FULL Solar Eclipse This Summer

By Jo Jo (grade 4)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_eclipse

This summer in central Oregon we will experience a full solar eclipse in the morning of August 21 2017. A solar eclipse is when the moon directly crosses in front of the sun and makes it completely dark. Even though the sun is farther and bigger than the moon, the moon can still cover its rays sun because it comes between earth and the sun. The last time a solar eclipse happened in the continental US was 38 years ago.

Did you know that earth is the only planet a solar eclipse can happen on? In central Oregon more than ten thousand people are going to attempt to climb up mount Jefferson to get a full view of the solar eclipse. When the solar eclipse happens it will be as dark as night and you will be able to see stars and constellations. Also there will be a ring of light around the sun that is called a diamond ring. The diamond ring effect is caused when the moon crosses in front of the sun and the sun makes a ring around the moon. This will be a fun and a rare experience for us to be in a full solar eclipse.

https://www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/why-eclipses-happen

Amazing Constellations

By Scott (grade 5)

astromax.org

This is the story of amazing constellations. There are stars in constellations and they all have names. In the constellation Orion, the star Betelgeuse in his shoulder. Some of these stars have really cool names, like Andromeda, but some have really boring names like m223.

There are 88 constellations in the sky that is a lot of constellations. An easy way to picture them is to think of a normal map, then put it into the sky and add spaces, then you can picture all the constellations easier. All the constellations have a name like Aquarius, Perseus, and Gemini the twins. There are a lot more than that, but I can’t name them all. The constellations are amazing things, and all cultures have different ways of telling stories about them.

Most ancient cultures believed that constellations are a way of telling stories. It seemed natural to them to find patterns and name them. Most of the famous ones we know got their names from the ancient Greeks.

Winter Enrichment Class: "Make"

By Eniat (grade 6)

Here at Black Butte School one of the winter classes is called "Make." It is dedicated to creating and tinkering, and is pretty awesome. Some of the projects we have done so far are making birdhouses, collage, and a 3D cityscape. The first thing the students made was a picture of Thomas Edison but we didn't know what it was when we started. “I think,” said Conner one of the 8th graders at BBS. Scott says, “it's very fun and interesting.”

For the cityscape and moon sketches we did step by step instructions. Also for the cityscape we were allowed to add more buildings and detail after we finished. For the collage we cut pictures out of magazines, but we had to use at least 3 painted papers we made in art class. Our moon sketches aren't finished yet but they look very cool so far.
One of the things about the moon sketches is that we have to do a lot of shading which is hard. All and all I think "Make" class is awesome and fun with collage, cityscapes, and more.

The Fantastic Yearbook Class

By Rope (grade 5)

Last year's yearbook

Black Butte School is creating a fantastic yearbook this year for the school. In the beginning of the year, we all learned how to use Treering. Treering is a computer program where our school can make a yearbook and the families can buy the yearbook. Next, we learned how to make it and we got assigned themed pages. After we got assigned pages we worked on them and put pictures on the pages. We also had to think of a theme for the whole book. We all voted on which theme to choose. The title is keep calm and sign my yearbook. Last but not least, we get to make our own personal pages. On these pages we can put any school pictures on so we can remember our friends. Those pages will only print in our yearbook. When we finish our yearbook we get to sign other people's yearbook. I can't wait to see our yearbook this year and I hope the rest of the school is too.

Going in Circles

By Cody (grade 7)

From The Western times to the Modern times Sisters has been in Oregon for over a century but now has to deal with the issues of cars and traffic. For a short while, Sisters had traffic lights installed at the corner of Barklay road and Highway 20, but they then were taken down. Since there have been more traffic accidents. Sisters decided that they should put in a roundabout to make it so then there wouldn’t be that many accidents. There isn’t that much information on why they decided on a roundabout, but here is some information and people's thoughts on the roundabout.

Photo by Jim Cornelius, The Nugget News

The roundabout is being constructed from 7am to 7pm by knife river. It will be close to Bi-Mart and Best Western. Right now they are blocking off Barklay road, so they can put their supplies there. They have also had to keep laying de-icer on the road because it has been icey. There is only one other roundabout in sisters, and this roundabout on the main road/highway will probably look similar the one other roundabout.

There are mixed feelings about the roundabout in Sisters some students like it and some hate it. This is what people think on the roundabout being built in Sisters. The main reason that people like it is because it can cause less accidents to happen there. It also can use no electricity to to work unlike traffic lights. Athan said “I would either have a roundabout there or some street lights there because people wait there for ten mins for people to go or stop.”

There are also students who hate it because it could destroy wildlife,cause more accidents, and make it slower to get in and out of Sisters. Ilya said “I don't think we need it because it's going to destroy more wildlife in sisters and it will soon close off the road making people take more time to do things.” The roundabout will be very odd but people just will have to wait and see.

Sisters Underwater

By Ilya (grade 7)

Whychus Creek Flooding

photo by Sue Stafford from http://www.nuggetnews.com/

main.asp?SectionID=5&SubSectionID=5&ArticleID=25704

Sisters, Oregon is faced with a dangerous situation, flooding. Residents are wondering what will happen when Whychus floods. What causes flooding, some people may ask. The answer is when lots of water goes into a river and causes that river to go over its banks. In sisters this spring, the snow melting and the rain will pour into the Whychus possibly causing it to flood.

Sisters residents are meeting and figuring out ways to survive the possible flood. One person was writing down phone numbers so they could call people in the event of a flood and make sure they are O.K. Some residents looked at a map of the flood plane and said it was very helpful to know if they were safe, there were also computers open to sites about flooding. A fun fact is that in 1996 there was a flood that wiped out Highway 20.   

There are some things people can do to prevent lots of damage due to a flood. One obvious thing is move away from the flood zone, but there are many more. People could create barriers and mark houses as shelters. People could try draining water from the Whychus. One way that would work well is remove snow, but the water of the flood could come from the peaks of the mountain. The flooding in Sisters is a scary thing to think about and is possible, but if we take extra precautions we will be fine.

For more information, check out this video from our local tv station, ktvz.com.