Behavior Expectations:  All Classes   SY 2023-2024                                         Ms. Stringer

• Students are expected to follow all policies and procedures stated in the Student Handbook.
  
  

•  Students expected to be in their seats, ready for class when the second bell rings.
  
  

• Once class starts, students will be in their seat, and remain in there, unless directed otherwise by the teacher. 
  
          Plan to have all the materials you need for class BEFORE the start of the period. 
          Laptops charged and ready to use.  Notebooks open and dated.  Working pens and
          pencils at hand.
  
                      

Follow the  Class Code of Conduct:

• Be respectful to yourself and others.
  
  

• Put yourself in charge of your own actions.
  
  

• Choose wisely how you spend your time.
  
  

• Commit random acts of kindness.
  
  

• Set out to have a good day.
  
  

This follows the SCHOOL CODE OF CONDUCT:

• Be Safe

• Be Responsible

• Be Respectable
  
  

Cell Phone Use:

This classroom is a RED zone.  If at any time a student is asked to relinquish their phone for inappropriate use- they must DO SO IMMEDIATELY.  The phone will be returned at the end of class.  Failure to hand over the phone will result in an automatic referral.

Any student causing a disruption that destroys the learning environment for the class will be removed from class. 

• Repeated disruptions will require a conference with the parent/guardian before student can return to class.
  
  

         Students will be responsible for missed work.
                Office hours are available after school, or by appointment, to make
                up back work/labs, or to get help with work assigned.  

Regents Biology     [SY 2023_2024]                Grading Policies                                                       Stringer

Google Class Sign-in:   TBA    

Google Lab  Sign-in:  TBA     

1. Classroom [Class or Lab] Grade:  Each student has the opportunity to earn 25 classroom credit points per week. That is five points a day.

               Points are earned by:

• Entering the class on time.

• Having any assignments due and handed in on time.

• Showing good judgment by being respectful of class and teacher.

• Participating when appropriate.        
  
  

2. Assignments:  Posted in Google Classroom- Every Sunday after 3 PM. 
   
   Note:  There is a separate Google Classroom for Lab and Class.
   
   Workbook assignments are daily and each section is worth 25 points, based on effort. 
   
   Numerous classroom activities (handouts/worksheets) are assigned during the year and may be worth 25 points, and are generally effort based.  
   
   If low grades are received for any lab, project, activity, or quiz, students will be given the opportunity to correct the assignment for half credit back, calculated from the original grade.
   
   NOTE:  Grades for Bell Work, Castle Learning Homework, and TESTs
                 can NOT be changed.  Only Tests can be made up.
   
   

3.   Laboratory Grade: Labs are MANDATORY by the State of New York.
       Each lab is worth 50 points.  
   
   In order to sit for the Final Regents Exam all required labs MUST BE COMPLETED with a PASSING grade.
   
   -The lab grade will be averaged into your classroom grade at the end of
     every quarter. 
   
   

4.  Quiz Grade:  The vocabulary and facts of science are important and quizzes will be given
      throughout the semester.  Quizzes are worth between 35 – 65 points, and are open-
      notebook, reflecting the quality of note-taking and the ability to use the notes once taken.  

5.  Test Grade:  Tests are given throughout each semester, they are closed notebook, open mind. 
      Test grades are worth 100 points and grades are final.   A Final Exam will be given in class at
      the end of the school year.                            .  

6.   Homework Grade:  Assigned EVERY week in Castle Learning  ( Holidays included). 

            This assignment opens on Monday, 7 AM, and is closed on Sunday at midnight.
            Students should use the week to research answers to the questions.       

              Each assignment is worth 100 points and cannot be made up. 

        However: at the end of each quarter the lowest two homework grades will be dropped.

7. Pre-Test: The Pre-Test is an evaluation of prior knowledge and is not calculated into class average
            but will be posted into School Tool.  This evaluation will be used as a benchmark to help gauge
            yearly progress.

              The Regents Exam is the post test.

     Your Final Grade is the number of the points that you earn compared to the total number of points that could be achieved.

How the week will look for the Biology Student:

Biology Science has  CLASS Time: every day

                          and a Lab Period: every-other-day

To help stay on track the week’s assignments will be posted every Sunday in Google Classroom under the CLASS and Lab      

• Every Sunday students will log into the Google Classroom site for the Biology CLASS and Lab to check for the  weeks assignments.  Students should also check their email daily.
  
  

• Bell Work questions will be posted in the Biology CLASSROOM and completed first thing, every day, Monday through Thursday.
  
  

• Every Friday there will be a QUIZ or Test on the previous week's material.
  
  

• Class will consist of Lecture and Classwork.
  
  

Every-Other-Day for Lab Class:   Lab activities will be assigned and completed during this time. 

Students can expect to spend at least 30 minutes a day on their own time to work on assignments, go over notes, and learn the vocabulary and material introduced daily.  

Regents Biology   [SY 2023 - 2024]          Course Outline                             Stringer

Side Note:    Biology is the study of Evolution and the underlying theme of the course.  
                      Life on the planet has been populated with immense variations; the study of biology
                      looks at the history and mechanisms that maintain life and how changes in life forms

                      have occurred since the first living cell. 

Unit One:  Science Practices

• Reviewing how we do science
  
  

Unit Two: Cell Specialization and Organization

• The basic unit of structure and function of living organisms
  
  

Unit Three: Feedback Mechanisms

• Maintaining a balance in all life systems
  
  

Unit Four: Growth and Development

• From conception to reproductive maturity
  
  

Unit Five: Energy and Living Systems

• Energy needs at the cellular level
  
  

Unit Six: Interdependence in Ecosystems

• “No man is an island” - life is the story of connections between organisms 

Unit Seven: Energy Flow and Nutrient Cycles

• Exploring the transfer of energy in ecosystems
  
  

Unit Eight: The Dynamic Ecosystem

• Life is about changes, nothing ever stays the same
  
  

Unit Nine: Social Behavior

• Group organization and dynamics
  
  

Unit Ten: Inheritance of Traits

• A more in depth look into chromosomes and their effect on organisms
  
  

Unit Eleven: Variation of Traits

• or The mechanisms leading to the immense variety of life on Earth
  
  

Unit Twelve: Evidence for Evolution

• A debate without merit
  
  

Unit Thirteen: Natural Selection and Adaptation

• Mechanisms of evolution from an environmental perspective
  
  

Unit Fourteen:  Biodiversity

• Ending where we started:  Why the diversity we find in living organisms today is vital to maintaining life as we know it into the future