The Community Health Academy Boys Basketball made their annual trip to Syracuse this weekend.
The trip was a success on and off the court. The boys defeated state powerhouse Christian Brothers Academy on Friday night and lost at the buzzer to defending champion Westhill on Saturday.
The APES students designed and engineered their very own hydroponic garden this fall. The materials were purchased with the help of generous donors through the website DonorsChoose.org.
The class celebrated their first harvest the last day of class before break. There was plenty of Kale, Lettuce, Swiss chard and Arugula to make salads for everyone in the class. Ms. Clark brought in some local oil and vinegar from Brooklyn. The students experimented with several of the fresh hydroponically grown herbs to make their own original salad dressing recipes. Favorite flavor combinations included lemon with dill and vinegar with basil and thyme. It was a delicious, healthy and earth-friendly celebration!
All of these plants were grown from seeds in the classroom using the Kratky Method. The seeds are planted into a growth medium called rockwool and suspended above water. After the seedlings sprout, nutrients are added to the water to help the plants grow. The roots grow in the water. This method is a fast, sustainable and effective means of growing food because no soil is required and the plants never need to be watered. Urban landscapes can be used for developing food- it just requires a little engineering and creativity.
Ms. Clark’s Living Environment class has been showing off their creativity and content knowledge with their Organelle Projects. The students were asked to design any project that would highlight the structure and functions of 10 or more organelles. This year brought everything from original raps to tasty homemade goods.
This is one my Ms. Clark’s favorite times of the year because she gets to see her students showcase their true talents.
“Our students are so incredibly talented and creative. CHAH students can sing, dance, write plays, paint, draw, bake cakes, direct and animated films, engineer 3D models and make a mean lasagna.” Says Ms. Clark.
A couple weeks ago, several CHAH students and a few lucky chaperones got to see Hamilton at Broadway's Richard Rogers Theatre! The students got the hottest ticket on Broadway through the generous donations from The Gilder Lehrman Institute.
The trip was coordinated by Maderlyn Olano, a history teacher here at CHAH. The lucky chaperones were Elissa Cevallos, Steve Levy, Mariela Lazala, Jeniffer Villa, and Pamela Moreno.
After the show, a few of the actors kindly took questions from the students, telling the kids about their experience performing in the famous Broadway musical.
On a crisp November day, the CHAH AP Environmental Students just took a trip to the Bronx River Forest. They hiked along the calm cool waters surrounded by beautiful fall colors.
However, the Bronx River wasn't always this serene. The Bronx River is the only true freshwater river in New York City. It is an important ecosystem to native species. For some species, this is the only ecosystem they can live in within the NYC limits. Unfortunately, this resource was taken advantage of by humans for many years. The Bronx River was once lined with bleach factories, tanneries, and grist mills. The natural flow of the water was used to turn waterwheels powering these factories. The byproducts of these industries were dumped into the river for many years. Locals also used this river as a dump. Because the water pulled the waste downstream, people thought it was an easy means of waste removal. They didn't consider the fragile ecosystem or their neighbors downstream.
The Bronx River Alliance was founded in 2001 to reverse some of this damage. Locals banded together to rehabilitate this ecosystem by organizing volunteer cleanups, bank restoration and encouraging eco-safe recreation in this area. Volunteers have pulled out tens of thousands of plastic and styrofoam garbage just this year. In the past, even large appliances like dishwashers and cars have been pulled out of the river! Now the water is safe enough for organisms to move back in. Muskrats, beavers, fish, insects, eels and many others are now able to safely live in the river again. The Bronx River Alliance carefully oversees the health of the river by collecting 100,000+ data points and observations from volunteers.
That's where CHAH students stepped in. The AP Environmental Science class ran water quality tests on the river water. These tests included: Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen, Salinity, pH and Phosphates. These metrics are directly related to the health of the river. CHAH students passed their observations onto the Bronx River Alliance for their studies. CHAH students are happy to report that all nutrient levels were at healthy levels for the Bronx River!
If you would like to join the AP Environmental Science (or APES, for short) students and help protect the Bronx River check out their website for upcoming events and volunteer opportunities. http://bronxriver.org/ or follow them on twitter @BxRiverAlliance
