MidTerms

It's almost 2014 already! Woohoo! But, with the New Year also comes a time of reflection for students on the first semester of the school year. I've been thinking about my grades, how efficient I've been working, ways in which I could improve as a student, and of course how my midterms went! Midterms are exams that happen in the five core classes (Math, Science, Social Studies, Language Arts, and Spanish) right before Christmas break. They test your knowledge of all the material covered in the first semester of the year. Both seventh and eighth grade had all five exams this year while sixth grade had none. We had a new exam each day and the exams were an hour and a half with an hour of independent study time before hand. The eighth graders got to go home at noon when there exams were finished to study for the following tests. These tests factor into our overall grade greatly and are extremely stressful. Thankfully, though, in every class we received a study guide to answer the week beforehand which would help us complete the test. Never the less, I will admit that the exams were tough! Each exam had a new set of challenges but I was well prepared for them. By Tuesday of exam week it felt like midterms would never end but I pushed through along with my fellow students and remained confident in myself.  For the eighth graders, most of the exam grades have already been posted. How well did you do?

pH Lab

In Science, we have been doing a lab about pH. pH is the measure of how acidic or basic a solution is. It measures how many hydronium ions are present in the solution. The more hydronium ions, the more acidic. The less hydronium ions, the more basic. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, 0 being a very strong acid, 7 being neutral, and 14 being a very strong base. An example of a common acid is vinegar, or citric acid found in fruits. An example of a base is soap or an antacid.
In the lab we did, Ms. Miller gave us 18 different liquids and we had to determine if they were an acid or a base using blue and red litmus paper and cabbage juice. Litmus paper changes color according to whether it is an acid or base. Blue litmus paper will turn red if the solution is an acid and red litmus paper will turn blue if it is a base. We used both colors to help us test each solution. Cabbage juice has a natural indicator in it that reacts with different liquids. In addition to numbers, the pH scale also contains colors raging from red to pink, red being an acid, blue being neutral, and pink being a base. Cabbage juice will change the color of the solution you mix it with and match with the colors on the pH scale. After testing all the solutions with the litmus paper and the cabbage juice, we recorded all the data we collected about the pH of the liquids.

Spanish Culture Test

This Friday, we have a Spanish test. Now this is not some regular Spanish test, but a culture test. This means we are actually studying the culture of Spanish-speaking country. This test is all about Argentina. Now we haven't actually been taught the culture. We received the notes about it, but we did have to fill out some of it. We were given the notes before break, and told to review them throughout the week, since we are the Honors class. However I seriously doubt anyone actually did so. I did review but not to the extent I should have. See I learned, the way to study for culture, is to be apart of their culture. You must learn their attractions, celebrities, and any other fact about the country. I am hoping for a little bit of review before the test on Friday but I am going to have to study. Which reminds me, I should probably do that now. Wish me luck! Adios.