"Carl Sagan once said that science is more than knowledge, it is a way of thinking, a way to look at the world. My job is to help you change how you look at the world and to love Science."
-Mrs. Tobias
Welcome to Middle School Science at St. Peter’s Prince of the Apostles! Lisa Tobias teaches 5th through 8th grade Science. The curriculum is a spiraling curriculum, so every grade level has the opportunity to do a little of each of the “classic” sciences each year. The goal is very simple: help them to see it, do it, and understand it so that, hopefully, they grow to love Science.
Curriculum is teacher created based on standards set by the Archdiocese of San Antonio and Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills. In an addition the following resources are used: Harcourt Sciences textbook (5th grade) and McGraw-Hill Earth Science, Life Science, and Physical Science textbooks (6th-8th grades) depending on the unit they are in at any given time. In addition, the curriculum is supplemented by a variety of materials Mrs. Tobias collected over the years as well as many written herself.
Science is a very active class. Students are doing labs, on average, 3-4 days a week. Large labs, where the students design their own experiments, are made into mini-trifolds, science fair style. The 6th grade weather balloon launch, probably the biggest lab of the year, collects data and shares their findings with the UIW Meteorology Department for analysis.