Our seventh grade class is part of Livingston Junior High School, which has 1020 students enrolled in seventh through ninth grdes. LJH is part of the Livingston Independent School District, which is located in Polk County in the State of Texas, USA. We are situated at latitude 30 degrees 42'39" N, longitude 94 degrees 55' 59" W.
The City of Livingston (pop. 5000+) is located on U.S. Highway 59 approximately 80 miles north of Houston, Texas. Our community is experiencing rapid growth, and we are in a corridor designated for development of Interstate Highway 69 that carries north- and southbound interstate and international traffic.
Many new residents and visitors are drawn to our area by excellent fishing on Lake Livingston. The nearby 4600-acre Indian reservation is home to the Alabama-Coushatta and the site of the 33rd Annual Indian Pow-wow this June.
In August, Livingston Junior High moved to a new facility. We have large science laboratories with computer and internet access in each classroom. Our curriculum emphasizes a blend of independent, hands-on learning along with traditional methods. In addition to laboratory activities, seventh grade Science I students research, write, and teach several instructional units during the year. There are 125 students from 12-14 years old in Mrs. Miller's five sections of Science I.
Livingston is 180 feet above sea level. Pine and mixed hardwood forests and abundant water are notable features of our area. We receive approximately 48 inches of rainfall per year. Polk County is comprised of three watersheds that supply surface water to areas south of Livingston, including Houston. Next year, we hope to incorporate water resources studies into the seventh grade coursework.
Temperature averages range from 49-62 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter and from 66-91 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer (10-17 degrees C, 19-33 degrees C). We are very interested in discovering how our temperatures might be connected to our distance from the equator. We also hope to compare our data more closely with other school sites at the same latitude.
Concurrent with the Sun Times project, our classes are piloting an interactive instructional module on skin cancer. The cancer unit emphasizes sun awareness. We believe that the data from the Sun project will help us better understand sun exposure latitude and skin cancers.
Are you sure your coordinates are accurate.
Sincerely, Michael and Robert
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Topic:
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About your global position question (from Vinny Carbone) (3 of 5), Read 44 times
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Conf:
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Letters of Introduction
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From:
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Mrs. Denise Miller
(dmiller@esc6.net)
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Date:
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Monday, May 14, 2001 12:58 PM
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Dear Michael and Robert:
Thanks for your posting to our web board letter. The positions listed in our introductory letter are correct according
to geological service's online finder. While checking sunrise/sunset times, I noticed that the U.S. Naval Observatory
has us located at 94.9 W and 30.7 N. I had never seen latitude and longitude recorded in decimal form, but it is
certainly easier to use for calculations. If you do the division to transfer minutes into decimals (42/60 = 0.7 and
55/60 = .9) it really does work out to be the same.
Two of my students will also be writing to your school soon. They may also include answers to your position
question in their notes.
Wishing you sunny days and average temperatures,
Mrs. Miller
Livingston Junior High School
Livingston, Texas
I read your letter and I want to tell you a thing or two. First of
all you said that you were interested in seeing how hot it is
in other places. In the winter it is usually between 25-35
degrees F. But this winter it was in the single digets!! It is
hardly ever like that. In the summer it is usually 88-98
degrees F.
Thanks,
Danielle
Hello from Owensboro. Just emailing to say hi and that we are looking forward to comparing data with you and hope to have some fun durring this project. We read your intro letter and it seems like you have an interesting school. We are looking forward to the project. Email back if you want to.
See you later.