Month: November 2012

DANCING RAISINS EXPERIMENT

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HANDS-ON SCIENCE CLUB DANCING RAISINS EXPERIMENT 

Fulton Science Academy Elementary Students in science club participated in the “Dancing Raisins” experiment. Students made a hypothesis about whether or not the raisins would sink or float in soda water.  The results were that the raisins do both! Carbon dioxide bubbles attach to the raisins causing them to float to the top. When they bubbles reach the top they pop causing the raisins to sink back down to the bottom.  It was so much fun watching the raisins “dance” or sink and float in the soda water! 

Physical Education Class Had a Blast!

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PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASS HAD A BLAST!

North Atlanta Fencing Center was at our school today working with all the Middle school students. “The children had a blast!” Said Mrs. Teeling.  “I was amazed at how they really took to John and the lesson, maybe the Foil had something to do with it,” She laughed. 
There are three types of weapons in Olympic style Fencing. Foil is the one the students used today. It has a limited target area and is traditionally the first weapon taught.
John has been fencing for about 17 years and enjoys sharing his love of fencing with his students. The grand opening of their new facility is happening this Saturday from 1-5 at 10029 highway 92, suite 124 in Woodstock, 30188. Their site is northatlantafc.com, please go to it for more information about his fencing center.”I think there was enough interest today to pursue offering it as a club here at school,” Mrs.Teeling said. And the kids said….”This was so fun, is he coming back tomorrow?”

8th Grade Spanish Class "EL PORTON" Lunch

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8TH GRADE SPANISH CLASS HAD A DELICIOUS LUNCH AT MEXICAN RESTAURANT “EL PORTON”


Eight graders enjoyed their field trip to the Mexican restaurant EL PORTON where they connect the classroom with academic and social learning experiences. At FSA, we enjoy engaging students in meaningful tasks within and outside the classroom. The students ordered their food in Spanish, interacted with the waiters in Spanish, enjoyed the cultural atmosphere and finally asked for their bill in Spanish and paid. FSA Students received compliments from the restaurant staff for their Spanish language skills.  It was agreat day for everyone.


Model U.N. Team Flies to New York!

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MODEL UIN TEAM FLIES TO NEW YORK


We are pleased to inform our community that 10 of our FSA Model United Nations Team members will be flying to New York on April 11 to attend International Model United Conference. Our students will represent the country of Sweden and compete with many wonderful students from around the world. One other great thing about this competition is that it is held at United Nations building. This is a very special event and we are very happy to have our students attending. Our wonderful Model U.N. coaches Mrss. Bragg and Mr. Stiffler will soon start the auditions to choose the best 10 Model U.N. students to take to this competition. We know that our students will enjoy this wonderful international activitiy and we wish them success.

Georgia Private & Home Schools Technology Fair

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The Georgia Educational Technology Fair (GaETF) is an annual student technology competition produced by the Georgia Educational Technology Consortium. The Consortium sponsors other technology initiatives in Georgia, including the Georgia Educational Technology Conference (GaETC).The GaETF is the highest level of student technology competition in Georgia with over 400 projects, representing the work of 500+ students, are judged at the competition each Spring
There are 15 regional Technology Fair competitions this year. One of these regional competitions is called Georgia Private & Home Schools Technology Fair and  specifically hosts private school and home school students. The registration for this regional competition starts on December 5th, 2012 and ends on December 21st, 2012. The competition will be held on Saturday, January 12, 2013 atFulton Science Academy Private School. The winners of this regional competition move to the State level to compete with the the winners from 14 other regional competition sites on March 9, 2013 at Macon State College. 
There are fourteen categories in the competition: Case Modification, Digital Video Production, Hardware, Individual and Team Programming Challenge, Web 2.0 Internet Applications, Multimedia Applications, Non-multimedia Applications, Project Programming, Robotics, Technology Literacy Challenge, Animated Graphic Design, Non-Animated Graphic Design, Digital Photography and 3d Modeling.
All private school and home school students are encouraged to attend this great competition.
For detailed information about Georgia State Technology Fair, please visit: http://www.gatechfair.org/
For more information about Fulton Science Academy Private School, please visit school website orthe official blog. 

Fulton Science Academy Gifted Program

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FULTON SCIENCE ACADEMY PRIVATE SCHOOL
The gifted program at Fulton Science Academy Private School is designed to challenge and meet the needs of our advanced and creative student body.  Gifted classes are available to both elementary and middle grade students, with a curriculum designed to foster the growth of students both intellectually and socially.  In recognizing each student’s specific skills, interests, and needs, the faculty of FSAPS strives to guide these students towards recognizing their full potential.
Students that come to FSAPS and are currently enrolled in an equivalent gifted program will be placed into the appropriate gifted classes upon enrollment.
All students will be screened for the FSAPS gifted program in October following the first quarter report card.   Utilizing the nationally normed Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) and/or IOWA Test of Basic Skills (ITBS) tests, students that score in the 90th percentile in reading, language arts, mathematics, science, or social studies will be further tested for gifted eligibility provided they have an average of or above 90% in the corresponding course(s).
If a student meets the initial eligibility criteria, they will be given the Cognitive Abilities (CogAT) Test, a nationally normed exam determining a student’s mental ability.  If a student scores in or above the 96th percentile they will be placed in the gifted program and scheduled for gifted classes according to their performance in each subject area.  If a student does not meet the previous criteria, another test, the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), will be administered gauging a student’s creative ability.  Upon receiving a score in or above the 90th percentile, percentile they will be placed in the gifted program and scheduled for gifted classes according to their performance in each subject area.
Students enrolled in the gifted program will be enrolled in gifted courses according to their performance in each subject area as determined by their average in each advanced level course as well as their grade on the relevant portion of the MAP test and/or ITBS test.  This corresponds to language arts and reading, social studies, mathematics and science.  
All students are required to participate in at least one competitive extra-curricular activity offered by the school.  These include Science Olympiad, Model United Nations, Tech Fair, Math Team, and Competitive Chess.  In addition, students in gifted science class must participate in the annual Science Fair while students in gifted social studies class must participate in the annual Social Studies Fair.  Failure to comply with these guidelines will result in dismissal from the FSAPS gifted program.
Student averages and periodic MAP test scores will be reviewed at the end of each quarter when report cards are given in order to determine continued eligibility for the gifted program.  Students must maintain an average of 90 or above in their gifted classes as well as score in the 90th percentile in the periodic MAP tests and/or annual ITBS test to remain eligible for gifted classes.  Students on academic probation are given one quarter to improve their grade and if they do not, then they are removed from the gifted class. This can result in dismissal from the gifted program, after which a single semester is required before the student becomes re-eligible to return.
To be eligible for the FSAPS gifted program, students must have and maintain:
  • MAP and/or ITBS Testings ≥ 90th percentile
  • Average in advanced class ≥ 90%
AND have one of the following
  • CogAT score ≥ 96th percentile in verbal, non-verbal, quantitative, or composite score
  • TTCT score ≥ 90th percentile
For more information and questions about gifted program, please contact FSA Gifted Coordinator, Mr. Stiffler at cstiffler@fultonscienceacademy.org

Fulton Science Academy Parent-Principal Breakfasts

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Fulton Science Academy Private School organizes small group parent breakfast meetings with the parents of students in each grade.  The purpose of the meeting is to talk about your experiences so far at FSA and to create a venue for open communications and exchange of ideas to make sure our students get the best possible education at FSA. During these breakfast talks, our principal have a brief presentation on different school issues so that all of our parents are aware of many wonderful things at FSA. The breakfast is provided by FSA and parents do not need to bring anything else other than themselves.  Breakfast menu includes panera bread egg and cheese sandwich, fruit salad, muffin, coffee, orange juice and tea in traditional glasses 🙂

Fulton Science Academy Private School
Fulton Science Academy Parent-Principal Breakfast

Fulton Science Academy Yearbook Club

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The yearbook staff is hard at work creating the pages of our future yearbook. We may be a small group, but we are filled with enthusiasm and creativity. These students are working together and brainstorming new ideas and approaches to pages and having fun while doing it. There is a pretty good mix of students representing all the middle school grades. “It has been fun watching them work,” said Mrs. Teeling of her club, “they are also being very mindful of our elementary students and making sure we have pictures of them and their activities as well.” The book is expected ot be ready for publication some time in May and once they figure out how much it costs to produce, order forms will be made and sales begin. Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available. 
Fulton Science Academy Private School
Fulton Science Academy Private School

Fulton Science Academy Interactive Study on Election Day

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INTERACTIVE STUDY ON ELECTION DAY!

Mrs. Bragg’s Georgia Studies classes participated in an interactive study on election day!  Students have been following election coverage since the beginning of the school year.  On election day, Mrs. Bragg allowed students to participate in a mock election in which the ballot did not feature candidate names, but it featured important issues.  Mrs. Bragg has been teaching students the importance of voting, and the importance of being INFORMED voters.   Students voted for Candidate A and Candidate B on this ballot, and they voted by checking the box for each ISSUE they agreed with.  At the end, they either had a majority for Candidate A or a majority for Candidate B. 5th period elected Barack Obama and 6th period elected Mitt Romney. In addition to the mock election, students then were given a swing state to research.  They researched their state, several trends, past election results, and other factors impacting their swing state.  They used their iPads, and an interactive map to complete this activity, and then each state’s representatives put a blue or red sticky note on our class map predicting the way their state would swing later in the evening when the results came in.  As it turns out, they did a pretty good job, and they only missed a few states!  Now our 8th graders can understand why swing states are so important, as well as the importance of being informed voters!


Fulton Science Academy Private School

Fulton Science Academy Private School

BIOBUS Visited Fulton Science Academy

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FSA STUDENTS ENJOYED GEORGIA STATE UNIVERSITY BIOBUS VISIT

Fulton Science Academy Private SchoolOn Wednesday, November 14, 7th grade science students enjoyed a visit from the BIO-BUS program from the Department of Biology, Georgia State University. 


Biotechnology: Forensics was the lesson presented. Presenters discussed techniques that forensic scientists use today to solve crimes. Students participated in solving a crime while learning about fingerprinting and blood typing.

We discussed how and why fingerprints are formed and what makes them unique to each human being, common fingerprint patterns, and ways fingerprints are retrieved from a crime scene. Students had the opportunity to create their own fingerprints and to use fingerprints to help solve the crime.

Fulton Science Academy Private School

Students also learned about the four blood groups and the antigen-antibody differences among them while performing a blood coagulation test (on simulated blood) to narrow down the suspects.

Georgia State University’s Bio-Bus is a mobile laboratory that travels to Georgia schools and presents hands-on, inquiry-based activities designed to get K-12 students enthusiastic about science.Visits are staffed by “Bio-Bus Fellows,” graduate students and undergraduates who enjoy sharing their love of science with younger learners. Since its inception in 1999, the Bio-Bus program has made over 2000 visits to schools in 31 Georgia counties, and in the process has presented exciting science experiences to more than 250,000 students.Our goal is not only to educate, but also to show students that science can be intriguing, interesting and, most of all, FUN.

For detailed information about  this wonderful program, please visit http://www.biobus.gsu.edu/


Fulton Science Academy Private School