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St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Lee Enterprises

Thursday, September 22, 2005 10:20 PM CDT
Lessons of the fall: CMS students study autumnal equinox

By DAVE FOPAY, Staff Writer

CHARLESTON -- The temperature had topped 80 degrees by about 10:30 Thursday morning, but despite the summer-like weather, Bre Benedict still knew it was the first day of fall.

"It'll get cooler," she said.

The Charleston Middle School eighth-grader also knew the autumnal equinox had arrived because she and her classmates marked the day with a particular lesson.

Measuring the length of shadows that meter-long measuring sticks cast would be combined with other information the students used to calculate their exact geographic location. Science teacher Tim McCollum conducts the lesson on the first day of fall each year because it's already known where the sun will be that day, directly over the Earth's equator.

Bre said she liked having a lesson outside of school instead of sitting in a classroom and reading a textbook.

"Experiments are fun because they show you a different way to think," she said.

And what if the weather had been cloudy Thursday? McCollum said that wouldn't have mattered because CMS is just one of several schools that participate in the "Noon Shadows on the Equinox" program and supply information all the schools use.

"Having enough schools and enough locations will get us enough data," he said.

CMS is "basically heading up" the program that includes nearby schools such as Neoga and ones as far away as Oregon and Maine, McCollum said. The school promotes the program and posts results on the Internet, he explained.

"They're learning about the motion of the Earth and the tilt of the Earth and how it impacts shadow lengths," McCollum said. "They see that the same thing works in other places, too. That's when it becomes a powerful lesson."

Contact Dave Fopay at dfopay@jg-tc.com or 348-5733.

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Stephen wrote on Jul 17, 2006 8:22 AM:

" I can't believe the police use Facebook to look for parties. "

Defaulticus Rex wrote on Jul 17, 2006 2:17 PM:

" The police in Charleston use Facebook to look for "a heads-up" on parties and "similar tips"? I advise anyone who would use Facebook as a law enforcement tool to please read the privacy and terms of use pages on Facebook. Every second spent sitting around trollinng through students' Facebook profiles could be used on more important things... like trying to stop the terrible Methamphetamine crisis in our county. "

Doug wrote on Jul 17, 2006 3:42 PM:

" It's unbelievable the personal information people post on Myspace and similar sites. heck, the Columbine killers practically announced their attentions ahead of time in a similar way, but no one paid attention. I think occasionally reviewing these sites is just fine, and will in fact help fight the Meth problem. "

Flood wrote on Jul 17, 2006 4:23 PM:

" True, but I think if a person is dumb enough to broadcast illegal activity in a public forum like that, they almost deserve to get caught. It's not like facebook is meant to be an anonmous alter-ego like many online situations. "

Madison Fisher wrote on May 29, 2007 3:54 PM:

" Well, I agree with what Corrine and ZOe said even though i didn't use to like to learn about abe what we did there was realy cool. I go to Jefferson and MR. Taylor has all was been very interested it Abe Lincoln and now i am to. It's realy great to understan what he learnd. "

shelly wrote on Jun 7, 2007 7:29 AM:

" I think SBLHC has to much controll over this community, they seem to only care about the bottom line even when you call there the first option to select is the billing department even befor the emergency room. that says alot "

Sara Martin wrote on Jun 13, 2007 2:35 PM:

" Well, this has been my second year going to Jefferson school,at my old school they never realy engaged in that sort of learning.so iwas realy excited when they brought that in to our school "

lbabycakes44 wrote on Jul 31, 2008 6:41 PM:

" Bagelfest... I think in my opinion it was so much better when it was up on Broadway between 14- 17th Streets...more room to go and do things..instead of being confined in a park... I used to like going to it when I was younger..now I really dont get that much into it..since then..they have added a beer tent...which means more people inebriated around children...which to some people that I have spoken with, they really arent all up on that idea..but they deal with it..

To me its the same thing every year...put some minds together and add a few more activities..the Bagel Bow-wow and the pageant are getting to be "old news" ..as in bagel -boring...zzzzzz "