AP Biology Class Expectations.

Welcome to AP Biology. This course is intended to be equivalent to a first year college biology course for science majors. Keeping this in mind the expectations that I have for you will be higher than you are used to. Don’t worry you will be able to meet them. The responsibility for doing well in this class is upon you. I can guide you, and clarify things, but you will have to do the work.

Attendance. This is a very fast paced course, and you should do whatever you can to avoid missing class time. You should get contact information (email or phone #) from at least two classmates who will fill you in on what you missed if you are out. If you are absent the day before a quiz or a test, but there was advanced warning for it, you will still be expected to take it with the class. If you are absent on the day of a test/quiz, you are expected to take it immediately upon your return to class. In cases of extended absences, I may not expect you to make up a test immediately. It is your responsibility to discuss this with me immediately upon return to class. Missed labs may be hard to make up, if it requires a special set up or time sensitive materials, thus you might not be able to make them up. Do NOT take long breaks. Spring break is one week only. Do not leave and take an additional day, week, or month off to travel. You may travel during the summer for extended times. I will NOT excuse absences due to travel, even if your families or even the office does excuse them. You will take a zero on any assignments that you miss. (The only exception is travel due to death of a family member).

Turning in work. I expect you to turn in your own work at the beginning of class when it is due. If you are going on a field trip, or will be out of class for an activity, the day that an assignment is due, please drop it off in my mailbox or classroom that morning. You will NOT get an extension. If you ever turn anything into my mailbox, you must email me as soon as possible to let me know it is there. Field trips do NOT excuse you from responsibilities and due dates in my class. This is to ensure that you will be prepared for class if the event is cancelled. It also makes it fair to classmates who had to meet the deadline. If you are absent the day an assignment is due, I expect it to be turned in as soon as you return to school. I might not ask you for it, because keeping track of your work is part of your responsibility. I reserve the right to not accept late work for credit. If you receive a ZERO for any assignment, please do not ask me to give you an extra assignment to make up the credit, because I will not.

Grades. I work on a “total points” scale for each marking period. I assign grades for each assignment based on the amount of work that went into it. Some labs can be worth more than a test. You may have 5 tests in one marking period all with slightly different point values. Calculating your grades is easy, and I encourage you to do so. Just record any grade that I give you, find the sum of all numerators and denominators and divide. An “A” signifies concept mastery. I only give A’s, B’s, C’s, and F’s. This means that you must have a 70.0% and higher to pass my class. A 69.9% is an F!!!

Homework. Homework serves several purposes. It can help you review, and to look for weaknesses that you need more help with, or it may be to prepare you for a class or lab. I do not give many homework grades, because if you are not doing homework, your other grades will reflect it. Occasionally I do check homework for grades, especially if I feel that students are not coming to class prepared. Homework will be graded randomly, so I suggest you do all of it to make sure you get any points I may give. (I will grade almost every thing first grading period). If I do not give an assignment, then you should pre-read the materials I am about to cover, or review on your own. In many college classes, homework is not often “checked” or graded, but if you do not do it, you will not do well on the exams, and your grades will suffer.

Tests. You should always have a pencil for class, but definitely have one on test days. Tests in the beginning may take an entire period, and I do NOT give extra time. As the year progresses, you will have less time to complete an exam. They will be timed! Therefore it behooves you to be ready to take the test as soon as class begins. My tests are often a mixture of formats, and they frequently include:

1. Multiple Choice Questions.

2. Free Response Questions. Ranging from short answers to essay questions

3. Lab Practical. Questions based on an understanding of a recently performed lab, includes identification of specimens and slides.

Make-Up Exams. If you miss class on the day of an exam, you will not be given the same exact exam that the rest of the class took. It will cover the same material and concepts, but it is likely to be very different. Almost all make-up exams are completely free response questions. If you are not comfortable with the format, I suggest you do everything possible to avoid missing class on test days.

Final Project. That’s right, class continues after the AP exam. You will have an end of year project that will be related to some sort of field trip. The past 3 years, we have gone to Catalina Island. You MUST go on the trip. This means that you must earn clearance from all of your teachers and administration-that means that you must be in good standing in all of your classes (you may never fall below a 3.0 in any given grading period!) If your grades do not appear to be satisfactory, I will not take you on the trip. You will complete an alternate assignment near the end of the year instead. Also, the field trip will involve water, so you must be comfortable in and around water or learn to be before the spring semester.

Fund Raisers. You are expected to participate in ALL fund raisers to fund the end of the year trip. As an AP biology student, you are all automatically a member of the AP Science Experience ASB club! You are expected to participate in all club events, including fund raisers and field trips.

Textbooks. You will be assigned a book that is yours to use throughout the year. There may be enough for everyone to have a book to KEEP at home and for me to have a classroom set to reference during class periods. Until I am able to check out a classroom set, you must bring your book to class with you EVERY day, until I say otherwise.

Labs. Lab Notebooks are Required (see Lab Notebook handout)

They will be hard bound-composition notebooks (graph-ruled), and the only time you may use pencil is for sketching/ drawing observations. You must have pens and mechanical pencils in my class.

Labs are an important part of any good science program. In this course we will perform a wide variety of labs. Some will come directly from the AP Board recommended lab manual, some will not. Appropriate behavior and dress is always required. (See lab safety contract.) Lab time is valuable and it should never be wasted, therefore I expect students to do any pre-lab work that I assign to ensure that no time is wasted and that the lab runs safely. Students will often work with each-other during a lab, but when it is time to answer questions, or analyze the results each student must do his or her own work. Even if you discuss the results with lab partners, I want your work in your own words. This is the only way that I will know if you understand the lab. If you and a partner turn in identical labs do not expect any grade higher than a Zero.

Dissections. Dissection skills are an important part of this course. No simulations can give you the same experience. We have some photos, videos, computer software, and diagrams, which are all great supplements, but they are not substitutes. The final exam portion of the final project may be a lab-practical, and will have the real thing, which does not always look like the supplements. Strong, solid familiarization with every organ, from every angle, is essential for success, and the supplements alone will not get you there.

Academic Integrity. Over the last few years I have caught students cheating, copying or plagiarizing other work. I have a ZERO Tolerance policy on this. I will give a zero, and write up any students who step over the line of academic integrity. I want to evaluate your work. Too often, students just copy paragraphs from websites or encyclopedias, and insert them into essays or reports, without proper references. When in doubt cite it, and if you need help ask a teacher. . Cheating is a major problem with all of the pressures that students are under. Grades are assigned to assess your work, and I put a lot of effort into giving you a fair and honest assessment. Turning in your own work, in your own words is the only way I can tell how you are doing with the material. If you cannot do the work, then your grade should reflect it, or you should not be in the class.

Electronics. I have a zero tolerance policy on electronics. You may NEVER take out a cell phone, I-pod, Kindle, laptop, etc in my class unless for some crazy reason, I give you permission to do so. (We may need to use cell phones as timers during a lab or to research an answer to a question). I will confiscate any device that is out in class and keep it until you serve one hour of tutoring after school, no matter how many days that may take. I do not offer tutoring on Fridays, so if you lose your phone on Friday, the earliest you will receive it is on Monday. If you refuse to give me your device when I confiscate it, you will receive a ZERO on ALL assignments for the entire week. You may NOT receive calls or texts at all in my class, including from parents or family members. Avoid problems and turn your phone on SILENT BEFORE entering my classroom.

AP Café: You will be required to attend after school sessions and study groups. On days that these are offered, you must attend. Athletic practices, work, or other commitments will NOT excuse you from these sessions. You will have more than enough notice of the AP café meetings. Also, we may be doing some of the labs after school. Therefore, you can also not miss those sessions.

Excuses from class: Historically, my class has always been held during period 6. This is also a time that a lot of colleges give presentations on campus. NOBODY will be excused to attend any of these sessions. You may go at lunch time and get information, but you will not be excused from my class. I also reserve the right to refuse excuses for other events that occur at the end of period 6, such as ASB set-ups for lunch events or any other club meeting. It is your responsibility to communicate with your club advisors and let them know that you will not be available to help to set up for any event that will take you out of my class. Also, if you are late to my class, you WILL be marked tardy. No other teacher has the right to excuse you from my class, even if you are working on a project in their room, finishing an exam, or helping them in some way. It is your responsibility to arrange a time other than during my class to make up deficient work in other classes. I will only excuse a tardy in my class if you arrive with a pass from a counselor or an administrator. No other late passes will be accepted.

I Promise that I will also give my best effort to help any student who needs extra help, but you must try to do the work first; then come to me for extra help. I will have set days for tutoring after school but it will not be more than two days a week. You can always email me questions about assignments or with other concerns. Although the expectations may seem overwhelming, it is essential that you understand what you are getting into. I promise to give you the best experience that I can, but you must understand that in order for that to happen, that you have to commit yourself fully to the class. Please understand that I am well aware of your many commitments. However, many students at many schools have the same, if not more commitments and make it work. Please understand what it is that you, as an individual, need to do in order to be successful, even if that means you stay up until 2am to finish your assignments. You can catch up on sleep on the weekends and the many breaks. The greatest successes and biggest rewards come from the ability to make sacrifices. Please trust in what I have in store for you because it is only to make you prepared for the next stage of your life after high school.

Please sign and have your parents/guardian sign, and turn in the following Contract for the first day of class.

Student:

I ______(print your name) have read, and understand, the AP Biology Class Expectations. If I did not understand something in the expectations I have had the opportunity to contact Mr. Resch at or for clarification. I agree to give my best effort in this class, and I will uphold the tenants of Academic Integrity.

Student Signature: ______

Parents or Guardians:

Your signature acknowledges that you have also read my AP Biology Class Expectations, and you understand that your child has decided to undertake a rigorous and demanding course with high expectations. This is not just another class to take for AP credit; it is designed for science majors, which is significantly more difficult than college classes for non-majors. Students taking multiple AP classes are going to have to work very hard, and become effective time managers. My goal is to prepare every student for some of the things that they should expect in college.

Parent Signature: ______

***Print this entire packet, sign and return the 1st day of school along with your summer assignments.

Also, print a 2nd copy for yourself and bring it to the first day of class. We will go over some of it together and you will keep it in your notebook.