District Vision:
"A graduate of Portland Public Schools will be a compassionate critical thinker, able to collaborate and solve problems, and be prepared to lead a more socially just world."
Our Science Vision Aligns with this vision. We will be doing inquiry-based hands-on science that will have kids working in teams of 4 to complete lab investigations in which they will gain understanding of key concepts and apply their understanding to real-world issues.
We will be covering the Next Generation Science Standards (or NGSS) that have been assigned for each grade using a new version of SEPUP curriculum that is better aligned to these standards. You may see my notation on assignments such as NGSS LS1 which shows the standard we are on. LS stands for Life Science, PS stands for Physical Science, ES stands for Earth Science. We will cover standards in all of these areas as you can see in the unit list. I use "I can" statements to describe the goal or learning target of the assignment. You will see this used across Beaumont. Example: I can explore the interests of my classmates by watching their Flipgrid videos and writing 3 comments. You will also see me use "guiding questions" to frame the work.
Expectations
The expectation for this course is that students do their best, collaborate/participate, and have a fun time learning science with their peers. Additionally, Beaumont expects all students to be respectful in our school as well as online. They should practice good digital citizenship. If students cannot attend class, please check Canvas and email me to make accommodations as needed.
Given the difficult times we are living in, "best effort" in science may fluctuate (on a 1-10 scale, maybe level 3 one week and level 9 the next) and that is understandable. We all have things going on at home. I am here to help. Grades will be based on proficiency of standards, so these good and bad days we have should not affect the overall grade in the end if students complete the practice work before tests. Please let me know know if you have questions about this or need support.
Grades are based on proficiency towards the science standards. Please check grades in ParentVue aka Synergy with mid-term and end-of-term grades posted in Synergy as stated in the district calendar. Grades will not be posted in Canvas. Digital versions of assignments will be found in Canvas for absent students. Also, this allows parents to see what we are working on each week. Please become a Canvas observer to follow along with us. Again, do reach out to me about missing work. I do take "late" work. I do let kids repair work. I also allow retakes on summative tests.
Marks:
HP - highly proficient
PR - proficient
CP - close to proficient
DP - developing
NS - no evidence=unable to evaluate, for example the student did not complete the work or was absent on test day
Traits of a Learner are formative and will not affect the final mark in the class. Example, keeping an organized notebook is
C, O, S, or N meaning they are organized Consistently, Often, Sometimes, or Not Yet