IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR THE CLASS 

Click on the Class guidelines link for information about the classroom expectations and rules.

Schedule  

Science class will be Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (Science room first floor)

Engineering class will be Thursday and Friday (Engineering room second floor)

Labs/Projects information.

 Please read the guidelines for labs and projects.

Textbooks/Materials:

 Students will use online textbooks, copies provided during lessons, and links to educational sites to complete tasks and other assigned activities, which they can access with their Clever Account, or use their school email to log in.

 Additional resources will be provided via the Google Classroom and will include:

• Videos

• Simulations

• Games

2023-2024 Science Class Wish List.

Digital Citizenship 

We recommend students use the "Pause before you post" idea when using social media or any other internet app or site. 

Use THINK as reference :

T:  is it TRUE?

       H: is it HELPFUL?

             I: is it INSPIRING?

              N: is it NECESSARY?

                                                                            K: is it KIND?

 Doctors don’t make you healthy

Teachers don’t make you learn

Trainers don’t make you fit

Coaches don’t make you rich.

 At some point, you have to realize your growth is your responsibility.

 How can you help?

 Children learn through hands-on activities. By questioning, seeking answers, gathering evidence, and recording results, children can build on their natural curiosity. But it’s important to make sure that activities are connected to a scientific idea or concept. In addition to guiding the learning process, you can help your child develop enthusiasm and curiosity.

 Support your children academically by:

•  Checking activities assigned, due dates, and how they are working on them.

•  Verify that your children completed any homework or assigned activity.

•  Communicate with the teacher when help or information is required.

•  Talk to your children about the importance of taking notes, doing reviews of the class, and asking questions.

 Preparing for high school

The foundation students build in middle school will support them throughout their education. By the end of middle school, students should be familiar with the language of science and other subjects and have a grasp of basic concepts that will help them in their learning process with different subjects.

SCIENCE CLASS EXPECTATIONS

• Check your class material. During class, teachers can provide a lesson plan or some information to help with the learning process, read and prepare, organize the information to follow up the lesson, and review the concepts learned.

• Respect. Be respectful of your peers, teachers, and subs. Follow the classroom and school policies.

• Write notes. Note-taking skills are required, have a notebook or binder, pen or pencil, and take notes from the lesson presented. If the teacher provides a recorded video, use the pause, and rewind options to review something again and write down information or questions you can ask your teacher. You do not need to write everything, look for new vocabulary words and new concepts highlighted in the document or by the teacher.

• Raise your hand to participate. That will provide a good sense of participation and maintain order in the classroom.  You can ask any question, do not be afraid, there are no good or bad questions, and when you ask it means you are learning.

• Do not use technology for other activities.  During class, we may need to use a laptop for specific activities, if technology is not required, do not use your laptop on other assignments or distractions.

• Work on your assignments.  Any assignment has due dates specified by your teacher, organize and plan the activities, and do not wait until the last minute. Remember learning is about you, how you organize and take ownership of it.

• Have a planner. This is an important resource, it will help to manage your classes, tasks, and any other activity. It will help keep track of due dates, pending tasks, and lesson plans.

• Create study groups. Use the online resources and meet with other students to go over your class, review lessons and work on projects.

• Communicate. Students should use email and other communication tools with teachers and other students. Please be sure to check your Google Classroom and email, it is very important.

• Ask for help. If you need help, ask for it, your teacher, your school counselor, and your school principal are there for you, contact them at any time. 

• REMEMBER: You earn your grade. Your teacher is a guide, facilitator, and support during the learning process. Check the rubrics provided and do your best on any assignment. 

• Grading Policies: 20% for any formative assessment and 80% for any summative assessment.

  • Formative assessments are quizzes, in-class labs, and in-class projects.

  • Summative assessments are unit tests, STEM projects, Research, and presentation activities.

• Midterms and Finals: For our Science class, midterms, and finals may be a combination of written tests and project-based activities. Students will receive information about it with specific due dates to be completed and submitted.

• CAPSTONE: This is a graduation requirement and a final project for 8th-grade students. It begins at the end of the fourth quarter in seventh grade and will formally start on the first full week of school. A timeline will be provided with specific activities to be completed. Students need support from a mentor and will have a final presentation during the first week of May. Presentations will be judged by invited teachers and professionals. The final grade will be an average of all the Capstone activities completed during the year including the presentation and a final student's personal reflection.

GOALS TO REACH

The main goal for the Science class is for students to learn basic concepts of different science areas that will provide a foundation for High School specific subjects. 

In addition to their conceptual understanding students will be able to achieve the following skills: 

• Research information and support their information during presentations. 

• Present ideas using technological tools and be able to provide answers to questions. 

• Use critical thinking, and creativity to provide new ideas or to support ideas. 

• Collaborate and communicate with other peers, teachers, parents, and/or mentors. 

• Use the scientific method to provide answers using experiments, research, and data. 

• Use the engineering design process to find possible solutions to world problems.