Think like a Scientist at St. Mary School “Science Rocks!!” a fifth grader at St. Mary School describing his approach to science. St. Mary School Science program challenges students to “think like a scientist” while we boldly explore and investigate our world with as much “hands on” inquiry as we can (that means have fun!)

From Kindergarten to 4th Grade science is taught by the classroom teacher, and is a part of the classroom curriculum.

From 5th - 8th Grade levels, science is departmentalized and taught by a specialty teacher as a daily period within a student’s schedule. We feel privileged to have a beautifully equipped junior high laboratory classroom located in the Sister Cabrini Riordan Center. This self-contained science room greatly enhances our inquiry based, hands on approach to science. The lab is equipped with stations that contain sinks, electrical outlets and data ports for our laptop computers.

We work to ensure that students are well-prepared for success in high school science. Students are introduced to the Scientific Method and learn basic laboratory processes. They are taught to think “metric” and make use of technology as a tool to investigate, explore and communicate.

5th to 8th Grade Overview: The following is a grade by grade overview of what we study during the school year. For specific curriculum standards please see the curriculum section of the school website.

5th Grade – General Science: We cover basic life, earth and physical sciences. The life sciences cover some animal and plant biology involving cell structure and function, and how this applies to transportation of materials within human organ systems and plants; the earth sciences cover the hydrosphere and atmosphere of our planet and how energy transfers are involved in both spheres (such as weather, the water cycle); also covered in earth science is a basic understanding of the solar system and its bodies; the physical sciences cover basic chemistry (atomic structure and physical and chemical properties of matter).

6th Grade – Earth Science: The focus is on the fundamentals of earth science including Earth’s structure (plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanoes, minerals and rocks), Earth’s surface (topography, weather, and erosion), water systems (hydrology, rivers) and Earth’s ecology (ecosystems, biomes, energy resources and environmental impacts).

7th Grade – Life Science: The focus is on the fundamentals of life science including cell biology (a cell’s structure, function, DNA and reproduction), genetics, the evolution of life on Earth, and the complementary nature of structure and function in organisms (plants, animals, human body systems).

8th Grade – Physical Science: The focus is on the fundamentals of physical science including the principles of physics motion, forces, energy), chemistry (the structure and reaction of matter, the Periodic Table), and astronomy (the solar system, stars, galaxies and the universe).

Check out these great science links!

http://www.science-explorer.phschool.com/atschool/california/science_explorer provides additional support and on-line test preparation for the 6 th – 8 th Grade textbook.

http://www.harcourtschool.com/ca The Learning Site, a product of Harcourt, our textbook publisher for Grades 1-5, is a Web site that provides interactive learning and science resources for students.

htp://www1.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/5-8/features is the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s site for students 5 th – 8 th Grade.

http://www.dcn.davis.ca.us/GO/EXPLORIT is the site for the city of Davis’ science museum

http://www.thediscovery.org is the Sacramento Museum of History, Science, Space and Technology’s Web site.

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/ named as a top Earth Science and USA Today and Enviormental science site by Scientific American popular for students and the general public.