Mr. Daniel

Academic Biology

Welcome to Academic Biology! Please read this carefully and keep it for reference. This document is also posted on my website.

Expectations:

  • Be on time – you have 6 minutes between each class – use it wisely.
  • Do not be disrespectful to us or your peers – expect consequences if you choose to ignore this expectation.
  • No food or drink (water in a closed container is ok) allowed in the classroom.
  • Cell Phones must be turned off or on silent and put away out of view.
  • It is up to us to allow you to leave the room to go to the restroom, locker, etc.
  • No leaving room first or last 10 minutes of class.

What will we cover this year?

Unit 1 - “Characteristics of Life; SI System; Sci. Method; Viruses; Classification” Chaps: 1, 18, and 19.

Unit 2 – “Bacteria, Protists, and Fungi” Chapters 19, 20, and 21.

Unit 3 - “Biochemistry” Chapter 2

Unit 4 - “Cells” Chapters 7, 8, and 9

Unit 5 - “Mitosis and Meiosis” Chapter 10

Unit 6 - “DNA” Chapter 12

Unit 7 - “Genetics” Chapters 11, 13, and 14

Unit 8 - “Evolution” Chapters 15, 16, 17, and 18

Unit 9 - “Ecology” Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6

Unit 10 - “Plants” Chapters 22, 23, 24, and 25

Unit 11 - “Animals” Chapters 30, 31, 32, 33, and 34

Grading: Assignments will be categorized as either formative or summative.

  • Formative assignments account for 10% of your quarter grade and include things designed to introduce you to new material. Examples may include reading guides or classroom/homework worksheets.
  • Summative assignments account for 90% of your quarter grade. Examples of summative assignments include lab summaries, quizzes, tests, naturalist journals, and projects.

Assignments:

During each unit there will be small quizzes covering information presented in the previous class. Biology is a lab class and there will be labs for each unit. A lab summary or a quiz may follow each lab.

Homework:

Homework is graded for accuracy and completion. Homework will be accepted late, but a loss of 10%. It must be completed by the next class; after that it is a 0. We try to limit the homework to 20 minutes each night. The points will depend on the assignment, and will change accordingly.

Workbook:

You will need to bring your Class Workbook that contains all notes, assignments, and labs to each class. It is your responsibility to bring this to class EVERYDAY. Do not lose this notebook!

Naturalist Journal:

Throughout the course you will be required to maintain a Naturalist Journal. Each quarter there will be 2 Naturalist Journal assignments. These will require you to collect items, make observation or do research dealing with the natural world.

Retakes:

You will be able to retake Unit Tests, however to qualify for a retake you must meet the retake criteria (complete the retake form, complete all formative assignments, complete the required review, meet with the teacher to discuss). The retake grade will be averaged with the original test grade. The retake must be taken within one week of receiving the original graded test.

Absences:

There is a large amount of material covered each day. If you are sick and out of school, it is your responsibility to see us for the make-up work and turn it in by the due date. It will not be accepted any later. If you choose not to make up your work, then you can expect a zero on those assignments.

Tardiness:

Don’t be tardy. You will receive a warning for your first tardy. After that, the 2nd time each time after that the consequence will be an office referral.

Extra Help:

If you would like extra help, please see me in advance so we can agree on a specific time and date.

SSW/FLEX:

Bring materials to work on Biology.

Supplies:

It is recommended you have a 3 ring binder with loose leaf paper.

Pencil & pens.

A bound journal with unlined paper for the Naturalist Journal assignments.

3x5 index cards are recommended for vocabulary flash cards.

Honor Code:

The PFHS Honor Code is enforced in this class.

*Make sure to check Mr. Daniel’s webpage for upcoming quizzes, tests, and project deadlines.*

E-MAIL: Cecil Daniel

Any questions or concerns about a student’s progress should be addressed to me. E-mail is a wonderful tool to use but parents must indicate a willingness to have grades and confidential information sent via this method by signing the attached sheet. I check my e-mail only during school hours. Therefore, please allow at least 24 hours for reply.

Students and Parents:

Please sign this sheet documenting your understanding of the information on the FAQ/Information sheet. Please see me with any concerns the first two weeks of class.

STUDENT

I thoroughly read and understand the information in Mr. Daniel’s FAQ/Information about Biology.

Student name (print legibly) - ______

Student signature- ______

Date- ______

PARENT

I have read over Mr. Daniel’s FAQ/Information sheet. I understand that late work may not be accepted or will incur a grade deduction. I read and understand the make-up policy and how grades are determined. The teacher can e-mail me with grade information as needed YES _____ or NO _____?

Parent name (print legibly) - ______

Parent signature- ______

PARENTS:

Please feel free to contact me via email at

I also have a website accessible from the Staff section of Potomac Falls HS website.

You will have access to grades through the parent portal via ParentVue link on PFHS’s website. This will become active around September 26th.

I look forward to meeting you at Back to School night on Tuesday, September 19th at 6:30pm.

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2nd & 6th Blocks / @danielrb / 81010
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