News

Students Soar At ACSI Creative Writing Competition!

PCA seniors are poets!

ACSI, or the Association of Christian Schools International, hosted a virtual Creative Writing festival and a few of the seniors from Mrs. Ugland’s AP Literature class submitted their rhymed poetry assignment they wrote for class.

Seniors Olivia Horne, Olivia Martin, Madison Broach, Aly Godwin, and Gabi Noce all submitted their pieces and after going through ACSI’s judging panel where their pieces were scored on elements such as grammar, literary devices, theme, readability, and overall impact, the young ladies received their rankings, as well as a certificate and a ribbon.

Oliva Martin, Madison Broach, Aly Godwin, and Gabi Noce all scored Excellent ratings, while Olivia Horne scored a Superior rating. Congratulations, ladies!

Rockets And Pigs! Middle School STEM!

Between rockets and pig dissection, Mrs. Moser’s 6th and 7th-grade science classes have been extremely busy!

The sixth-grade science classes were wrapping up a three-part study of the universe, which ended with rocket ship construction and a launch! 

“The rocket launch was a culminating STEM activity for 6th graders,” said Moser. “The students used construction paper and their choice of adhesive to construct a rocket. They were able to use PVC pipe to ensure the correct diameter of the rocket’s body to launch. They also were told that it would be launched using air pressure. The students had a class and a half to construct and then launch. After their first launch, they spent the next class refining their design to hopefully improve performance. Their second launch proved much more successful for most students. The problem-solving was tremendous to watch and the students had a BLAST!”

While the 6th graders were building rockets, the 7th graders spent last Saturday morning doing a voluntary lab, dissecting and studying the anatomy of a pig.

 “We have been studying human body systems,” said Moser, “and this was a culminating lab experience. Believe it or not, pigs have internal anatomy that matches ours. The students got to see how God created all our organs and systems to work together for His glory. They were able to measure the length of the small intestine as well as observe how the trachea branches off into the lungs. Other observations included the heart, kidneys, stomach, and brain to mention a few. It was a memorable experience for all the students who participated.”