Parents: as always, you can feel free to contact me at alamena@johnstownschools.org

Edited for formatting issues at 9:43 pm Monday.

Welcome 2013 7th Graders!

Hello! Welcome to the LaMenaScience blog! I will be posting weekly updates on what is going on in class (just in case you miss a day), along with cool supplemental material. Parents: As always, you can feel free to email me at alamena@gmail.com if you have any questions, concerns, or comments. Kids: Same goes for you. :) See you in class!

Sponges RECOMBINE?!

Apparently if a sponge is broken apart into its separate cells, those cells will then get back together to form a new sponge.  Watch it happening here.

Seriously?!  Sponges have to win some sort of coolness award for this.

You're Not the Only One

I just came across this very beautiful video.  It deals with the effect of bullying.  Give it a look (but you might need some tissues).

http://www.upworthy.com/bullies-called-him-pork-chop-he-took-that-pain-with-him-and-then-cooked-it-into

Skin!

Remember the other day when we talked about skin?  Remember when we said that the top layer of the epidermis is actually dead skin cells that fall off all the time as a way of protecting you?  Well, that leads us to this wonderfully gross fact:

80% of dust is actually human skin cells.

Sort of makes you want to clean stuff, huh?  Bust out those vacuums.
Your parents will thank you.
And hopefully that case of the heebiejeebies you just got will subside.

Skeletal System

Want to get smarter about your skeletal system?  I found THIS VERY COOL SITE RIGHT HERE that gives you more info, and even links to some pretty challenging quizzes.

Give it a try!

Blobfish

Behold, the Blobfish!  

This odd-looking fish (also called a fathead...for obvious reasons) lives deep in the waters around Australia.  It has no swim bladder, and no muscles!  Instead, it has this gelatinous body that allows it to float just above the sea level, eating whatever floats in front of it.  

Also, when I feel really sick (like I do today), it is my patronus.

There's more interesting blobfish information here.