Welcome to Mr. Holben’s Science class!
I am looking forward to working with you and getting to know you better!
7th grade science is Life Science or Biology. It is my favorite science discipline and I hope you will find it as interesting as I do! We will be studying ecosystems and biomes the first part of the year. We will then move into learning about cells and cell processes. As the year continues, we will be studying genetics and heredity, plants and animals and the human body. This fall we will be going outside several times a month to study ecosystems near our school at Lookout Park. We will also go to Spearfish Creek to learn about that ecosystem. I have many fun and educational things planned for this school year!
Our science program in the middle school is the SAVVAS program. I am sure you are familiar with it as you used it in 6ht grade. I refer to it as our workbook and you will receive a consumable copy of it. I also use a science text book that you will find in your desk. It is helpful as a resource to our science curriculum based on the South Dakota Content Standards. Since the textbook stays in the classroom, I scan any and all of the required pages from it as well as any assigned work and post it on plan book. All SAVVAS assignments will be posted on plan book as well but since you have the workbook I do not scan them to plan book.
Please have 2 notebooks for science. The first one we will be using as a science journal. This is a very important part of your grade and we use it almost every day. You will also be able to use it on some of your tests. You will need several glue sticks for science as we glue a lot of things into our science journal. The other notebook will be used as a logbook for the science fair.
I post assignments and due dates on the board as well as on plan book. I will post the weeks work on plan book by Monday morning but they are subject to change depending on our in class progress. Due dates on the board take precedence over plan book. If you are absent or are going to be absent, please check plan book to see what you have missed or are going to miss. The middle school absent policy is one day more than the total number of days you are absent. For example, if you are gone 2 days you will have 3 days to get absent work turned in before it becomes late. Remember this does not include absences known in advance or absences due to sports/activities. If you know you are going to be absent or are absent due to a sport or activity, it is your responsibility to get that work before you leave. Remember all assignments can be found on plan book. All assignments not turned in when they are due are marked missing (M) on Infinite Campus until they are turned in. Missing assignments due to illness are not penalized if SMS Absent Policy is followed.
I am looking forward to a fun and educational school year!
If you have any questions, do not be afraid to ask. You can always email me or call:
SMS Phone # 605 717 1215
Mr. Holben
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