Welcome to Biology!

1. Welcome to Biology! September 8, 2015 Teacher(s) : Mrs. Frake/Mrs. Boland

2. Biology Syllabus Teachers : Mrs. Frake/Mrs. Boland Room # : GG205 Course : CP/ACC Biology Planning Center : GG213 ex : 8518 email : jfrake@lrhsd.org Available : After school until 2:55 pm or by appointment. *Availability may fluctuate due to after school activities & scheduled meetings*

3. General Expectations 1. Respect – esteem for or a sense of the worth or excellence of a person or a personal quality or ability; proper acceptance or courtesy; acknowledgment. 2. Courtesy – excellence of manners or social conduct; polite behavior. 3. Prompt – done, performed, or delivered at once or without delay; punctual (on time).

4. Behavior and Consequences *Appropriate language* - This is expected and means no use of foul or profane language during school. Failure to comply will result in detention or write-up depending on the severity of the situation. *General Promptness Policy* - Students will be marked as late after the bell rings (if without a note). Accumulation of three lates will result in a detention. Further detentions will be issued for further accumulations each month. Detention - Should inappropriate behavior lead to a detention : Parent contact will follow. The detention will last no less than a half an hour. Failure to show up for the scheduled detention will result in a write-up. Note : Students are given two days to choose from for a detention. Athletic practices, jobs, activities, etc. are NO EXCEPTION to a detention, once issued a student must stay.

5. Grading and Make-up Work Grading : All tests, quizzes, homework, labs, projects, etc. will be graded on a point-value system of : Total # of points earned X 100 Total # of points available *Tests : 50-100 pts *Quizzes : 10-40 pts *Labs : 15-50 pts *Large projects or assignments : 25-100 pts *Homework/Binder checks : 10-25 pts (usually 10 pts a piece) Grade value system : A – 90-100 B – 80-89 C – 70-79 D – 60-69 F – 0-59 Missed tests and quizzes : must be made up within 5 days (or # of school days missed) of a student’s return to school or a zero will be given. Students must stay after school to make these up unless other arrangements have been made with the teacher.

6. *GRADE CONFERENCES* At the end of each marking period, any student whosegrade average is below a “C” is REQUIRED to come after school for a short grade conference. It is the student’s responsibility to schedule the appointment within the first week of conferences. If an appointment is not made within the first week or if an appointment is missed, I will call home to schedule it.

7. Tests, Quizzes, and Copying Test/Quiz Policy : Cheating is intolerable and will result in an automatic zero, parent contact, and write-up. Students will be assigned test/quiz seats. Out of respect for your fellow classmates, there is to be NO TALKING OR DISRUPTION until I tell you that ALL tests/quizzes have been collected. Quizzes will be given once a week unless otherwise specified. *It is school policy that plagiarism of any kind be reported to the administration via write-up that goes into a student’s permanent file. Plagiarize – to use the words or ideas of another person as if your own; to cheat. Copying – doing what someone else does; imitating; writing or drawing in exactly the same way; making more samples of something; cheating.

8. Homework Policy Unless specified, homework is due the next day. Late homework is only eligible to receive up to half credit if completely correct and a zero if submitted after grading of an assignment is complete. Cheating/copying will result in a zero for the assignment and a write-up. Students always receive the # of days absent to make up the # of days of missed work (This is school policy). In other words, : # of days absent = # of days to make up missed work.

9. Lab Lab Policy : SAFETY is the most important thing. Behavior : Each student is considered to be a young adult and should show the behavior expected of a young adult., especially during lab. Fooling around in any way is not only immature but is also inappropriate during lab and will result in removal from the lab, parent contact, and/or a zero or alternative assignment. Appropriate dress is expected and includes : *Closed-toed shoes *Long pants *No head wear *No exposed midriffs *Hair tied back *Gloves on *Shirts that cover shoulders *Goggles on *Aprons on Students who are inappropriately dressed for lab will not be allowed to participate and will receive a zero or an alternative assignment.

10. Classroom Procedure : 1. Students are expected to be seated and working on the do-now assignments that are on the board/given out at the door as soon as they arrive. Class begins as soon as you enter the room, not when the bell rings. Also, we will be working from bell to bell. This means that packing up does not happen until the final bell rings or I tell you that we are finished for the day. 2. Students are expected to raise their hands when they wish to speak. All work should be done individually unless otherwise specified. 3. Students are expected to remain seated unless they are given permission to move. Congregating by the door until the bell rings is NOT allowed for safety reasons.

11. Classroom Procedure : 4. Bathroom privileges are allowed through agenda books or the hall pass when appropriate. Please do not ask to leave during lecture or instructions as it is disruptive to class and you could miss something very important. 5. There is to be no more than one student out of the classroom at a time. 6. Food and drinks (including water) are NOT permitted in a science classroom under New Jersey state law. Students who bring items in accidentally may put them in the cubbies (on the floor is NOT acceptable). Anyone caught with food and drinks at their desks will be subject to detention.

12. Materials needed for this class : Agenda book – allowed one use per class when appropriate for bathroom or locker. Writing implements (feel free to use what you like, we don’t mind) 3-ring binder (3 inch recommended, 2 inch minimum, NO SPIRAL BOUND). 6 Labeled (as specified in Bio binder reqs.) dividers/paper for notebook. Colored pencils (small sharpener recommended). Safety scissors Computer access for formal lab write-ups and other assignments (We can give you passes to work in the library during a study hall if necessary). Explanation of formal lab write-ups to follow separately. Zipper pouch or pencil box is recommended for storage purposes but not required.

13. Difficulties and Concerns *If you have any difficulty obtaining these items, simply let us know. We do our best to make sure that there are back up items available if necessary. *Please don’t hesitate to express comments or concerns with us. We are alwayswilling to listen to you. If you are extremely upset about something please speak with us privately so that there are not complications with others. WELCOME TO BIOLOGY!! Read the following statement, sign it, and have your parent/guardian read and sign the syllabus. I have read the following syllabus and will do my best to follow class procedures and expectations : Name (in print) _______________________________________________ Student signature _____________________________________________ Name (in print) _______________________________________________ Parent/Guardian signature______________________________________

14. Biology Binder *Every student is responsible for having a 3-ring binder that will be periodically checked for a grade of 10 pts. Per check. 2 Major Reasons for keeping a binder : 1. To organize notes, assignments and study materials - All notes, assignments & old tests/quizzes should be kept to use on assignments, chapter reviews, and for exam reviews until the end of each semester. 2. To double check assignments that were completed – Occasionally the question arises as to whether or not an assignment was completed and handed in. If there is no proof that you did the assignment, you cannot receive credit for it. People are not perfect. Teachers can overlook assignments by accident and students may forget to hand them in.

15. Biology Binder The binder MUST contain the following sections : 1. Notes section – All notes for each chapter are to be kept here in the order that they are done for quick and easy reference. 2. Homework section – All homework assignments (labs, worksheets, etc.) that need to be completed should be kept in this section until handed in. 3. Lab section – All graded labs should be kept in this section to reference when studying and to verify that they were definitely completed. 4. Tests/quizzes section – All returned tests and quizzes should be filed here to study from during exams. 5. Returned assignments section– All graded worksheets should be kept here to use for studying and to verify that they were definitely completed. 6. Do-now section– All do-now worksheets/assignments should be kept here to use for studying and to verify that they were definitely completed.

16. Other binder requirements : *It must be a 3-ring binder (No spiral bound) – 3 inch best (2 min). *It must have 6 labeled sections, one for each mentioned above. *Students must bring it to class (every day). No exceptions.

17. Formal Laboratory Report Format Name__________________ Date___________________ Period_____________________ Partner’s name : ____________ 1. Title of Experiment : Should be centered in bold or underlined before other sections. 2.Purpose of the lab : The purpose is the reason the lab is being done. It answers the question that the lab asks. 3.Hypothesis : What you predict the outcome of the experiment will be, based on your knowledge of the lab/prior knowledge. This section cannot be right or wrong & is always done before the experiment. 4.Materials used : List all materials that were used in the experiment. Don’t forget to use specific quantities and units, ex : 10 mls of water.

18. Formal Laboratory Report Format 5.Methods/Procedure : A description of exactly what you did step by step during the experiment. Remember units here too! 6.Results : This is all data (measurements, charts, drawings, graphs, etc.) that was collected during the experiment. Make sure that all headings are complete, specific, and descriptive. There should be no questions about the significance of your data. 7.Conclusions : An analysis of the results. DO NOT JUST REPEAT THE RESULTS. Explain thoroughly how the results answer the original question and whether or not they support the hypothesis. This section should also include what was learned from doing the experiment, why you believe that you got your specific results, & how the info can be further applied.