Blue Cohort students in Dr. Moira Milne's AP Biology class participated in a lab on bacterial transformation.
"The students will acquire the tools to transform E. coli bacteria to express new genetic information using a plasmid system," Dr. Milne explained in her introductory lecture. "They will then apply mathematical routines to determine transformation efficiency."
The lab used Escherichia coli bacteria HB101-K12, a non-pathogenic strain of E. coli that is commonly used in molecular biology labs. It is genetically modified to grow only in an enriched medium.
Another key component of the lab is pGlo plasmid. pGlo incorporates a special gene regulation system which can be used to control expression of the fluorescent protein in transformed cells. The gene can easily be switched on in transformed cells by adding the sugar arabinose to the nutrient medium which serves as the positive control of transcription.
Selection for cells that have been transformed with pGlo DNA is accomplishing by growth on selective media containing the antibiotic ampicillin.
Transformed cells will appear white on plates which do not contain arabinose and fluorescent green under UV light when arabinose is included in the nutrient agar.
Several ConVal High School students filmed a Public Service Announcement (PSA) on the ConVal campus on Friday.
The PSA encourages everyone to observe the "three W's": Watch your Distance, Wear your Mask, and Wash your Hands.
By following the three W's, the hope is to keep the nine towns in ConVal's school community safe, to reduce the risks of virus spread, and to return to the hybrid model following the scheduled remote learning period that will start at the end of the month.
A film crew from John Guilfoil Public Relations filmed the PSA which will be released later this month.
Superintendent Kimberly Rizzo Saunders and Principal Heather McKillop are excited to invite ConVal Regional High School families to attend a virtual Open House next week. Though the event has been held in-person in previous years, this year’s event will be held virtually out of an abundance of caution due to the ongoing pandemic.
The virtual Open House will be held on Thursday, November 5, and start at 6:20 pm with a brief introductory meeting with Principal McKillop. Families will have an opportunity to meet with teachers, starting at 6:30 pm. Information will be sent home to parents and guardians by the end of the week that will include each respective student schedule and links to meet their individual teachers.
The virtual event serves as an opportunity for parents and guardians to meet their child’s teachers and learn important information about the current school year, including in-person and remote learning expectations, training on the use of Google Classroom, grading policies and procedures, additional support opportunities for students, and teacher contact information.
“We are excited to once again connect with families this fall to provide information about how this school year is being structured,” Principal McKillop said. “This year’s event, which will look a little different, also provides families a great opportunity to learn more about the hybrid learning model students are following.”
Individual conferences will not be available at the event. Those who wish to discuss individual matters related to their student should contact their teacher directly to set up a time for a meeting.
“We are grateful for the support of our entire ConVal community, which has been vital in helping to provide students with the best possible learning experience during these challenging times,” Superintendent Rizzo Saunders said. “We hope you will join us for this important event to learn more about and celebrate the incredible work students have done since the start of the school year.”
For additional details on the virtual Open House, please follow this link.
Athletic registrations for winter sports are now open. To sign up, please use this link to register on FamilyID.
ConVal High School athletes who decide to participate in winter athletics must sign a COVID waiver. They will also be required to join the remote-only learning cohort until their final competition date plus a 14-day quarantine period immediately following the last athletic event.
The following timeline was approved by the NHIAA’s Executive Council:
11/30/20-12/11/20: Phase 1 and Phase 2 conditioning/skills and drills activities for all sports
12/14/20-1/10/21: Team practice sessions
1/11/21: First date to play games
This timeline will be re-evaluated prior to and during these dates, should COVID cases increase in our area.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Athletic Director John Reitnauer (jreitnauer@conval.edu).
Last night the ConVal School Board approved the proposal to offer winter athletics at ConVal.
Under the proposal, all ConVal High School winter sports programs would offer opportunities to participate in a competitive limited regional NHIAA sanctioned schedule.
ConVal High School athletes who decide to participate in winter athletics must sign a COVID waiver. They will also be required to join the remote-only learning cohort until their final competition date plus a 14-day quarantine period immediately following the last athletic event.
The following timeline was approved by the NHIAA’s Executive Council last week:
11/30/20-12/11/20: Phase 1 and Phase 2 conditioning/skills and drills activities for all sports
12/14/20-1/10/21: Team practice sessions
1/11/21: First date to play games
This plan will be re-evaluated prior to and during these dates if COVID cases increase in our area.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Athletic Director John Reitnauer (jreitnauer@conval.edu).
At ConVal High School, a number of classes have been moved outside, including Mrs. Mitschmyer's Ceramics class. This means that all supplies and tools, including potter's wheels, have to be brought out on a hand-pulled utility wagon every morning and brought back in when school is over.
Everyone has taken these new circumstances in stride. "Students have been practicing a variety of hand-building skills in Ceramics under the tents this year," explained Mitschmyer. "Everything from pinch to coil, and now working with slabs."
"Over the last two weeks, students have been building vessels for containment. At school, this means they have been building boxes and at home, they are working on hollow forms. Moving forward we are exploring bowl forms and tile making."
"I'm hopeful that we will be in the studio in the near future and students will begin practicing the potter's wheel! I just fired the first kiln of the year and hope to show students how to apply glaze for the final firing process soon," Mitschmyer concluded.
Blue Cohort students in Dr. Moira Milne's AP Biology class participated in a lab on bacterial transformation.
"The students will acquire the tools to transform E. coli bacteria to express new genetic information using a plasmid system," Dr. Milne explained in her introductory lecture. "They will then apply mathematical routines to determine transformation efficiency."
The lab used Escherichia coli bacteria HB101-K12, a non-pathogenic strain of E. coli that is commonly used in molecular biology labs. It is genetically modified to grow only in an enriched medium.
Another key component of the lab is pGlo plasmid. pGlo incorporates a special gene regulation system which can be used to control expression of the fluorescent protein in transformed cells. The gene can easily be switched on in transformed cells by adding the sugar arabinose to the nutrient medium which serves as the positive control of transcription.
Selection for cells that have been transformed with pGlo DNA is accomplishing by growth on selective media containing the antibiotic ampicillin.
Transformed cells will appear white on plates which do not contain arabinose and fluorescent green under UV light when arabinose is included in the nutrient agar.
Superintendent Kimberly Rizzo Saunders and Principal Heather McKillop are excited to invite ConVal Regional High School families to attend a virtual Open House next week. Though the event has been held in-person in previous years,
Last night the ConVal School Board approved the proposal to offer winter athletics at ConVal.
Under the proposal, all ConVal High School winter sports programs would offer opportunities to participate in a competitive limited regional NHIAA sanctioned schedule.
At ConVal High School, a number of classes have been moved outside, including Mrs. Mitschmyer’s Ceramics class. This means that all supplies and tools, including potter’s wheels, have to be brought out on a hand-pulled utility wagon every morning and brought back in when school is over.