Your average will be determined using the following percentages.

• Labs (30%): Any hands-on or virtual lab work we do will be included in this category. Labs will be returned to you for feedback and then stored in your lab folder in my classroom as evidence that you met the lab requirement for the Regents Exam.

• Tests and Projects (30%): Unit exams, the midterm and final exam, along with your research papers will be included in this category.

• Quizzes (20%): There will be weekly quizzes that will be included in this category. I will drop your lowest quiz grade each quarter.

• Participation (20%): Your pre-work, exit tickets, Edpuzzles, and reading responses will be included in this category. Research paper checkpoints will also be part of your participation grade.

*Note: In order to determine your final average for B-G, your grade will be multiplied by 1.1 at the end of each quarter.

TC3 Letter grades will be assigned as follows:

93+ = A 90 – 92% = A-

87 – 89% = B+ 83 – 86% = B 80 – 82% = B-

77 – 79% = C+ 73 – 76% = C 70 – 72% = C-

67 – 69% = D+ 63 – 66% = D 60 – 62% = D- Below 60% = F

*Note: Your final average will NOT be multiplied by 1.1 when determining your TC3 letter grade. If you earn below a C in the first semester, you will audit the second semester of the course.

Attendance during lab activities is extremely important since the New York State Education Department requires completion of a minimum of 1200 minutes of satisfactory lab work (equivalent to approximately 30 lab exercises) before a student is allowed to take the Living Environment Regents (final) Exam in June. Completed labs must be kept on file in the classroom as evidence that the requirement has been met. If a student fails to complete the minimum lab requirement he/she will fail the course and be required to repeat in order to earn credit.

As part of the lab requirement, there are four New York State required labs that must be completed by all students taking the Living Environment Course.

1. Diffusion Through a Membrane

2. Beaks of Finches: Natural Selection

3. Making Connections

4. Relationships and Biodiversity

MWEE Research:

During the first semester you will be required to write a 3-5 page research paper on a topic related to local impacts on the Susquehanna River Watershed, which is part of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. Your first semester research and in-class labs and activities will provide background information for your MWEE Action Project. You will be required to share your data and conclusions from your MWEE fieldwork that led you to design your action project for your second semester project. There will be some flexibility in the approach you take to sharing this information that we will address later.

Due to the significant amount of time I expect you to spend on this work, both in and outside of class, the final draft/final project makes up a significant portion of your average for the semester. The grade will count as 2 test grades and 2 lab grades. In addition, you will be graded on meeting required progress checks. Those grades will be categorized as participation grades. These papers will require college level research, college level fieldwork and data analysis, and college level writing. You will be trained to utilize the TC3 library resources in the first semester.

TC3 Library:

The TC3 library page gives you access to all of their resources. As mentioned earlier, a TC3 librarian will train you on the use of their library system in the first 10-15 weeks of school. https://www.tompkinscortland.edu/library

The following reasons either singly or in combination may be cause for a student being placed on the Academic Intervention List.

1. One or more missing or incomplete lab write-ups or assignments.

2. One or more failing quiz grades.

3. One or more failing test grades.

4. Not meeting checkpoints for MWEE research.

If you are absent, it is your job to make up the work. Handouts, videos of lessons, and other materials will be available on our Google Classroom page. You MUST schedule a time with me to make up any missed labs by emailing me. Remember, as a Regents science course, there is a lab requirement.

• Respect yourself and everyone else in the room, including our virtual spaces like Google Classroom, and Zoom or Google Meets sessions.

• Be on time and prepared for class (online and in-person).

• Treat lab equipment and specimens, and live organisms in the classroom with care.

• Follow lab safety guidelines.

*You will be subject to the following Consequences if you do not follow the behavior guidelines (These consequences will not necessarily be followed in the order listed below.):

1. Receive a warning

2. Be removed from lab or other activity, as appropriate

3. A parent/guardian will be contacted

4. A Referral will be written

You will NEED to come to class with the following materials EVERY DAY!

1. Chromebook

2. Earbuds or headphones

3. Pencil and/or pen

4. 1” 3-Ring Binder OR 6 Pocket Folders

How can I access these tools?

You should sign up with Google using your school account for any of the resources that ask you to sign-in.

• School email: You can access on myapps.bgcsd.org

• Edpuzzles: Utilize the links in Google Classroom

• Kami: To complete work on pdf files

• Castle Learning: Utilize the links in Google Classroom

• Google forms, docs, and slides: Utilize the links in Google Classroom or open new files using the waffle

• Virtual Labs: Utilize the links in Google Classroom

• TC3 College Now: Use the following link to access CollegeNow resources www.tompkinscortland.edu/academics/collegenow

• TC3 Library: Use the following link to access the TC3 Library resources https://www.tompkinscortland.edu/library

• Anything else I find that will help you learn...