Biology and Biology Honors
Ms. Brown
2016-2017
E-mail: Best method of contact, I will respond within 48 hours.
Victoria Brown -
Telephone: 720-424-1795
Call before or after school hours; leave a voicemail if no answer.
Students (only) can call, or text, me on my cell phone. Responses will be as soon as possible: 303-949-6228 (Please keep texts from 7:00 am- 9:00 pm.)
Parent Conferences: Parents, please contact me at the above e-mail, or office phone number, to schedule a meeting before or after school.
Student Tutoring Hours: Student tutoring is available before school on Stripe days, and until 3:20 Tuesday and Thursday. Students can make an appointment with me for other times.
Web Site: The web site will have all assignments posted on it, and will be updated only on a weekly basis. Planners are encouraged to keep up with all assignments. Due to the open communication allowed between students and myself on my cell phone (some months I have 3,000+ texts) my web site will be in outline form only.
Welcome students!
It is going to be another great year in science!We have a lot to learn, and a lot of exciting experiences to have. I love studying biology because it is the study of “us”. It is very personal! The beauty of studying biology is that you will learn about your own body; why you do or don’t have allergies, why your hair is the color it is, and why you have to breathe faster when you run. Biology will help you understand all that is around you, and why it is the way it is. We will study life from a microcellular level, to an ecological view of how living organisms interact with one another.
This Biology and Biology Honors curriculum is very interesting, with lots of hands on activities, while covering a wide variety of classic biology concepts, as well as current events. If there is a particular science topic you are really interested in, or very knowledgeable about, please let me know and we will try to accommodate it into the class curriculum.
Themes in the Biology Curriculum:
Evolution: Changes, adaptations, and diversity
Homeostasis: Cells regulating heat, pH, and maintaining a balance of energy
Energy and Living Organisms: Fitness, releasing and recycling energy from food
Reproduction and Inheritance: DNA and patterns of inheriting traits in organisms
Growth and Differentiation: Processes and patterns in human development
Ecology: Interdependence of organisms in the environment
Units of Study
First Semester:
Course Introduction
Unit 1
Ecology: How can we help maintain the
Denver ecosystem and the services
it provides?
Unit 2
Evolution: Patterns, Mechanisms and Products
of change.
Second Semester:
Unit 3
Nutrition, Matter, and Energy Organization.
Units 4 and 5
Genetic Continuity, Reproduction and Differentiation
Unit 6
Homeostasis: Maintaining Dynamic Equilibrium
in the human body
Class Expectations:
· Students and teacher will respect each other at all times in the classroom. If respect is not shown a student can and will be removed from the class.
· Students will be expected to pay attention and be quiet during teacher instructional time.
· Students may have food, drink and gum in the classroom, as long as it is not a distraction for themselves or anyone around them, including the teacher.
· Students are not to open the snake cage at ANY time for ANY reason.
· Students are not to touch anyone else’s Fish Tank at ANY time. (no tapping on tanks)
· During a lab, students are to be on their best behavior and remain in their seat as much as the lab allows. (No one will ever be forced to dissect.)
· Students are to show respect to all organisms that are being dissected.
· Students will not swear and will not use put-downs.
· Students are not to play with the air and gas outlets, or the eye wash station.
· Cell phones can be used as timers or as research tools, but are not to be used for texting or social activities.
· Students are expected to be on time to class. When coming in late students will be asked to sign in with the date. After 3 times of tardiness parents will be contacted, and students will have one lunch detention.
· Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Plagiarizing will result in appropriate alteration to the assignment grade, up to no credit given, as determined by the student, parent and teacher.
Any disciplinary problems will be dealt with as described on the DPS District discipline ladder.
Not following the above-mentioned rules will result in:
1st time - Teacher-Student Conference
2nd time - Call home to parents, and a lunch detention
3rd time – Meeting with parents and possible detention
4th time - Referral to Mr. Loera
Grading:
100% - 90% = A
89% - 80% = B
79% - 70% = C
69% - 60% = D
59% - 0% = F
Late Papers:
Late papers will be marked 20% off.
Any missing paper can be turned in up
to the end of the present quarter the
assignment was given in.
Students get two days to make up any work missed for every one excused absence as per district attendance policy. Unexcused absences and their make up work are up to the teacher’s discretion. Any student with an extended leave from school should notify the teacher as early as possible.
Please refer to the DSA handbook for the definition of excused and unexcused absences. Unexcused absences will be handled based on the DSA handbook, and may or may not allow a student to made up missed work.
If you are going to miss class due to an activity in your major, please let me know 2 class periods ahead to get your work ahead of time.
Weighting:
Your grade will be weighted as follows:
60% -- Assessments
30% -- Process work
10% -- Semester Final
Process work will include any homework, labs, activities, research papers or class work that aids in you mastering the science standards that are taught in class. Although each assignment will have different point values, as a whole they will not be more than 25% of your semester grade.
Assessments will be any culminating activity that allows you to show what you what you have learned, and your level of understanding of the concept. These activities can include tests, quizzes and projects. Since 65% of your grade is based on how well you understand the material, be sure to ask questions and advocate for yourself if you need some help with a topic in class. There are no test or quiz retakes. DSA policy weighs the semester final as 10% of the semester grade.
Honors Credit Option
All students have the option of taking this Biology class for regular credit, or weighted credit. Students, if you choose to have Honors Biology credit you will need to write 2 research papers, one each quarter, a presentation that aligns with your paper’s topic. All regular class work turned in should be thoughtful, show honors level effort, and a comprehensive understanding of the concepts. The papers will be 20% of the Assessments weighted category, and will affect the total grade. As a student, you have until September 2nd to decide if you want honors credit. Any student who chooses Honors must complete the Honors papers. A form must be completed by the student confirming your choice for credit, the default being Honors. Anyone receiving a D or F in Honors is not eligible to take Honors the next semester.
Supplies
Students must have the following by September 6th or 7th .
· Any type of notebook that has lined paper and can hold handouts.
· Pens and/or pencils (which ever you are most comfortable with, but no red ink, or neon color.)
I have students each bring 1 item to class to be used by the community. For example, one child may bring paper towels, but they will also be able to use anything anyone else brought to class such as Kleenex, tape, glue, scissors, Clorox wipes etc. If there is an issue with not being able to bring an item due to economic constraints, please email me or call me, I can work with you.
1 box of Kleenex (last name A - L)
2 roll of Paper Towel (last name M – O)
1 canister of disinfecting wipes (last name P – T)
1 pair of scissors (last name U – Z)
I will assume that every parent has signed up for the Parent Portal to be able to view his or her child’s grade online. Students need to be proactive in looking at the Student Portal to keep up on their grades and missing assignments. I will use the email address given at registration to contact you regarding your child’s behavior and academic performance. If Internet access is difficult, or for any reason does not work, please let me know the best way to contact you about your child. Once an assignment has been collected please allow a few days for grading, and to input the results into the grading program. A blank in I.C. does not mean it is missing, it means it is not graded yet. An ‘M’ in IC means that the assignment is missing and can still be turned in. At the end of each quarter the “M’s” will turn into “0’s”. You may email me with any questions you may have about your student’s progress. A copy of this Syllabus is online on my Biology webpage.
This is going to be an awesome year! It is important for you to know that you will have to work to make it successful!What you get out of this class is dependant on what you put into it!
Thank you,
Victoria Brown
Please return only this portion:
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I have read the Biology Syllabus.
Student Name______Period______
Student Signature:______
Parent/Guardian Signature:______