School Name:	Oktibbeha County School District: East Oktibbeha County High School	School Calendar
State:	Mississippi (MS)
School URL:	http://oktibbeha.k12.ms.us
NES Year Joined:	2007
Description:	East Oktibbeha County High School (EOCHS) is one of four schools in the Oktibbeha County School District. EOCHS consist of grades seven through twelve. It is located in the historic town of Crawford, Mississippi. Many successful citizens, such as Jerry Rice, have graduated from East Oktibbeha County High School, formerly known as Moor High School. EOCHS have received numerous honors and awards that involve the following: Mississippi Science and Engineering Regional Fair, Cotton District Art Competition, two Mississippi 1A State Basketball Championships for both boys and girls teams, and Mississippi 1A State Track Champions. Moreover, East Oktibbeha County High School is located near the largest university in the state of Mississippi, Mississippi State University. EOCHS total enrollment is 239. The current student ratio is 100% African-American. Ninety-two percent of the students receive free or reduced lunch. East Oktibbeha County High School provides: Excellent Opportunities Creating Higher Standards
Executive Summary:	East Oktibbeha County High School (EOCHS) represents a school of excellence. The goal of our school is to encourage learning in an environment that promotes higher standards. We strive to create an atmosphere that is safe and conducive to learning. The faculty and staff aspire to challenge our students to become effective and productive citizens. By utilizing this strategy, our students will excel academically. The partnership with NASA will expose our students to various topics inspired by NASA’s research, discovery, and exploration. The NASA Explorer Schools (NES) program will provide opportunities to enhance our current curriculum, while supplementing students’ understanding in mathematics, science, and technology. The NASA Explorer Schools Orientation Workshop provided an in-depth understanding of technology that will foster life long learning. With our partnership with NASA, our school envisions a learning environment that nurturea and encourages a passion for learning through literacy, technology, math, science, and critical thinking. We will continue to provide opportunities to increase student awareness, parental involvement, and community support through family nights and various other events that will encourage students as well as parents to become involved in the NASA partnership. These events will allow the community to participate in activities that will intrigue them and support NASA’s mission to understand and protect our home planet, to explore the universe and search for life, and to inspire the next generation of explorers. To increase student knowledge of careers in science, math and technology, partnerships will be formed with local industry, businesses, universities, and community organizations. Utilization of NASA resources between the 2 NASA schools within our district will enrich our students' knowledge of career opportunities. K-12 students in math and science courses will use manipulatives and technology in the inquiry-based process of learning. The use of technology will enhance their research efforts. Families will be invited to special evening events to encourage community partnerships. Building strong family partnerships will encourage sustainability within the community. OVERALL NES PROGRAM GOALS: First Year: 1) Educators will participate in NES training and Professional Development. 2) Integrate NASA STEM content into all subject areas. 3) Identify potential opportunities for improvement for the implementation of STEM activities. Second Year: 1) Develop Sustainable partnerships within the community. 2) Increase professional development in STEM at a district level and mentor schools. 3) Increase technology use through professional development. 4) Integrate STEM activities in areas identified during year 1. Third Year: 1) Utilize more technology resources as a school community. 2) Identify potential grant sources and submit applications. 3) Provide support and reinforce STEM related materials/resources available via technology, print and special opportunities. 4) Maintain and increase family partnerships.

Activities for year: 2007 2008 2009 All Years

Sort by: sort by month sort by title sort by performance objective

Read About Planned and Completed Activities
Name	Short Description	Reflection	Evidence

January 2009
NES Teleconference	Monthly teleconference
Science Fair	Students will participate in the annual science fair by designing and creating projects.

February 2009
Fossil Posters	Students will work in groups to create posters depicting the types fossils that would be found in assigned geologic era and p...

March 2009
Channel One Video	Students create a video that shows or explains why labs are vital.
Deck the Hall with NASA	Art students will decorate the front hallway of the building with planets and stars drawn to scale.
Density VS. Temperature	Students will create a model of how temperature affect water density and plot these results on a graph.
Locating an Earthquake	Students will determine the location of an earthquake epicenter sing a mape or atlas.
NES Teleconference	Monthly teleconference

April 2009
Graphing Tidal cycles	Students use tidal data to determine the average tidal patterns of a particular area.
Impact Craters	Students will investigate how impact carters are formed in the solar system. Students will demontrate the formation of impac...
Modeling the Geologic Time Scale	In this activity students make a model of the geologic time scale in a way that allows a clear visual understanding of the ti...
Picture Gallery	Earth Science students will locate pictures on the internet for objects in the solar system. Then students will print the ima...
Planets Around Other Stars Activity	Students will compare the properties of extra-solar planets with planets in our solar system. Students will describe how dis...
Rocket Launch	Students designed and built rockets and then test-lauched them on the football field.
Solar System Model	Studentns will determine how to model the distance between the planets an their distances from the sun.
State Science Fair	Two students that won at the regional science fair participated in th state science fair.

May 2009
Human Bones	While learning different bones in the human skeletal system, students used exercise to help remember them. Physical Education...
Marine/Ocean Life Speaker	Local librarian, Susan Allen came to talk to the class about ocean and marine life associated with the Mississippi coast. Mrs...
Minerals	With this lesson, students are exposed to different minerals and are asked to test the streak, smell, cleavage, texture, hard...
Mining for chips	This activity involves having students "mine" for chips.The students will have a pretend Coal mining company. They will equat...
Mississippi	Students collect facts about their state of Mississipppi and bring to the clssroom, ranging from insects, fossils, flag, etc....
NES Teleconference	Teleconference with NASA personell to discuss school requirements.
Nitrogen Cycle	Students explore the Nitrogen Cycle by researching the topic, and then working together to share the components of the cycle,...
Plant Dissecting	Students used dissecting tools with local plant species to determine type.
Protein Synthesis Diagram	Students will work in groups to create a diagram of protein synthesis using butcher paper, textbook, yarn, colored pencils, a...
Staticity	Students put cans on its side on a table or the floor. They held them with their finger until it stayed still. They rubbed th...
Tree Rings	While learning about trees and their importance ti life, students will learn about trees and how to determine the age of a tr...
Whole group discussion on Genetic Diseases	The students will discuss genetic diseases and if they would want to know if they could inherit or pass on genetic diseases.

June 2009
Solar System	Collaboratively, students work to build personal models of the solar system using the following topics: planets, asteroids, s...

August 2009
Introduction to the Microscope Lab	This activity involves introducing students to the microscope by allowing themm to view common objects such as thread, yarn, ...

September 2009
Cell Role Play	After students are assigned a specific part of the plant or animal cell, they will research their part through books and the ...
Digest Quest	Students will engage in a webquest that allows them to answer questions about the digestion system. After questions are compl...
Element Windsocks	After completing a unit on elements and the history of the periodic table, students enhanced knowledge of the topic by creati...
Intro to Animal Cells:The Cheek Cell Lab	Students will observe their own cheek cells under the microscope and draw and report their findings in their lab notebook.
Introduction to Plant Cells: The Onion Skin Cell	Students in Biology were introduced cells by observing plant cells.
Motion vs. friction	Students roll toy cars down a 6ft ramp and observe the motion of the cars on different surface areas: carpet, aluminum foil, ...

October 2009
Hoop Flyer	Students will cut 2 strings of cardstock that are 30cm*20cm and 3cm*20cm. They will format the paper into 2 circles and tape ...
International Space Station Drawing	Art students drew the International Space Station.
NES Site Vist	NES Coordinator visited the school to meet with team members to discuss stipend requirements and NES opportunities. She also ...
Plasma Membrane Drawing	Students were allowed to complete a drawing or sketch of the plasma membrane of a cell. They could use a picture from the tex...
Predator/Prey Hunt	This outdoor activity involved students role playing. One group were squirrels, another were foxes, and the third group were ...

November 2009
Hoop Flyer	Students will cut 2 strings of cardstock that are 30cm*20cm and 3cm*20cm. They will format the paper into 2 circles and tape ...
Inquiry of Toothpicks	Students are each given 10 toothpicks and asked to make a window pane with them. Teacher will explain the difference between ...
Stretching the Truth	Measure out 4 grams of gum. Chew it for 3 minutes. Remove and roll the gum into a ball. Hold the gum in one hand and measure ...