Christabel Ugolo on behalf of SJHS's UNESCO club has created the attached poster to honour International Children's Day.

Attention all Grads! Grad Class clothing is available for purchase now on Cashless Schools. Clothing will be purchased by pre-orders only, so make sure to get your orders in by Wednesday, November 30th! Hoodies ($35), Crewnecks ($25), Sweatpants ($35) and T-shirts ($15) are all available for purchase now!

It was our pleasure last week to take time to recognize students who have excelled in their academic pursuits. As a school we value all the gifts that our students bring to the community from sports skills, leadership, musical talents and charitable works but the core work of a school is the learning that happens inside our classrooms. The students we recognized last week are the students who take that learning and study hard to make connections across subjects and deepen their learning. Congratulations to all of those recieving International Baccalaureate Diploma awards, Greyhound Hounors (95% or higher average), and Most Valuable Hounds (awarded to students with a good work ethic, show initiative, are engaged in learning, have a positive attitude and are helpful to their peers).

SJHS Ski Club 2023

Are you ready to think about hitting the slopes? Poley Mountain Ski Resort is, and they are gearing up for another great season. If you want to be a part of this year's ski season, come to our meeting on Monday, November 7th, in room 305 to learn more. No experience is necessary, but space is limited. It's time to think snow!!!

The Advanced IB Biology class was welcomed back for their annual overnight trip by the Huntsman Marine Science Centre after a two-year hiatus. Friday was a fabulous day of leaning on the shore of the Passamaquoddy Bay. Saint John High students spent three-hours exploring the abiotic and biotic factors that affect life on the Atlantic rocky shore. Greyhounds determined elevation profiles for different parts of the shore. They also looked at quadrats to determine present coverage of seaweeds and the number of individual organisms that live there. We found green crabs (Carcinus maenas), side swimmers (Gammerus sp.), common periwinkle (Littorina littorea) and more. They also captured periwinkles, marked them with nail polish, set them free in the wild and went back 24 hours later to recapture them in an effort to estimate the periwinkle population at Brandy Cove.

Saturday we moved into the laboratory and performed two experiments with barnacles (Balanus balenoides), sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) and seastars (Asterias rubens). It was a beautiful weekend to be learning outside. The students really enjoyed working on their graphs for the lab writeups on Friday night.

The students in Mr. Cunningham's Chemistry 12 class performed their second experiment of the semester: using a calorimeter to determine the specific heat capacity of a metal and the molar heat of fusion of ice. They worked in groups using their calorimeter and temperature probe to collect their data. To determine the specific heat capacity of a metal they heated their metal to 100^oC and measured the temperature increase of the water when the metal was added to the calorimeter. For the heat of fusion of ice they measured the temperature decrease of the water as the ice melted in the calorimeter. In the days that followed, the students completed their calculations, learned how to write a formal lab report, and spent some class time completing their report.

SJHS is once again putting on a Haunted House to raise funds for Adopt a Greyhound; the money will go to students in need within our school. Haunted House runs on Oct 28 from 6-9 pm with Club Hope's Ghoul School for younger students running from 6:30-8:30 pm. Admission is $5 for Haunted House and $2 for Ghoul School. Come dressed in costume if you wish. We hope to see you scare!

The Advanced IB Biology class spent the last two days dissecting chicken wings to gain a deeper understanding of muscles and joints. As part of the curriculum, students are expected to learn about the mechanics of muscles and how they move with the joint. Each student received their own wing! Some were experienced in the kitchen and were very comfortable with the task at hand while others had never touched a chicken wing that was not cooked or flavoured. Lots of learning took place in terms of skills - for instance using a scalpel - as well as knowledge; students learned exactly how the biceps move to contact the elbow. It was a very good start to the academic year here in the SJHS Biology Department!