• Welcome to my page!
     
    Name:Mrs. Ellie Supinski
    School:Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy
    School Phone:814-874-6300
    Room #:007
    Classes:Honors and Regular Biology and Concepts of Physical Sciences
     
    Welcome Message: Hi Everyone!  Welcome to all my Biology and CPS students and parents!
     
    Please join REMIND! This is an app that allows me to send messages to smart phones and email accounts for the entire class. Students can message me and I can reply to them individually. Join only the account for the class your student is in.
    HONORS BIOLOGY   Enter this number 81010 and text this message  @mrssupinsk
    REGULAR BIOLOGY  Text @23a3a4 to 81010
    CONCEPTS OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE text @42b6fe to 81010
     
    APRIL 7, 2020:
     
    Hi Everyone! Okay, let's get serious about learning!  I have your UPDATED, LATEST AND CORRECT codes for my Google Classroom right here:
     
    A1   xbfvbhf
     
    A3   ehh4f7q
     
    B1    nrjnmjj
     
    B2    yetlem6
     
    A4 and B4    ropkjio     
     
    Go to Google Classroom, click on the plus sign in the upper right hand corner, choose "Join class" then type in the code shown above to join the class. I hope to have an enrichment activity posted by lunchtime today. Please do it and it will be a good way to check that I am doing this correctly!  Thanks!
     
     
    MARCH 30, 2020:  
     
     
    There is a paragraph followed by 7 links, a video clip of a lab and a list of vocabulary words.
    • read the first 3 links and watch any videos that are included.
    • read the vocabulary list for each of the first three links
    • Watch the video clip on how to build a circuit with a graphite pencil. Give it a try if you would like. I'll bet you can find one of those LED bulbs in a string of old holiday lights. Often there are replacement bulbs in the package. As for the graphite pencil....I'm not sure if a good old #2 pencil will do. Maybe a set of art pencils, the kind you can smear, would work? Or a carpenter's pencil? Heck, this is science research...After all, would we call it research if we already had all the answers?  
    • Develop a few questions you would like to have answered, based upon what you already know. Send them to me in an email and I'll share the best ones here.

    One question I have (bio students, are you listening?) How the heck does this critter create sooo much power? Is it extra mitochondria in their skin? Do they need to rest after shocking? How long? What must their cellular respiration rate be like since they can do such an energy-intensive activity??? Here's one for my CPS students: Did eels exist when the dinosaurs were around? 

    Now you come up with a few questions of your own, or maybe if you are the researching type, answer one of my questions. 

     

    I hope these suggestions help you to combat the boredom and worry! Stay strong, be well and shoot me an email to let me know how you're doing!

     
     
    MARCH 27, 2020:
     
    Alright kiddos, let's have some fun with this learning! Here is a short article about a cool subject: Dendrochronology. (say it 3 times fast and you sound really smart! lol) Dendrochronology is the study of tree rings. I know it sounds b o r i n g to study tree rings, but it truly is amazing how much we can learn from it.  Some vocabulary you might like to look up first: dendrochronology, radiocarbon dating, Neolithic era, proliferated, plethora and pile dwelling. Also, as I was reading this article, I kept thinking of how many different classes it could be used in. It works in biology because all that wood is a product of photosynthesis. It works for chemistry and physics class because of the chemistry of bogs that preserved the wood and the radiocarbon dating techniques used to determine the age of these ancient samples. It would also work in Human Geography or Sociology...whichever one studies ancient cultures. So let's get reading!
     
    When you are done reading, write down a few points that were new to you. Tell me about why you liked/disliked the article. How would you have reacted if you saw that scientist on the bus... carrying a log?  
    I hope you enjoy this exercise and have a better understanding of how science informs our lives.
     
    Use copy/paste to get to the link... Thanks!
     
     
    MARCH 25,2020:
    It is Wednesday. Who is ready to get smarter?  So much stuff to learn and so little time til June!
     
    REG. AND HONORS BIOLOGY:  Here is a link to a very simple explanation of photosynthesis, but it includes a bit about Jan Baptist Von Helmont who did a clever experiment back in the 1600s to try and understand where plants get their mass from. It is less than 3 minutes and you look bored, so give it a listen! Write your thoughts. The second thing is this video clip. Please excuse the TV ad at the begining (although you History buffs might enjoy it...) https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/carnivorous-plants-and-killer-ants/  This video is a great example of how energy is obtained by plants when the soil nutrients are poor. It is a great example of how plants capture energy in ways other than capturing sunlight. Also, can you define this vocabulary word: kleptoparasite? Watch this video and you will!
     
    Want more? Here is a bit about cellular respiration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Eo7JtRA7lg  and this Bozeman video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gh2P5CmCC0M  
     
    Don't forget to take some notes with the date and some commentary from yourself about what you learned.
     
    CONCEPTS OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Who was it that wanted to learn about sharks? Here are the basics about their physiology (their body structure). https://www.sharksinfo.com/physiology.html  Then here is an external dissection video  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBfdzpdNh70  Here is the internal dissection https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GbJWJ3Swsc  What did you learn? Write it down!
    And here is a video for you to watch.  You guessed it, my favorite show, Nova:  https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/why-sharks-attack/  Take some notes and date it, then put in your folder. Thanks!
     
     
     MARCH 23,2020:
    Happy Monday, everyone! Here are some enrichment activities for you to work through. Remember to try and keep a record of what you have done. It can be a journal entry (please include dates and times. EXAMPLE: 3-23-20 10:30 to 11:00 PM  I looked at Dinosaur article from Science News. I never knew that dinosaurs had such a wide variety of teeth, but now that I think about it, different species ate different stuff so having different teeth makes sense.) 
    You can print out the article and highlight interesting portions. Dont forget to put a date and time on it.  Write an "I-used-to-think ____ but now I know_____." statement. Then put it in a folder, and just start a stack.
     
    The Deans are preparing the teachers for video conferencing, Keystones are cancelled, I miss school and WOW what a time!  Ready? Let's get this going!
     
    CONCEPTS OF PHYSICAL SCIENCE:
    Please read this article and try some of the links included within the article. Then email me, and let me know what works and what doesn't. Thanks!
     
     
    REGULAR AND HONORS BIOLOGY:
     
    Please watch the following video on (you guessed it) Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration.
    Try to draw in the arrows in the correct place. Think of it as putting vocabulary words into logical groups. Which words belong together? Why? How does one lead to the next? When you can do this, then you have the framework for comparing photosynthesis and cellular respiration... congratulations! Draw it out, snap a pic or write a description. You choose. Just let me know that you "get it."
     
    EVERYONE: Keep in mind, we are all in this together. I can't know if something doesn't work for you unless you tell me. You won't hurt my feelings! (...no swear words, please.... :-))) Also, even though this looks like "dreadful school work", try to look at it this way: This is an opportunity to become a bettr learner. This style may fit your skill set better. You won't know until you try. Besides, science is cool and it certainly can cure boredom so give it a try, please and thank you. 
    I look forward to hearing from you soon!
     
     
     
     FOR ALL MY CLASSES 
     
    Looks like we are in a whole new world! I imagine many of you may be glad about your new-found freedom. Some of you may be feeling bored by now. Well, I'm feeling kind of excited because now we get to learn science JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT!
     
    My plan is to post all kinds of links here. Sometimes it will be articles or video clips. Other time it may be a quick and easy lab you can do from home. With each one I will include some things for you to think about, maybe a writing prompt or a request that you share and teach it to a sibling or parent. Since grading is such a pain right now, and since I don't know if you are not feeling well, there won't be any grading. What I would like you to do is keep a folder or journal of the activities you did with the date you completed it. Include any writing or drawing or model building you did. Just give me some proof that you accomplished something. 
     
    Since this will be entirely self-directed, YOU CHOOSE what you want to study. I'll group these by subject with newer posts at the top and older down below. Do a bit every other day. If we do get back to school fourth quarter, just bring me your folders showing what you accomplished and you'll be golden! ("I used to think_____, but now I know______." statements are a great way to show me THAT you have learned and WHAT you have learned.)
     
    Feel free to email me or text me on Remind. I can answer questions, share in you delight (what do you mean you're not delighted by science?!?  LOL!), or give you more topics to explore on the subject.  
     
    Life is an adventure, whether you are living it or studying it too. Soooo, are you ...
     
    READY?  SET... GO!
     
    Paleontology