Welcome to Earth Science! I look forward to working with you to ensure we have a rewarding and successful year.

Grading

This is a very intense class that follows a New York State curriculum. At the end of the school year, students are REQUIRED to take the New York State Earth Science Regents exam. To attain a Regents diploma, students must earn a minimum grade of 65 on the Regents exam. To attain a local diploma, students must earn a minimum grade of 55 on the Regents exam.

Due to the intense nature of this course, students are expected to work from the first day of class through the last day of class. All assignments are considered important and must be completed on time.

The final course grade will be determined as follows:

Quarterly Grades 70%

Mid Term Grade 10%

Final Exam Grade 20%

Quarterly grades will be calculated as follows:

Participation 10%

Required Labs 20%

Homework 15%

Tests/Quizzes 55%

Extra help will be provided at least once a week on Thursdays, from 2 until 3 pm, in Room 411. Students are expected to come to extra help knowing what they need to do and ready to complete missing work.

Participation (includes class work, attendance, conduct, and preparedness): 10%

It is VERY important that you show up to class on time. Lateness will only serve for distractions and a disorganized way to approach the learning that needs to take place in the classroom. In addition, your participation and good behavior in class will enhance the learning process, and will allow for better communication within the classroom.

Notebook:

All students must keep a well organized binder which needs to be brought to class EVERY DAY and will be checked every two weeks. Binder checks will always occur on the second and fourth Monday of every month. If for some reason we are off, or school is closed, on one of those Mondays, the binders will be checked on the day we return to school.

Labs: 20%

All students are responsible for completing a minimum of 1200 lab minutes to be able to sit for the Regents exam. Missed labs can only be made up during after school hours within a week of returning to school. Students who do not complete the state required minutes will not be allowed to take the Earth Science Regents.

Homework and Projects: 15%

Homework will be graded at the beginning of each class period.

Late homework (not because of absence) will not be accepted after one week from the due date, unless specific arrangements are made. Homework assignments can be accessed on the homework page of this site.

All work missed due to absence must be made up within five days of returning to school. Students who are absent are responsible for downloading the homework from the class website and completing it, as well as for making up for missed classwork when they return to school. Tests, quizzes and labs must be made up in school on the student’s own time (student’s study halls, lunch or free periods) or after school during extra help Tuesdays in Room 411.

Homeworks that are turned in early (before due date) will be given a 5 point extra credit. Homeworks that are turned in late (after due date) will lose one point for each day late. Again, homework will not be accepted after one week from due date, unless specific arrangements are made.

Tests and Quizzes: 55%

Tests and quizzes will be based on the material we are currently covering in class. While working on a unit, we will often have weekly quizzes to ensure everyone is keeping up with the work. All tests and quizzes will be announced. There will be no surprise quizzes unless homework is not being completed on a regular basis.

Students who earn less than a 75 on quizzes and exams are required to make test corrections. Students will earn one half of the credit back towards an incorrect test answer if they correct the answer and explain why it is the correct answer on the corrections. Test corrections will have a due date. The homework policy of extra credit and lateness deductions will be applied to test corrections.

Supplies – (All supplies must be acquired by Wednesday, September 12)

1. Each student is provided a Chromebook and charger by the district. Students must bring their Chromebooks to each and every class, as this is the primary way in which instruction is delivered. Chromebooks must be fully charged each night, so that student will be able to complete classwork during the next day. Students who forget their Chromebooks, or who have not charged their Chromebooks will have to work on pen and paper during the day and make up online classwork for homework that night. They will also lose points for lack of preparedness for class.