Hello Parents and Students of Team Matterhorn!!! Welcome to the 2023/2024 School Year 

Welcome to the new School Year!  I am really looking forward to this year; we should have a great time in Science and will be doing a variety of hands-on activities.  The year will include a review of equipment, concepts, and skills, including Lab Safety and Equipment Use, the Scientific Method, and a little Engineering Design—all of which will be woven into investigations into Chemistry, Genetics & Natural Selection, and Weather & Climate.  The final is cumulative and there is Science MCAS in 8th grade.

My name is Ms. Christoferson and I am the Team Matterhorn General Science Teacher at HRHS. 

Bio: I am starting my 18th year of teaching here at HRHS, and I actually went to school here at HRHS a couple decades ago. I graduated from Williams College in Biology and have a Masters from the University Of Arizona in Wildlife and Fisheries Science. I live nearby in Huntington with my husband, my Standard Poodle, Tucker, and my cat, Pixie.  

My Help Day will be Thursday from 2:15-3:10 and I may also be available other days by appointment.

This page may be updated throughout the year as new issues and questions come up. For a more complete look at the day by day happenings of the class please visit my Class at a Glance that lists the warm-up, homework, and daily agenda and has links to most handouts and assignments.  For more on assignments and the class please see your student's google classroom.

The state updated the Science State Standards to incorporate the national Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and identify what should be taught at each grade level through grade 8. The eighth grade theme is Cause and Effect and according to the state:

Grade 8 students use more robust abstract thinking skills to explain causes of complex phenomena and systems. Many causes are not immediately or physically visible to students. An understanding of cause and effect of key natural phenomena and designed processes allows students to explain patterns and make predictions about future events. In grade 8 these include, for example, causes of seasons and tides; causes of plate tectonics and weather or climate; the role of genetics in reproduction, heredity, and artificial selection; and how atoms and molecules interact to explain the substances that make up the world and how materials change. Being able to analyze phenomena for evidence of causes and processes that often cannot be seen, and being able to conceptualize and describe those, is a significant outcome for grade 8 students.

The following are my Class Expectations and Notes for Team Matterhorn General Science:

Ms. Christoferson’s Middle School General Science

Welcome to Science Class! I hope that we have a great year together and that you enjoy coming to class all year long, but most of all I hope that you will learn to ask questions, look for answers, make connections, and examine the world around you in a new way. 

Overall, my classroom rules are simple--1) I expect you to show respect; 2) follow all directions, whether written or verbal; and 3) stay safe, focused, and engaged. We will be creating any additional classroom rules together.

I will be using google classroom and my Class at a Glance page to provide links to classroom handouts when necessary along with information on classroom activities, support materials, and other important information for you and your parents.

I am asking that all students consider making a donation to the classroom. This is your classroom, and I want you to have a sense of ownership (and I will give some bonus points; so put your name on your donation please). I want you to realize that all the supplies in this class are provided by someone and need to be shared by all of you. I expect all my students to respect each other, their teachers, their classrooms and their school—this includes not wasting or destroying equipment or supplies. I am looking for items that will be used throughout the year by all students during activities, labs, and daily classroom use. For instance, tissues, disinfecting wipes, food coloring, sponges, pencils, aluminum foil, duct tape, zip lock bags, empty coffee cans with cover, tape, etc. would be great. I am only hoping for one item/student.

At the start of each class: 1) Please pick up any handouts as you enter the class, when at seat write your name on handouts. 2) Take your seat and quietly take out your homework if it is due and place it on your table (make sure your name is on it). 3) Take out your planner and write down today’s homework, 4) start your Warm-up. As your homework is being checked and attendance is being taken I will also be checking your completion of this warm-up with a "+" if you are completing the assignment or a "-" if you are not. 5) If there is time please peer review your warm-up and homework with your table-mate. 6) After all our administrative business is taken care of, we will start with that day's activities--check out the Agenda to see what is planned for the day.

Classes will involve a variety of tasks that you are required to do on your own or in groups. We will do experiments, demonstrations, investigations, activities, readings, worksheets, research, presentations, and projects, along with some note-taking. You are required to participate—Science requires you to demonstrate skills, follow instructions, and carry out experiments—you will earn a 0 if you do not participate and you can lose points for a variety of reasons including not being on task and failing to follow directions, laboratory procedures, and rules.   In order for you and your classmates to participate in experiments and demonstrations it is very important that you follow all directions and stay focused. If you are unable to focus, please take a break away from the work area. Please realize that during experiments and demonstrations, disruptive behaviors will result in immediate removal from the class. At the start of the school year, we review Lab Safety, equipment, and protocols.

Below is a list of my expectations and policies for you in this class. This is not a list of rules meant to overwhelm you, but it is instead what you need to know to do the best you can in my class throughout the year. I will be reminding you of the classroom expectations and classroom procedures when necessary. Also remember to revisit this webpage. You will find that putting effort into meeting these expectations and using the support provided will help you be successful in science class.

Grading: Each quarter grade is calculated based on total points from homework, class work, labs, projects, warm-ups, and assessments. Each quarter grade is then averaged together with the cumulative final which will be worth 10% of your final grade. All projects and lab work can be corrected and resubmitted up to one week from receiving the graded version--for group work each student must submit corrections. You will be successful in science if you come to class and put in effort each day. We will be filing all work at the end of each Unit into your hanging folder in my room. 

PLEASE KEEP ALL HANDOUTS and WORK.

Incomplete or late assignments: During the 1st quarter, any assignment can be handed in late with no penalty. You will receive full credit when it is handed in under the following circumstances:

• The assignment is COMPLETELY done

• The work is of high quality

• You write a note, signed by a parent, that explains why the assignment was late and how you can change things so it will not be late in the future. If it is something serious, such as a death in the family, the second part is not necessary!

This hopefully will help in a number of ways:

• It will hold you responsible for your work

• It will allow you to not worry about handing in something late if there is a legitimate reason for it being late

• It will help your parents understand when, why, and if assignments are late and help you to complete them.

After Quarter 1 there will be more stringent deadlines for handing in late assignments, with late assignments not being accepted 4th quarter.  Assignments that we go over in class or that answers are posted for cannot be handed in for credit in the 2nd-4th quarter.

Absences: Good attendance is very important to your success in school. You are responsible for all missed work when absent: get copies of notes from a classmate and check for any missed assignments--see the bulletin board by the classroom laptops. Please do not ask me in the middle of class what you missed—just before or after school is usually a good time. All work is due within 2 days if you are absent for one day. For longer periods, we will determine when work is due depending on the amount of time and the reason for your absence. Homework that was due the day you are absent will be due the day you return.  If you miss a quiz, you should expect to take it when you return.

Classroom Behavior: All students are required to behave appropriately and respectfully in class. You should display common courtesy to everyone, and disruptive or disrespectful behavior will NOT be tolerated. If your behavior becomes a problem, your parents will be contacted, a detention will be assigned, and if necessary you will be removed from the class and sent to the office. All safety procedures must be followed. We need to work together to create a classroom that is safe, productive, and fun.

Assessments: Unit Quizzes will be given and will be announced well in advance. Review worksheets will be provided and reviewed before Unit Quizzes. Smaller quizzes may or may not be announced, especially vocabulary quizzes. If you are absent on the day of an assessment, you will be expected to take it the day you return. If you do poorly on a quiz, you can gain 50% of the lost points up to a final score of 85% by submitting a write-up of 1) why you chose the answer you did, 2) what the correct answer is, and most importantly, 3) an explanation of why that is the answer--this is the most important part and must include the use of vocabulary, examples, comparisons,...--corrections must be submitted within a week of getting the quiz back .

Extra Help: I will be available after school Thursday for extra help from 2:15-3:10. If you need help please ask.

Materials: You will need writing implements (ex. pencils), some loose-leaf paper to take notes, and a 3-ring binder.  Binder checks as well as open note quizzes may be given. If you don’t have your notes on the day of an open notes quiz, you will have to take the quiz without notes. Notes will be a very important part of science class, and keeping them organized will make everything much easier for you--I suggest putting the date on all handouts. If you are absent, make sure you get what you missed into your binder.  I have manilla and hanging folders available for past unit work, but you are also welcome to provide your own. It is also helpful to have a calculator, highlighters, and colored pencils. I do have these materials to lend out, but some students are more comfortable having their own. If purchasing any of these things is a problem for any reason, please see me or have your parent/guardian talk to me.

Again, if you need help staying organized, please ask. 

Preparation: Make sure you come to class each day with your binder, pencil, homework, and your planner. All handouts, notes, vocabulary, and objectives should be in your 3-ring binder. My classroom can also be colder than your other Team Matterhorn classes so please make sure to bring something warm during the colder weather.

If you or your parents have any questions about my policies or expectations, please ask. Also, please remember that my number one classroom rule is to be respectful to others. I am very much looking forward to working with and getting to know all of you during a great year.