In Physics we learn about the fundamental forces that underly our universe. We answer questions such as: "Why do things move?" "What forces have shaped the Earth?" "What is the universe made of?" and more!
To see the presentation with information I provided during parent night, click here!
I will host a virtual Zoom meeting every time this class is scheduled to meet.
I do my best to limit the amount of Zoom time to what the district has suggested for synchronous meetings -- 25 minutes on a Monday and 45 minutes on a Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday/Friday
The rest of the class time is dedicated to finishing the assignments we have begun in the Zoom meetings together
I take attendance through the Zoom meeting. If students are present and their names are on the list of participants for the Zoom meeting, they will be marked present.
Students who are absent MUST message me in Schoology to notify me! That will ensure I know to go back and mark them present.
When I assign work, I do my best to make sure that work can be reasonably completed during class time. Students will rarely have to spend a great deal of time outside of class completing assignments if they are diligent and work hard.
Students should be completing any assignments they have not finished in class at home. Most work not finished in class can be done at home, the exception is labs.
The most current student grades will be posted on my online Google Sheets gradebook (see link above). Schoology will be updated at the end of every 5-week grading period
My grading scale is as follows:
A: 90% - 100%
B: 70% - 89.999%
C: 50% - 69.999%
D: 30% - 49.999%
F: 0.00% - 29.999%
Grades are calculated based on the total number of points students have earned out of the total number of points possible.
When I grade students' work, I grade on an "all-or-nothing" policy.
All work will be checked to see whether it has been finished to the best of a student's ability.
Incomplete work will be given a zero.
Incorrect work will be returned with feedback and the opportunity to correct it.
Work that has been plagiarized (in any aspect) will receive an immediate, nonnegotiable, permanent zero. I have no tolerance for cheating.
My definition of plagiarism is when content is the same in words and/or ideas: Just because you reorder sentences or use similes does NOT mean the work is your own.
Our textbook for Physics is "Physics of the Universe" by Houhgton Mifflon Harcourt. Students have access to this textbook through their Schoology class page! It is the "HMH" link on their sidebar when they enter the class.
I do not use the textbook as our primary resource and source for assignments in class. I will rarely (if ever) require students to use the platform and submit assignments using it. The majority of the time I will provide students with all the information and resources they need in a Google Doc.
Students can contact me outside of school through e-mail or by messaging me in Schoology. I will respond within 24 hours, most of the time much sooner.
For most assignments, students will have an extended amount of time to complete the work. Almost all assignments will have at least a week to be completed, if not more.
When I do assign a due date, it is firm and nonegotiable.
If students are absent from an in-person lab, it cannot be made up.
All other assignments I provide are not time-sensitive, so student absences will not prevent them from completing them. However, missing class makes it much harder to complete work, so being present every day ensures that students do well in my class.