Unit 6 Plants

This unit was probably one of the most interesting because we got to study the way plants around us influence our existence as well as see how they reproduce. Though this was a big part of the time period, Science Olympiad took the mot energy. We will get into that a little but later. We have about one more week until we are in the last 9 weeks of 8th grade. This year went by fast! We are already prepping for graduation. I will share my thoughts on that near the end of the year. At the end of the year, I have an exam called the EOC which gives me credit for high school. 

We did several labs this unit. We are getting into dissections, which I think is great for us to actually do the dissecting like people would in the real world. We started the dissection part of this lab with a pickle dissection. In this lab, we learned how to use the dissection tools. We cut the pickle in half and took out the seeds. This was probably the most interactive lab we have done so far this year. I thought this was pretty cool:

After that, we had a plant tissue lab where we got to dissect and look under the microscope. In this lab, we used a bean and corn. We learned many new things in this lab that correlated with our notes.

We then continued onto a flower lab. In this lab, we dissected a flower, we identified the male and female parts which helped me understand the content better. 






I have been in Science Olympiad for three years, this year, I have earned the team captain title. Back in December of last year, we participated in an invitational which helped us prep for the Regionals event which was March 4. Unfortunately, Mrs. G. was not able to make it due to personal reasons. So that meant I had to step up and organize and lead the team. I will be completely honest, this tired me out very easily. But in a weird way, it was good.  Anyways, everything went pretty smoothly and I do not think that there were any hangups. During the awards ceremony, I felt honored to earn one of the Top Male Competitors awards. This was coincidental due to the fact that I was "in charge" of the team. I am pretty sure I know who nominated me but regardless, it was great.  We earned 1st place which means we move onto states on April 22. 

To be completely honest, one of my main goals is to inspire others. On of my favorite quotes is "success isn't just what you accomplish in your life, it is what you inspire others to do." As team captain, my role is to help and inspire others in the classroom, this may seem like an easy job, but there comes a time when you have to do this to people you don't necessarily like. This is ok though because you take it as a challenge against yourself, and you fulfill your goals. Another strong characteristic that a leader must have is having the ability to focus when things get complicated. Right now, there are many different topics going on in my life and I feel that perseverance plays a giant part in my days at WAAS. I will write more about this near the end of the year as it is a very important topic that  I feel all leaders must have to be successful. I have definitely tried my best to leave a good impression on the school. Many people including teachers have told me that it will be emotional when I leave, but the reality is that everyone in our lives must leave.   Here are some of the pictures: