MAY 2017
Plainfield Community Middle School
PCMS NEWS
Mr. DeHoff named Teacher of the Year
Following in a long line of outstanding teachers, PCMS science and biology teacher Brad DeHoff is the latest to receive the honor of being named the district’s Teacher of the Year.
DeHoff began his career as a research scientist at Eli Lilly where he was awarded two patents and was published numerous times.
During that time, a colleague told him that he was so skilled at explaining things that he would make an outstanding teacher. He grew up in a family that valued education, and in fact, he spent many hours outside the school day at school since his mother was the school secretary.
Despite his passion for research, DeHoff took his colleague’s advice to heart, and attended IUPUI where he received his teaching certificate.
And so the research scientist with a knack for explaining things became a beloved, respected, successful middle school teacher and academic coach.
As an 8th grade science and biology teacher, his days are filled with classes, and outside study and review sessions. Nearly every afternoon and evening you can find him attending a concert, sporting or school event of some sort. And for about five months of the year, he coordinates the Academic Super Bowl teams for PCMS, while coaching the Science team.
By the way, PCMS has won more Academic Super Bowl events than any other school in Indiana, with 20 state championship awards. Its science team has won seven of the 15 years they’ve competed.
When asked what made Mr. DeHoff stand out from the other Teacher of the Year finalists, two things seemed to be significant. First, the aforementioned support of his students and school, illustrated by his presence at so many events. Second, his dedication to the Academic Super Bowl process. In fact, he’s never taken a spring break vacation in all the years he’s been the team coordinator and science coach, because spring break falls right in the heart of their season.
In a world that will depend more and more on science, DeHoff’s engaging approach to teaching, his real-world experiences and his funny stories have transformed students. In many letters of support, students wrote that they thought they didn’t like Science, or weren’t good at Science, until they had Mr. DeHoff. After being in his class, many are considering science careers.
A transformational teacher. One that all parents hope their children will learn from one day. And Plainfield’s 2018 Teacher of the Year. Congratulations, Mr. DeHoff!
Science Academic Bowl wins State!
April Value of the Month Winner
Caecey Franz
April's value is respect for environment and I do not know a student who respects the environment more than Caecey. When given the opportunity to choose an argumentative essay topic, Caecey chose to research and write about not polluting our oceans. It was very well done, and I could tell she was passionate about the topic. I have seen Caecey in class take discarded papers out of the trash can and move them to the recycling bin. Just today we watched a short video to prepare us for Earth Day and Caecey was moved to tears by the content. It is obvious to me that Caecey is passionate about the environment and will be moved to do many more things to respect and protect it.
8th Grade Breakfast and Dance
6th Grade Field Trip to Victory Field!
Grasshopper Dissection
7th Grade Mock Interviews
A note from Mrs. Wallon
Is Sunscreen really that important?!
Sunscreen is your best option when it comes to protecting your skin against the harmful rays of the sun. Applying sunscreen once throughout the day is not enough to protect the skin from skin diseases. Research also concluded that teenagers are most likely to be victims of skin diseases because of their constant and active exposure to outdoor activities. You can get sunburnt in just 10 minutes.
The idea of getting a skin cancer barely makes sense to teenagers causing the increase of nonuse of sunscreen. It is important to note: One sunburn damages your skin for life and doubles your risk of skin cancer.
Skin diseases caused by lack of sunscreen include sunburn where the skin suffers first degree burn. Severe case of sunburn is characterized by blistering of the skin, fever and weakness. Age spots are also the cause of excessive exposure to the sun without using any sunscreen.
Sunscreens differ in many ways, but whichever you choose, make sure that it has enough SPF to protect you from UVA and UVB, the number one cause of skin cancer. Facial sunscreen is different from the ones you use all over your body. However, body sunscreen is also designed to be applied on the face. If you’re the type who is not sensitive to what goes in your face, you can use a small amount of regular sunblock for your face. Teenagers should know these basic rules about using sunscreen and its importance.
Sunscreen doesn’t last all day, which is why it is very important to re-apply as much as possible. To determine whether a sunscreen is effective or not, it is important to purchase one that has a Sun Protection Factor (SPF) content of at least SPF15. Depending on the type of your skin, you can be sure that by applying at least a minimum of SPF15, you can be confident of blocking at least 93% of UV rays. A product's SPF number helps determine how long the product will protect you before you need to re-apply it - how long you can stay in the sun without burning. For example, you may normally burn in 20 minutes. If you apply an SPF 15 sunscreen, you'll be protected for about 300 minutes, or five hours (SPF 15 x 20 minutes = 300 minutes). A person with lightly pigmented skin who burns in 10 minutes would be protected for only about two-and-a-half-hours with SPF 15 (SPF 15 x 10 minutes = 150 minutes).
Go out and enjoy your summer, just don’t forget your sunscreen!
http://www.doctortipster.com/24263-teenagers-in-the-us-defies-the-importance-of-sunscreen.html
Rose Hulman Homework Hotline
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology's Homework Hotline provides FREE math and science homework help to Indiana students.
· Tutors help students in grades 6-12.
· 7 p.m. - 10 p.m.
· Sunday - Thursday
· September - May
· Call toll free at 1-877-ASK-ROSE.
Website: http://askrose.org/