AHA!

Peace Builders – GVJH 2018/19

Peacebuilders is a program that believes in a world where every teen can feel safe,
seen, and emotionally connected. Aha is offered in all junior high schools and high schools as
well. Last year when this program was going on at GVJH there were only 12 students enrolled
and this year there was so much interest that now the program is at the limit of students for new
people to join.   
AHA! meets every Tuesday in 7th Period in room 302.  We have four facilitators,
Sabrina, Brandon, Ana, and Jenna who run our program here at Goleta Valley Junior High
School. AHA! is open to only the 8th Graders at our school but if you are seventh grader this
might be something you might want to do next year. AHA! Peacebuilders program goes from in
mid-October to mid-May
During the one period on Tuesday every week.  At the beginning they have us do thorn
and roses which are the good and bad things of the day or week that are bad and good. We
play games to get to know each other and have a good time. Sometimes we will do small or
connection circles where we need to trust the other people and answer the question truthfully.
Small and connection circles are a little different. Small circles are with not the whole group but
it is when you are split into two different groups. As for connection circles, they are very small
groups and one of the students or facilitators run the circle. 
AHA! means Attitude, Harmony, and Achievement. The program is to bring out the
leader in you wanting to come out.  Inspiring communities to feel safe, seen, celebrated, and
emotionally connected, AHA! has provided social-emotional education to over 20,000 teens and
youth care providers since 1999. AHA! is amazing and all of the facilitators are all there and
want to make sure that every person is safe and good. For anyone who might be interested,
keep an ear out next year for AHA! 

What To Know About the Science Fair Project – GVJH 2018/19

So if you’re an eighth grader, you have probably started that so called, “Science Fair
Project.” It is a project that will be finished over a course of about 3 months, and it's a lot of hard
work. If you are a seventh grader, then this is a project you will do next year, this article might
help with what’s ahead of you. We interviewed the two 8th grade science teachers that have
been teaching this project the longest, Brad Penkala and James Jackson we asked them about
their thoughts on teaching this project, and advice they have for their students on this
independent investigation of the scientific method. 
The eighth grade science teachers want the students to study something fun and
interesting when creating this experiment. We asked Mr. Penkala, “Do you prepare your
seventh graders for the Science Fair Project in 8th grade and if so, how?” His answer was “Yes
I do, I do it by having them do controlled experiments in class, such as in 8th grade. An example
of this was baking soda and citric acid. We recorded the change in temperature with increasing
amounts of baking soda.” This project in our year with 8th grade science, is  the only projects
that we, as students, get to pick our own topics, and if you enjoy science, then maybe this
project could help lead you down a career path. Or you may realize that you don’t want to
continue with this area and find something new. Let’s see what Mr. Penkala has to say about
that. “For some students yes, it does help with future choices. It’s an opportunity for students to
investigate a topic of interest through the method of science. Some have pursued their careers
in related subjects.” he states. There are hundreds of topics you could do a project on, but not
all of them will be of your interest. So take your time finding a topic that will suit and interest you
best!
 Once you have your topic, and your getting your groove in this investigation, you should
know what to look out for and understand while working through the project. The science
teachers really want you to understand how to solve a problem logically and with evidence. Not
just estimates. It is important to enjoy this investigation, but to also learn from it, and grow your
understanding of science and its method. Mr. Penkala tells us what tools this project will give
students. “It’s a way of solving problems logically, with evidence and reason. Which is useful in
any career path, knowing how to solve problems.” he states. The knowledge you will gain by the
end of the independent investigation can greatly help with future problems. Maybe by the end of
the project you will observe more, ask more worthwhile questions, and solve problems with a
newfound interest!
There have been thousands of projects over the years, however there is always one that
stands out, or is very memorable and unique. Mr. Jackson has one of these memories after his
15 years of working at GVJH. “It was a project where a group of girls reduced their calorie intake
(with parent permission, of course) to 800 calories a day to see the effects it had on their
memory and cognitive abilities in their daily lives… cutting back on calories for just 5 days can
damage your school performance.” says Jackson. Amazing what that group of girls must of
learned. And although past projects are great to remember, let’s see what Mr. Penkala would do
for the science fair if he was an 8th grader again. “With current events, I would probably do
something about alternative energy (solar power, wind turbines), as opposed to fossil fuels. I
would study other ways to power our cars and electronics.” Penkala tells us. Now Mr. Penkala
may have been looking back in time, but maybe you seventh graders can start thinking about
next year, and all the things eighth grade has to offer!
There are three levels of this science fair. It starts with our school, Goleta Valley, where
each and every eighth grader is busy finishing their project, and hoping to maybe make it to the
next stage, county. There are 25 spaces available to GVJH students in the county fair, quite an
honor to make it that far! And lastly, the state fair. Very few students get to state level each year,
only about 5-8 projects from GV! Amazing what can be achieved by hard working students. 
However, you first need to focus on the first level, school. A lot of students are more
concerned about getting a good grade on the project, rather than learning what they can from it.
Yes grades are important, but they mean nothing if you didn’t learn anything! So here is advice
from our very own science teachers, “I hope that my students will try hard on this, and have a
good experience. They should make sure they are understanding what they do, and have fun
along the way. So be sure you pick an interesting, cool topic that you can enjoy.” says Jackson.
In the end, this project is an opportunity to learn how to use a helpful (scientific) method, expand
your knowledge in an area, and enjoy taking on a topic of your own to educate yourself on.

Science Fair at it again– GVJH 2018/19

“Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.” - Carl

Sagan

Several months have passed since we have chosen our topics, and students
have successfully completed their projects. Finishing this demanding task is a
milestone in a student’s time here at GV. Eighth graders spend about three to
four months preparing and gathering information in order to get their final
product. The second stage is going to the Santa Barbara County Science Fair,
where students who have been selected by their science teachers, are judged on
their work. The judges decide which experiments should be awarded gold, silver
or bronze. They judge and place the projects after a series of steps helping them
rate the investigations students researched. 
On February 6th, our school hosted a science fair to show off 250 projects
done by our very own 8th graders. The projects varied from dying ice cream, to
building dog houses and even testing wells! Both parents and students were
invited to view and learn about the research in the school cafeteria. A parent of a
student said, “There was a lot of data collected. Things were well written, and
there were many interesting topics.” Many science fair projects were done
around food, sports, and effects of music. On certain projects, you can see how
much hard work was put into the months-long task. “Some projects are
interesting and others are not,” says Christopher Pagliaro, 8th-grade student. 
About a week after the GV science fair, 26 students found out their science
fair project was going places! Off to the next round, where the chosen
experiments will be judged and ranked, and prize money is given to the gold place
winner. Sorry to disappoint you but no other places get prize money. Although
there are special awards given out by the sponsors of the science fair. Also, if the
student does win one of these places, they could even be sent to the California
State Fair! The reactions of most students learning they were selected to go to
County were happy, “giddy,” “shocked,” and elated. Now believe it or not, but not
everyone was as keen on participating in the science fair, “Honestly, I was kinda
on the fence about going because I wasn’t very happy with my project and I didn’t
want to do more with presentations and improving the project. But in the end, I
did end up choosing to go because I think I’d regret it if I didn’t.” says one 8th
grade student. 
The county fair itself has a whole judging process. The students will set up
the day before the event, and on the morning of they will sit by their work and
wait for each judge to come to look at their work. When a judge reaches their
project, the student has to give a 3-5 minute presentation on their work, and they
must be prepared to answer any questions. This will show how much the student
knows and understands about what they worked on, giving the judges a sense of
how passionate the participant really was in completing their work. This may all
be nerve wracking, but it is a great opportunity and a chance for a student’s work
to be recognized all that much more!
Overall, it was another successful science fair at GV, with an abundance of
projects. When the seventh-grade students get to this assignment, we hope they
put in all their effort and strive for higher levels. It is a great experience to learn
about something new and ask questions about it. Hopefully, you will have (or had)
fun with this project, and take away a new bit of knowledge in an area you may
have questioned before!