Policies and Procedures
Instructor: Holly Briggs
Email- [email protected]
Webpage: bosquebiology.weebly.com
Office Hours:
Free Blocks: B, C, and F
After school by appointment
Materials for class:
· Two Composition Notebooks (one per semester)
· Colored pencils
· I will be giving you a text book to keep at home, and I will have a class set to use in the classroom.
· You will also need to bring pens or pencils and a calculator to class. Please no fancy ink colors for homework, tests, or lab reports, however, you will need a colored pen to grade in class.
Food and Drink in the class:
· This is a science lab, for SAFETY reasons, NO FOOD, DRINK OR GUM will be permitted in the lab!
· If you have a medical condition, please come see me and we will make sure to accommodate your needs.
Expectations for class:
I expect that this year will be a fabulous year! In order to ensure this, you should come to class prepared with required materials, and homework complete. We will be respectful of each other in class at all times. This includes, following all lab safety rules and not abusing lab equipment. Cell phones are only to be used for academic purposes (ie. Calendar). There should be no texting or cell phone use during class. In case of an emergency, please talk to me. All cell phones should be put away during tests and quizzes, or you will receive a zero on the test/ quiz.
Homework and Assignments
· Please only use blue or black ink or pencil on your homework. You are always welcome to type your work.
· I will try and keep my webpage updated telling you assignments done in class, homework and due dates, as well as any links to important information. If I forget to post the HW on the webpage, you are still responsible for doing the work. Work will also be posted on the whiteboard in class.
· HW not turned in on time will receive a late grade. Your grade will be lowered one letter grade. I will not accept work that is from a different unit (For example, if we are studying about genetics, I will not take work from the cell unit. Once the final project/ test for a unit is complete, HW for that unit will not be accepted.) KEEP IN MIND THAT ONCE YOU FALL BEHIND IT IS DIFFICULT TO CATCH UP! Turning work in late should only be for extenuating circumstances! Don’t get into the habit of turning work in late.
· If you are planning to be absent, please come see me before your absence so I can give you the assignments. They will need to be completed by the class period after your return. Come and see me if you have any concerns. Tests may be done before your absence.
· For unplanned absences, you will have until the next class period to finish your work. If you are absent for several days, please come see me so we can plan a reasonable time for completion.
· Any worksheets given out during an absence will be in the back of the room on the black shelves. You may use the teacher IAN to see what launch you missed as well as the assignments you missed. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask me.
· If you do poorly on a Mastery assignment, you will have the opportunity to re-do your assignment. However, you may only re-do TWO MASTERY ASSIGNMENTS per semester unless otherwise approved by me.
· Extra Credit will not be given. Remember, I do accept re-do’s if you would like to improve your grade. Please do not ask for extra credit.
Grading:
Your grade will be broken up into two categories.
· Practice worth 30% of your grade. These assignments are assignments in your IAN. These assignments are given to help understand the concepts being taught, and participation.
· Mastery worth 70% of your grade. This is the category I call “show me what you know”. These might be labs, tests, quizzes or projects. They usually come at the end of the unit to show me that you have “Mastered” the information in the unit. I will let you know when an assignment is a Mastery Assignment.
· I expect you to keep up with your own grades; however, I will hand out grade checks periodically. These will need to be signed by a parent and will be counted as a practice grade.
Academic Honesty:
The following has been taken from the Bosque Code of Conduct 2012-2013 (pages 29 and 31)
HONOR CODE
A Bosque School student is expected to act with integrity in his or her life. Acting with integrity includes being honest at all times, respecting the property of others and the environment of the school, and conducting oneself with moral and ethical awareness. (p29)
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Bosque School is a learning community dedicated to fostering intellectual growth and development and a sense of responsibility in each child. For students, academic integrity means that they are absolutely honest in their intellectual efforts. Violations of academic integrity, in any form, are, therefore, contrary to the values of Bosque School and detrimental to the students’ own development as young scholars and responsible members of this community.
Upper School Consequence: If a student is not honest in his or her academic efforts, he or she will receive both a disciplinary and an academic response to his or her actions. Depending on the circumstances of the incident, other consequences may be imposed. Any subsequent example of academic dishonesty will result in a more severe penalty and may result in an appearance before the Judicial Committee, which would determine if dismissal from school is warranted.
One specific requirement of the honor code, which is set forth in some detail here because of its significance, is academic integrity, which requires each student to use only his or her work unless proper citations are made or the teacher is fully aware of a collaborative effort. The following are examples, not an exhaustive list, of violations of this requirement:
• Plagiarism, which is the unacknowledged use of another's words or ideas, whether spoken or written, including material cut and pasted from electronic sources. o If another's words are used, they must be enclosed in quotation marks or set apart in a block quotation, and the source of those words must be given.
o It is not enough to change the words of a source; credit must be given for the ideas obtained from any source. o Sources that must be credited are not simply published works but any other person or any other person's works.
• Using unauthorized notes or other aids in a test, or copying from or being influenced by another student's work during a test. Unless otherwise stated in a teacher’s syllabus or specific course assignment, this prohibition includes a student using course materials, such as exams, notes or essays, completed by another student who took the course in a previous year, even if that use was only intended as a study aid.
• Giving unauthorized aid to another student, such as allowing another student to copy or use one's test, paper, or homework. As stated above, sharing course materials with a
31student enrolled in a course that he or she previously took is also not allowed. Students should check with individual teachers for clarity about their course policies. • Use of help on homework or a take-home test that is beyond the limits specified by the teacher.
• Submitting the same work for credit to more than one teacher unless both teachers give their permission.
(page 31)
REMEMBER: I am here to help YOU! Please do not hesitate to come see me if you have any questions. Biology builds on itself and it is very difficult to catch up if you are behind! I am looking forward to a great year
Course Outline
I. Scientific Method-
a. Review the scientific method and create experiments
b. Discussing what qualities make a good experiment to evaluate experiments.
c. How to write a proper lab report.
II. Living or Non-living?
III. Cells
a. Building blocks of life
b. Form vs. function
c. Different types of cells, what makes them different?
d. Cell respiration vs Photosynthesis
e. Cell reproduction- Mitosis and meiosis
IV. Genetics
a. Reproduction- Meiosis and Mitosis; what happens when things go wrong?
b. Inheritance and punnett squares
c. Important scientists and their contributions
V. Evolution
a. What is Evolution and how does it work?
b. Evidence to support Evolution
c. Scientists and their contributions.
VI. Human Body
a. Form vs Function (body systems and what they do)
VII. Ecology
a. What makes up an Ecosystem?
b. Environmental concerns, what can we do about it?