Science newsletter issue 2 jksls

North Bergen Science

Issue #2 January 2016

NORTH BERGEN SCIENCE Congratulations Max

ISSUE 2 : 1-20-16

Accepted into the SMART 2016 Winter Academy

CONTENTS The Greenhouse

Pg 1 The Second STEM cohort

Pg 2 Buhler Space Center Congratulations to Max Quevedo Jr. one of our STEM students that was accepted to into the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Science Medicine and Related Topics (SMART) 2016 Winter Academy. We are all very proud of you and good luck

Pg 3

THE GREEN HOUSE The environmental club began this year reorganizing and cleaning the greenhouse to begin the task of growing flowers and vegetables. When they began their work the structure lay dormant with nothing growing inside expect for one tomato plant. Time has passed and I am now pleased to share the pictures and discuss the flourishing greenhouse even as we are in extremely cold months.

Many individuals in the community or the high school have donated plants to the environmental club, for instance, Mr. Quinlan who donated a Banana tree, Mr. Lacera, donated a beautiful hanging arrangements, and Mrs. Chytrak donated mums and multiple flowering seeds. The environmental club has also begun growing: lima

North Bergen Science

Issue #2 January 2016

CONTINUED beans, radishes, lettuce, peppers, and wild flowers. Every day the plants grow stronger and healthier due to the dedication of Rene Lopez and his assistant Mr. Keshishian. We will continue to follow this story and hopefully show you the fruits of our labor at the end of the year.

A little seed for me to sow A little earth to make it grow A little hole, a little pat, A little wish, and that is that, A little sun, a little shower.

A little while And then, a flower! ~Unknown

Our Second S.T.E.M. Cohort - Class of 2020 The North Bergen S.T.E.M. Committee chaired by Mr. Keshishian started the selection process for our second S.T.E.M. Academy Cohort – Class of 2020.

This year the competition has been vigorous with over 30 applicants from invitees to North Bergen and Guttenberg’s best and brightest.

These applicants went through a rigorous application process: a 4 hours entrance exam involving Math, Science and cognitive skills, along with preparing an essay and submitting recommendation letters.

The S.T.E.M. Committee feels that the application process prepares students with important skills that will be reapplied when they go through the college application process. This will help students understand that work is required to obtain what you want. We will continue to keep you up to date on the progress of for our second cohort.

2

North Bergen Science

Issue #2 January 2016

(S.T.E.M. Cohort continued‌) In the next issue you will meet our next cohort and get to know a bit more about them.

Buhler Challenger Space Center Many of you may remember the tragedy that occurred on January 26th, 1986. The Challenger Space Shuttle exploded killing the entire crew due to a malfunction in an O-ring on the booster rocket.

Centers were set up all over the country to continue the memory of these brave astronauts.

The Buhler Challenge Space Center located in Paramus New Jersey gives students the illusion of being on a space ship and working together through communication with their classmates in Mission control. The Lesson allowed for great team building and a understanding of light, sound, and experimentations that occur in space.

The Students really embraced the team building exercises and understood the importance of working in a team. 21st Century Education prepares our students to work in a team atmosphere, and learning how to communicate is an essential tool for all students. Most future careers will require workers to have superior team communication skills.

The Mission that the students were required to complete was to simulate landing a probe onto a meteor.

Our students were assigned DATA, COM, MED, and other stations. They had to learn their tasks from folders, complete experiments, and relay the information to the counterparts at mission control.

The experience was a great success and we have many more scientific, academic and laboratory skill events ready for our cohorts, which you will read more about in our third issue. See some great pictures from the trip and as always if you have any questions or want to get involved, Please reach out to Jared Keshishian at Jkeshishian3@northbergen.k12.nj.us Phone: 201-295-2835 Every Human Has A Finite Number of Heartbeats. I don’t intend to waste any of mine ~Neil Armstrong Issue 2: Jan. 8, 2016 by Jared Keshishian

3