Classes at the Roundhouse are back in full swing for the second semester after several weather related half days and snow days.

Mr. Olson’s Fundamentals of Chemistry and Physics class performed an experiment to calculate the area of a penny.

“Students place[d] a penny on a piece of copy paper. They will hold a pencil 2 meters above the paper and drop it. They count the number of times that the pencil hits the penny out of 100 attempts. From this they take the ratio of the times the penny is hit to the times it is missed. This will equal the unknown area of the pencil to the area of the paper. If they solve this ratio and then find the actual area of the penny the two should be about the same. They will then compare the rest of the class' attempts and hits and the results should be even closer,” explained Olson.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Kleopfer’s choirs are preparing for upcoming performances. Headliners is preparing for a contest, which will be held on February 9 at Northwest Missouri State in Maryville. They will also be performing in a concert here at the high school on March 4.

“Though we missed a week's worth of classes, I think we could still do well at our upcoming contest,” said senior Headliners member Eva Peters (alto). “It will take hard work and determination.”

Kleopfer’s General and Concert Choirs are also preparing for the March 4 concert. They will be performing Broadway Medley Magic for their audiences.

Junior Concert Choir and General Choir member Paige Simmons enjoys the class.

“They are both really great and the energy is always upbeat. My favorite part is getting to know the music and hearing the overall results,” explained Simmons.

In Mrs. Saunders’ Health Science II class, students are learning the human sensory systems, which include the nose, tongue and skin. They will learn how each system functions and how it is important to the body. The class will be performing two interesting activities: Test Your Taste Lab and Skin Sensitivity Lab.

Saunders explains the Taste Your Test Lab.

“Students will be given food items to taste while first holding their noses with eyes closed and then without holding their noses with eyes still closed. Just how well can they identify food with their sense of smell?”

Ms. Blackwell’s Ag Mechanics class is working individually on projects of their own.

“This requires each student to think of a project to create, draw out plans, create a list of materials, and create an outline of how and when they will complete the project,” explains Blackwell. “After the project is completely planned out, they work in the shop and use the skills learned in class to create their project.”

Junior Kade Tollefson explained his project for the class.

“I am building a tilt bed trailer because I need something to haul my ATV. I have been working on my trailer for about a week. I am enjoying… the thought process of planning and building.”