THE DAVID A. STEIN RIVERDALE/KINGSBRIDGE ACADEMY

660 West 237^th Street, Bronx, New York 10463 Tel. (718) 796-8516 Fax (718) 796-8657

Principal Assistant Principals

Daniella Phillips Amanda Lurie

Glenda Reed, I.A.

Sonia Rodriguez

Phylis Shulman

Anthony Tamalonis, I.A.

To: Parents of Rising Eight Grade Students

From: Anthony Tamalonis, Assistant Principal

Re: Summer Project for RKA Students Entering the Eighth Grade

June 23, 2005

The end of the school year is nearly here. I hope that you had a good year and will have an enjoyable summer. Next year in the eighth grade you will study about the Earth in your science class. One of the topics will be the Earth’s weather and the storms it creates. Hurricane season started on June 1^st and it will last until November 1^st. Many scientists predict that this will be a very active hurricane season. We have already had the first hurricane. Arlene hit the U.S. two weeks ago.

In order to better understand what a hurricane is and to begin to prepare you for next year we are assigning a summer science project. This project will involve a few hours of work that will go a long way getting familiar with the planet we live on.

This project has two parts:

· A series of eight questions to answer (see next page). We are giving you websites to go to where you can find the answers. Remember to answer the questions in your words. Do not copy and paste.

· Create a hurricane scrapbook. Clip newspaper or Internet articles and save the pictures and stories. You must do this for one storm. Read the newspapers and listen to the weather reports daily so you can start collecting the articles as the storm builds in size.

The project will be collected and assessed by your eighth grade science teacher. It will be part of your first quarter grade. The project will be due the last week of September.

You can view this assignment online at: http://rkahurricaneproject.tripod.com/

At this site all the websites listed are active links.

If you have any question you can email me at: atamalo@nycboe.net

Part A- Hurricanes Questions

Instructions: You must answer all eight questions in your own words. Do not copy from a book or the Internet. The idea is to learn something and to work on your writing skills. Do the best you can do.

You can find information at the websites listed after each question or in books at the library.

#1 What conditions cause a hurricane to form?

www.hurricanetrack.com

#2 What are the main parts of a hurricane?

http://drake.marin.k12.ca.us/stuwork/rockwater/Hurricanes/partsofahurricane.html

http://www.co.orange.tx.us/parts_of_hurricane.htm

#3 What stages does a storm go through as it develops into a hurricane?

www.usatoday.com/weather/tg/_whurlife/whurlife.htm

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/hurr/grow/home.rxml

(Scroll down to phases)

#4 How are hurricanes classified?

http://www.greyhawkes.com/ps/class.html

#5 What is a storm serge? And Why does it cause so much damage?

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/tg/wsurge/wsurge.htm
http://www.usatoday.com/graphics/weather/gra/gsurge/flash.htm

#6 In what part of the world do hurricanes (tropical cyclones) occur most often?

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/hurricane/2003-season-index.htm

#7 How does the National Hurricane Center make predictions about the size, strength and future path of a hurricane?

www.fema.gov/kids/nuhunt.htm

www.nhc.noaa.gov/

#8 How are hurricanes named? Is your name on the list?

www.aoml.noaa.gov/general/lib/reason.html

Part B- Hurricane Scrapbook

You are to follow the news (Newspapers, TV, Radio, or Internet) for any storms in the Atlantic Ocean that may build into hurricanes. Clip the newspaper articles or Internet articles and make a scrapbook. Keep following the storm and collecting the articles throughout the storms “life”. Now all storm become hurricanes so you may have a couple of false starts. Keep the collection of news articles until school begins. Your Earth Science teacher will have you use them in the fall.