The 9th-grade RISE experience focuses on transitioning students from middle to high school from a standard to a project-based learning setting. Throughout 9th grade, students will develop public speaking skills, group interaction, social skills, time-management skills, proficiency in formal and scientific writing, and a high level of comfort with digital resources such as Google apps and e-Class. Major group projects in 9th grade will be fewer and farther between than in the following years in RISE, but 9th-grade students can expect at least one major project every 9 weeks. 

How do we know if an ecosystem is healthy or if its overall health is in decline? The answer to this question is valuable, as humans rely on ecosystems for the natural services they provide us.

In this science-based project, students worked in groups to design experiments that would help them determine if an ecosystem could be considered healthy. 

The students then performed their experiments on the ecosystem in Collins Hill Park's nature trail, ultimately presenting their findings in front of a group of experts in the field.

Guest speaker for this project:

Dr. Joe Mendelson, Director of Herpetological Research, Zoo Atlanta

Below are some photos from the Class of 2020 Ecological Study:

Students compete in an evolutionary game by imagining their own organism, devising a behavioral strategy for that organism, and programming those behaviors into a sequence of competitive decisions. It's more or less a fancy version of rock, paper, scissors where instead of playing the game themselves, the students watch their programmed organisms match up against each other! The focus of this project is around basic coding skills, data management, evolution, and competition.

Gingerbread Houses and a Laser Cutter