TracyJones's blog

From Thursday, September 4, to Saturday, September 6, Episcopal Honors Science Seminar students will participate in a field trip to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s campus in Boston, MA. This research-based MIT-led tour will take students into the photo-voltaics lab, plasma science and fusion center, co-generation facility, fluid physics lab, nuclear reactor laboratory, mechanical engineering lab, and the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory.

Episcopal’s competitive two-semester Honors Science Seminar teaches students proficiency in the research processes and gives them the skills necessary to solve scientific problems; students are then linked with mentors in the field of their choosing. Working under the direction of Marion Zeiner, Episcopal science department chair, the students and qualified scientists work together to design and conduct a controlled experiment in a local university or private laboratory.

The students’ investigations are all founded on topics of current interest in the global scientific community. The researchers at MIT are completing work in the same fields, so through this trip Episcopal students will gain knowledge which will provide a foundation for their own research. As the students design their own methodology, conduct experimentation, and analyze results during the school year, they will continue communicating with the MIT researchers to gain additional insight and to aid in problem-solving. Potentially, the development of a relationship with researchers at MIT could provide a wide range of educational opportunities for Episcopal students in the future.

The five students involved in the course and their chosen projects are as follows:
•    Nathan Monroe: polymer photo-voltaics (year four)
•    Morgan Monroe: inexpensive source of hydrogen for fuel cells
•    Meredith Boulos: phyto-degradation of tricholorethylene (year two)
•    Satchel Siegel: neuron tracking in the brain
•    David Drew: neuron tracking in the brain

During the 2007-2008 school year, the nine students enrolled in the seminar earned the following awards:
•    Two academic scholarships
o    $120,000 to Drexel University
o    $10,000 to the University of Central Florida
•    Cash prizes totaling $10,500
•    State science fair (every participating student from the class earned a place award, including two first-place and two second-place winners.)
•    First-place award in the Florida Junior Academy of Science competition
•    First place award in the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association High School Competition, which included an all-expense paid trip to the AFCEA Conference in Virginia for the student and parents.
•    International Sustainable World Science Olympiad (ISWEEP)
o    Two first-place awards
o    Four special awards
•    Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (no other school in the world had as many awards as Episcopal High School)
o    One second-place award
o    Four third-place awards
o    One second-place special award
•    Two semifinalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology
•    Involvement in the Intel Talent Search

Do you think you know football more than the pros? If so, make sure to participate in the Florida Times-Union and Jacksonville.com's Pro Football Pick-Em contest. Each week, you can pick the winner for each Jaguars game up to 15 minutes before kickoff. To play, click here. Good luck!

Tropical Storm Fay caused Duval County Public Schools’ students to miss three days of school at the beginning of this school year.  The District currently has five days built into our school calendar in order to makeup any days missed due to weather. 

Makeup days for students due to Tropical Storm Fay will be on November 10 and December 18 and 19.  The storm also required us to move the end of the first quarter, changing the date for Teacher Planning Day from October 20 to October 24.  Students will need to now attend school on October 20, not on Teacher Planning Day, October 24.

All the votes have been counted, and W.C. Gentry will face Jack Daniels in a runoff election on Nov. 4 to represent Southside schools. Here are the results of the other elections in Duval County:

State Attorney-Fourth Judicial Circuit

Angela Corey- 64.42 percent

Jay Plotkin- 35.58 percent

City Council- At Large Group 2

John Crescimbeni- 25.93 percent

Dick Brown- 24.56 percent

Theresa Graham- 19.55 percent

Circuit Judge C4, G11

Adrian G. Soud- 52.57 percent

Mark Hulsey- 47.43 percent

The FCAT grades for all of the area schools have just been released. Here's are the grades for Southside schools:

Click here for the full list of schools.

Elementary

Alimacani Elementary-A

Bank of America Learning Academy-A

Brookview Elementary-A

Chet's Creek Elementary-A

Englewood Elementary-A

Greenfield Elementary-B

Hogan-Spring Glen Elementary-C

Holiday Hill Elementary-A

Kernan Trail Elementary-A