We had the opportunity to go tree planting in the trail behind our school, all together, we planted a couple hundred trees! Shout out to James who planted more than anyone else, seventeen trees planted in the 2 hours we were there!
![](https://richlandacademy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/pxl-20231004-145435111-portrait_orig.jpg)
We also got to do a fun experiment to visualize our own cells and nuclei under a microscope using methylene blue.
![](https://richlandacademy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/pxl-20231004-175553051_orig.jpg)
We extracted our cheek cells using popsicle sticks, scraping anything and everything off the walls of our mouth.
![](https://richlandacademy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/pxl-20231004-180115064_orig.jpg)
Once we were satisfied with the goop on the end of our popsicle sticks we deposited it onto the center of our slides and applied a single drop of our methylene blue solution. Once it was ready, we took our cover slip and sandwiched the excess solution away, dabbing it with a tissue. We took our slides and put them on the microscope, and voila! We were able to see our stained nuclei inside our cheek cells. Overall it was a very busy week, but our students were up to the task.
![](https://richlandacademy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/pxl-20231004-180443832_orig.jpg)
Last week we had the opportunity to return to Pinecrest for our annual trip, which was very rewarding, regardless of the rain.
![](https://richlandacademy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/pxl-20231011-185115041-portrait_orig-1024x771.jpg)
One of the most rewarding experiences was our nature walk, where students saw tons of little critters, including this Eastern Red Backed Salamander!
![](https://richlandacademy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/pxl-20231010-175132347-mp_orig.jpg)
We wanted to go for a nighttime walk to see the night sky in the dark sky preserve, but unfortunately the clouds had other plans. At least we got this awesome picture!
![](https://richlandacademy.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/pxl-20231012-022044961-portrait_orig.jpg)
Grade 8 Class (2023 – 2024)