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Cynthia Kimura

Cynthia Kimura is a financial mentor guiding young minds towards a future of financial literacy and responsibility. With a passion for empowering students with the knowledge and skills to make informed financial decisions.  She brings a wealth of knowledge and enthusiasm to her role as an educator with 16 years teaching experience.

Her journey into the world of personal finance began during her own childhood, where she learned the value of money through hands-on experience managing her savings at an early age. This exposure sparked her interest in financial education and planted the seeds for her studies leading to her degree in Consumer Science.

She has volunteered at Dr. William Buckner's Consumer Counseling Center, where she gained valuable experience working with individuals and families navigating through the complexities of budgeting and debt.

Cynthia has gained additional financial experience through her employment as an account for Pioneer Electronics.  She became a real estate investor in 2009 and currently manages rental properties for her  company.  Cynthia is looking forward to creating a dynamic learning environment where students are encouraged to explore topics such as budgeting, saving, spending, and entrepreneurship.

By instilling financial literacy at an early age, Cynthia believes, we can empower students to make sound financial decisions, avoid debt, and achieve their short and long-term goals.

Living Science I

Prerequisites: Basic ability to read and write.
Homework:  Elective Class with Optional Homework.


Living Science I is a hands-on, minds-on adventure where students become young scientists, engineers, and Earth explorers. Through experiments, model-building, simulations, and creative problem-solving, students don’t just learn science—they do science.

Students will ask big questions, test ideas, collect and analyze data, and discover how science explains the world all around them. Working together, they will investigate real-world problems, design solutions, and build a deeper understanding of how nature works.

Throughout the year, students will explore powerful ideas like patterns, cause and effect, systems, and change over time.



END OF YEAR GOAL

By the end of the year, students will have a strong understanding of life systems, extreme environments, Earth processes, engineering, and environmental change.

They will also build a science portfolio filled with experiments, models, designs, and problem-solving projects, showing their growth as curious, creative, and confident scientists.

Fall:  Life Systems; Survival in extreme environments 


We kick off the year by becoming real scientists and learning how to use the scientific method—asking questions, testing ideas, and making discoveries!

Then we dive into Earth’s most extreme environments and meet nature’s ultimate survivors:

Super Chill (Arctic & Antarctic)

How animals survive freezing cold and icy winds

Beat the Heat (The Desert)

How living things find water and survive intense heat

Masters of the Dark (Deep Sea)

Life without sunlight under crushing pressure

Ultimate Survivors (Tiny & Tough)

Amazing creatures that can survive almost anything


Winter: Earth’s Explosive Energy!

Get ready for an action-packed journey into the powerful forces that constantly shape our planet!

Boom! Volcano Power

What causes eruptions

Lava in Motion

Fast and slow lava flows

Layers of Fire

How volcanoes are built over time

Shake Zone: Earthquakes

Why the ground shakes

Fault Lines: Moving Earth Plates

How Earth’s surface shifts and collides

Deposition:

Discover how rivers, beaches, and wind work like Earth’s builders—moving and depositing materials to create new land!

River Builders

How water moves and drops sediment

Beach Makers

How waves build and shape beaches

Wind Shapers

How wind moves sand and soil



Spring:  Engineering Design: Build, Move, Create!

Students will think like engineers by designing, building, testing, and improving structures and machines that solve real-world problems.


STRUCTURES

Tower Power Challenge

Build the tallest freestanding tower

Bridge Builders

Design a bridge that holds weight

Earthquake-Proof Designs

Build, test, and improve structures

TRANSPORTATION

Fast Wheels: Build a Vehicle

Design a rolling car or cart

Fly High: Aerodynamic Airplane Engineering

Design for distance and accuracy


MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Simple Machines in Action

Explore ramps, levers, and wheels

Spin & Lift Challenge

Build spinning and lifting systems

Engineer Challenge: Solve a Problem

Final project design challenge


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