Robotics Practice Run is a Success

Joseph S., Kailey P., and Dhawn S., robotics team members, traveled to NWOSU in Alva on Saturday for our robot's trial run on the practice course. There were a variety of interesting designs at the field trial (right- a competitor's entry).


The Wynona robot (left) performed up to par with everyone else, but will require some minor modifications before this Saturday's competition. The robots will have to run through a timed obstical course where they must gather various items for points.

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Wynona Robotics Team to Attend Practice in Alva

The Wynona Robotics team will travel to Northwestern Oklahoma State University in Alva this Saturday to participate in a practice run on the obstacle course. There are 21 teams competing this year. Mr. Powell and the team have been working on the robot for several weeks now. Eleven of our high school students have participated in constructing the robot.

Grade Inflation and Academic Standards

Readers might be interested in some information about grade inflation and academic standards. As one student recently commented in class, "grades are more than just a mark on a paper". How true that is. This is an ongoing discussion/debate in my classes. As former Chairman of the Academic Standards Committee, St. Gregory's University I was deeply involved in this discussion starting over a decade ago. Currently, I am a member of the Master Teacher Project administered by The Oklahoma Department of Education's Office of Standards and Curriculum. Wynona School is participating by conduction a book review/ discussion of student literacy and developing recommendations to improve student performance.

I believe that students should understand the long term ramifications of grade inflation and diluted academic standards. This issue not only has consequences for the individual student, but for American society as a whole. I want to share some thoughts on this topic in the days and weeks to come. Keep an eye on Zooblog to follow this issue. First of all however, we need to understand the definition of "grade inflation". Here is a good definition:

According to Random House Dictionary 2009, Grade Inflation is:

-noun- the awarding of higher grades than students deserve either to maintain a school's academic reputation or as a result of diminished teacher expectations.

-origin- 1980-85

Oklahoma Academy of Science Field Meeting at Osage Hills

Fall Break is fast approaching and ALL science classes will have tests next week. We will review today and Monday. I will also collect note books before break. The Oklahoma Academy of Science annual Fall Field Meeting starts this afternoon and runs through Sunday morning at Osage Hills State Park. There will be a variety of field excursions including botany, herpetology, ichthyology, mammalogy, ornithology, malocology, geography, astronomy, geology, and aquatic invertebrates. Photo insert of Mr. Jimmie Pigg and Dr. Vernon Powders at the 1990 Fall Field Meeting.

6th Graders Study Laws of Motion

The 6th Grade Science Class has been studying motion and just finished a series of pendulum experiments this week. This activity required students to use metric and english units, and measuring instruments (rulers, balances, and digital timers). The whole idea was to study the effects of pendulum length and weight on periodicity.

Wynona Natural History Collection

Time is flying by really fast and cold weather is just around the corner; at least that is what the house flies think. I bet I have killed 100 house flies that have sought shelter in my trailer over the past two days. We have been overrun with specimens in the science lab. Students have been bringing in all manner of critters; garter snakes (Thamnophis sp.), Copperheads (Agkistrodon contortrix), praying mantis, tarantulas, oak borers, GIANT slugs! 18-20cm (total length), Golden Orb Spiders, and a multitude of arthropods I have not even begun to sort through yet. Mostly, we observe specimens for a day or two and the find a safe habitat outside of town to release them. Some animals and botanical specimens will become permanent residents in our small, but growing natural history collection. One specimen we are particularly proud of is the 1.09m long Timber Rattle Snake (Crotalus horridus) my neighbors brought me a couple of weeks ago. The snake had been run over, but was in excellent condition. We skinned the snake and preserved the hide.