Bio-Art Partners with St Joe Med Center

Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center is proud to be a partner with The Weidner School of Inquiry. It is imperative that our school systems prepare students for real life experiences. Those enrolled in the Weidner School of Inquiry have the opportunity to learn very important life skills needed to work in the challenging field of health care – teamwork, critical thinking skills and appreciating the importance of being constant learners and seekers of knowledge.

I see the work of WSOI  first hand as a mentor for the Bio-Art class. Students are working in together to create artwork of living organisms. The challenge is to put a very exacting science of biology together with the freedom of expression that is considered art. And if one stops to think about it, art and biology share in one very important similarity where the outcome is a beautiful creation.

The Bio-Art class is one of a kind in the nation. The class will allow for creativity but requires study and knowledge to produce the final product – a beautiful piece of Bio-Art.

My best to the students in the Bio-Art class as they travel on a journey towards excellence (and learn a little about art and biology, too)!

Blog Contributor: Barbara Holcomb, MT(ASCP)
Laboratory Manager
Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center

Chem/Food Science partners with Zentis

Zentis Food Solutions is proud to be a community sponsor for the Weidner School of Inquiry @PHS. I was immensely impressed with the professionalism of both the department, as well as the students. I was treated with a great amount of respect, and felt that the students truly had an interest in what I had to say. The environment that the students are supplied with is a huge asset to prepare them for college, as well as the professional world. Teamwork is encouraged, as well as free and open thinking.

In my own professional field, the skills the students are given will be huge assets in their future. If a student is already prepared to work well in a team based environment, and does not feel judged for their opinions, they will be miles ahead of the average graduate. 

Pairing Food Science with the general Chemistry course allows the students to see real world applications of what they are studying. When you can see what your lessons can accomplish in the professional world, it makes the learning more enjoyable and valuable.

Students, thanks for your wonderful questions and attention.

Teachers, thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my own passion with a new generation.

Sidenote, I'm jealous that I didn't have this chance in high school.

Blog Contributor: Steven J. Chambers
{Product Development Specialist: Zentis North America}

 

Student Reflections in Chem/Food Science with Mr. Riley and Mr. Johnson

Photo Courtesy of Sanguini

My fitness pal has really showed me that I need to be eating more. I knew before doing the my fitness pal I needed to eat more, but I didn't know I was eating this little. Since we started I have been eating more then what I used to. I'm also doing a sport right now, so it is even more important to eat more. To top it all off they brought in someone from Life Plex to show us how important it is to eat healthy. He talked about how carbohydrates and sugars are used differently in the body. I now have a better understanding of what I need to eat and how much of it I need to eat. I don't want to just eat a lot of food. I need to eat the right kinds of food too.

Blog Contributor: John Hunter
{WSOI Sophomore, WSOI Student Advisor, BPA Member, Boys Varsity Tennis Team Member}

I have been aware that I am not a healthy eater, always having been a lover of junk food and fast food, especially McDonald's.  The activities that we've done in FoodChem in addition to my appointment at the LifePlex for my testing for gym have opened my eyes to see my unhealthy eating in a new light.

I am taking my gym credit during SRT through the LifePlex.  One of the tests I did was a breathing test and the result of the test told me I should be eating around 1500 calories or more a day.  The lady administering the test told me that since I am a moderately active person that I need to be eating more calories.  Typically, I eat around 1200 or less.  I learned that though I am not deliberately doing it, I am starving my body of the essential nutrients it needs.  I had not even realized that this was going on.

The next week in FoodChem we started logging our meals in My Fitness Pal.  I've noticed that the foods I eat are really high in sodium and sugars that are not natural.  Natural sugars, fats, and sodium are good for you in moderation, but when they are unnatural it's harder for your body to process them.  I've made sure I'm more conscious of the types of sugars and fats I put into my body.  I am trying to steer clear of processed foods, and instead I am trying to eat more fruits and vegetables.

When Mr. Haug from the LifePlex came to speak to us, he really stressed the importance of water for a healthy body.  Of course, I already knew this but I still refused to drink water.  I just don't like it very much.  He told us that we should be drinking between 1-2 liters of water a day if not more.  This really stuck out to me and I thought about the time I drank a whole two liter of Pepsi by myself in a day.  That's how much water I need to be drinking a day.  It was so easy to drink that Pepsi, it's going to be a lot harder to drink the water since I don't like it.
   
All being said, it's going to be a hard journey to healthy eating.  I'm so used to eating unhealthy, but I think now is a great time to change.  I think that the key to getting healthy is making one small change at a time and sticking to it.

Blog Contributor: Haley Mills {WSOI Sophomore, WSOI Student Advisor, PHS Cheerleader, Crimson Choir Member}