Welcome to Science at Bret Harte!
Welcome to Science at Bret Harte!
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"In AND out of the lab, safety is our top priority!"
"In AND out of the lab, safety is our top priority!"
Our department website is only a tiny part of of how we can communicate with students and families. Canvas, Canvas Inbox (with students), Parent Square messages (with parents), and the Portal (Infinite Campus) are the main way our teachers communicate with students and families.
Our department website is only a tiny part of of how we can communicate with students and families. Canvas, Canvas Inbox (with students), Parent Square messages (with parents), and the Portal (Infinite Campus) are the main way our teachers communicate with students and families.
Students should already know their username and password for access to these two locations (if your student is not sure of their username/password, usually the math, language arts teacher can help, or our technology resource person (Mr. Kim) will have it. If a parent is not sure of their username/password, Mrs. Chicek in the office can help.)
Students should already know their username and password for access to these two locations (if your student is not sure of their username/password, usually the math, language arts teacher can help, or our technology resource person (Mr. Kim) will have it. If a parent is not sure of their username/password, Mrs. Chicek in the office can help.)
Our 2025-26 Teachers
Our 2025-26 Teachers
(Note: Everyone uses Canvas, and that is where you'll find the most up-to-date information, however underlined teachers also have class webpages that you can check out. )
7th grade
7th grade
Mr. Hardell
Ms. Nakanishi
Mr. Nguyen
Ms. Rusnak
6th grade Science topics & teachers:
6th grade Science topics & teachers:
6th grade Semester 1 & 2 topics:
Unit 1: Life Structure & Function - Cells and Life, Body Systems
Unit 2: Reproduction of Organisms - Reproduction of Organisms,
Unit 3: Energy in the Atmosphere - Energy & Matter, The Water Cycle, Weather & Climate
Unit 4: Human Impact on the Environment - Human Impact on the Environment
Textbook/Workbook: McGraw Hill Inspire. Each of the four units has its own workbook; students are expected to write in these (the adoption does NOT have a hard cover textbook). There are supplemental resources & tools available on McGraw Hill's website, which is accessible through OneLogIn, which teachers may use with students. Our teachers also supplement the curriculum with additional resources and post links within Canvas.
7th grade Semester 1 & 2 topics:
Unit 1: Classification & States of Matter - Classification & States of Matter, Properties & Changes
Unit 2: The Changing Earth - Dynamic Earth (topics include: events that are changing Earth's surface, such as Volcanoes, Earthquakes, Theories of Sea Floor Spreading, Continental Drift, Plate Tectonics and the evidence for these theories) and other Natural Hazards (if time permits)
Unit 3: Earth's Resources - Distribution of Earth's Resources, Materials Science
Unit 4: Interactions Within Ecosystems - Matter & Energy in Ecosystems, Dynamic Ecosystems, Biodiversity in Ecosystems
Textbook/Workbook: McGraw Hill Inspire. Each of the four units has its own workbook; students are expected to write in these (the adoption does NOT have a hard cover textbook). There are supplemental resources & tools available on McGraw Hill's website, which is accessible through OneLogIn, which teachers may use with students. Our teachers also supplement the curriculum with additional resources and post links within Canvas.
Mr.
Hardell
Ms.
Nakanishi
(also teaches in another department)
Mr.
Nguyen
Ms.
Rusnak
8th grade Science topics & teachers:
8th grade Science topics & teachers:
8th grade Semester 1 & 2 topics:
Unit 1: Change Over Time - Geologic Time , Natural Selection and Adaptations, Evidence of Evolution
Unit 2: Energy and Motion - Forces and Motion, Mechanical Energy, Electromagnetic Forces
Unit 3: Understanding Waves - Introduction to Waves, Light, Information Technologies
Unit 4: Humans and Their Place in the Universe - Earth and Human Activity, The Sun-Earth-Moon System, Exploring the Universe
Textbook/Workbook: McGraw Hill Inspire. Each of the four units has its own workbook; students are expected to write in these (the adoption does NOT have a hard cover textbook). There are supplemental resources & tools available on McGraw Hill's website, which is accessible through OneLogIn, which teachers may use with students. Our teachers also supplement the curriculum with additional resources and post links within Canvas.
Mr. Berwald
click here for website
Ms. Nakanishi
(also teaches in another department)
Mr.
Nguyen
Ms.
Patton
How to contact your Science teacher:
How to contact your Science teacher:
Hearing from students & seeing them during our classes & around on campus is wonderful. There will be opportunities to check in with the teachers during our class time, however sometimes questions come up outside of class time, or a parent has a question. The best way for parents to contact teachers is through Parent Square; students can contact their teachers using the Inbox feature within Canvas.
When students or parents are messaging teachers, please be sure to include all of the following details:
a title of the email that relates to the question or concern,
student's first,
last name,
class period
any additional relevant information; could be inline, or as part of the closing/signature).
Providing these details makes it easier for our communication & following up with you.
Long term, we are working towards students being self advocates. Moving to online methods of communications has challenges; use caution with wording, tone and use of capitalization. You're communicating with a teacher, whenever possible, we expect full sentences and punctuation. - all of these impact our understanding & ability to read the email.
SJUSD & BHMS Science Department Policies:
SJUSD & BHMS Science Department Policies:
Academic Integrity vs. Artificial Intelligence (AI) -
Academic Integrity vs. Artificial Intelligence (AI) -
"Submitting work that incorporates any form of generative AI without proper MLA citation is Academic Dishonesty. Unless explicitly instructed to do so, students may NOT use generative AI for completing class work, projects, paper, and assessments for class. If students submit work that contains generative AI content, they will receive a zero on the assignment. Repeat occurrences will require a parent, teacher, student & administrator meeting." This policy is in alignment with many other teachers, and schools nationwide, and is credited to TheDaringEnglishTeacher on Instagram.
The SJUSD Academic Integrity policy from the 2023-2024 SJUSD District Handbook, page 28, says the following;
Useful Links:
Useful Links:
Bret Harte Bell Schedule (this will open up the Bret Harte website with the schedule towards the bottom of the page; there's an option to download the PDF. School starts at 8:20 and ends at 3:10 each day.)
Canvas link - click HERE (this should have you use your OneLogIn to access it)
Translate web pages (uses Google but am not sure who else would see the data)
NGSS information
Science Textbook adoption: McGraw Hill Inspire (it is made up of 4 workbooks per grade level - students are expected to write in these & also has some online tools available which teachers may use with students; some teachers within our department use these resources, others supplement with other materials while covering the same topics. )
Textbook/Workbook: McGraw Hill Inspire. Each of the four units has its own workbook; students are expected to write in these (the adoption does NOT have a hard cover textbook). There are supplemental resources & tools available on McGraw Hill's website, which is accessible through OneLogIn, which teachers may use with students. Our teachers also supplement the curriculum with additional resources and post links within Canvas.
???? (what else do I need to add? Please email Mrs. Fischer with ideas - thank you!
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