Department policy
UWCCSC SCIENCE DEPARTMENT POLICY
Dear _________________________________, (Write your name.)
These are the policies that will be implemented in the UWCCSC Science Department for this academic year. Your teacher will go over them with you in class. Please make sure you fully understand them, sign at the end of the document, scan and upload the entire document in ManageBac®. Your teacher will create an assignment for this in which you can upload it.
SUBJECT TRANSFERS
1. You enroll to the science class/es that you believe is best for you after considering important factors such as skills, interests and college requirements.
2. You should be responsible to do your best in the class/es, but if for any reason or another you are convinced that there is a need to change your science subject or level (for IBDP students only) you may do so with following conditions:
a. the transfer should follow the school policy,
b. you are responsible in catching up with the lessons and meeting the pending requirements of the class that you are transferring to,
c. textbooks given from your previous class/es should be returned at Room # 2225,
d. all the grades that you have earned in your previous subject class will not be considered at all in your term grade for the new subject class (That means, your term grade would only consider the assessments that you will have in your new class/es),
e. at your new teacher’s discretion, you may be asked to take an assessment on previous topics that had been covered in your new class/es (This may be the case when you are transferring after the assessment/s).
ASSESSMENTS
1. Assessments will be done at specific intervals. The assessments will be of formative as well as summative nature. The dates and deadlines for these assessments will be posted in ManageBac®. Summative assessment dates and deadlines will be posted at the beginning of the year, while formative assessments will be posted before a week’s time.
2. Assessments will be done using various instruments such as presentations, group and individual projects, laboratory experiment-based projects, quizzes, tests requiring long and short answers, and overall observation by the teacher regarding ethical and safety practices in classes and laboratory.
3. Your grade will be determined by assessing your level of achievements of different desired skills shown in all assessments conducted during a period of consideration, based on a grade descriptor. These grades will be considering your summative as well as formative assessment performance and achievements. The individual assessment grades will just be indicative of your level of achievement in that assessment. At the end of semester, you may have an end of the semester exam. In such case, you will see a semester exam grade and an overall year grade. The exam grade percentage will be derived from the assessments done as end of semester exam and the laboratory work or practice IA. The overall grade will be derived from a qualitative appraisal of all the assessments done during the programme, using the grade descriptor. The grade descriptor could be seen on the notice boards of the science department.
4. An unexcused absence in a test will be graded with a zero.
5. You are responsible to make up a missed test if your absence is excused. You must do so within the 2nd day of returning to classes or school. Otherwise, you will get a mark of zero for it.
6. Students who feel sick once they have started a test will not have any valid reason to re-take it. That assessment will be marked with no special consideration.
7. Late submission of projects and practice Internal Assessments (IA) will not be entertained. The deadlines for these assessments will always be at 4:00 pm of the deadline date. A grade of zero will be awarded for missing the deadline and no feedback will be given to the students on such assessments.
8. DP2 students who miss the final Internal Assessment deadline will get a grade of zero for the 20% of the year-end grade marks. They will be referred to the Dean of Studies and the IB Diploma Coordinator and will be put on probation. The probation may consist of detention but not only limited to it. Other consequences may be imposed according to the Academic Expectation Policy.
9. Calculation of semester grade percentage for FP, DP1, and DP2 will take into account the following scheme, while the Semester Grade point will be derived from the Grade Descriptor.
Physics/Chemistry/ Biology
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TESTS 80%
Practice/Final IA 20%
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ESS
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TESTS 75%
Practice/Final IA 25%
PREDICTED GRADES FOR DP2
1. Predicted grades consider the end of semester exams and all other formative and summative assessments and always cross-referenced with the IB grade descriptors. It is up to the professional judgment of teachers to adjust based on the grade descriptors to the year-end and summative grades to come out with a more appropriate predicted grade for you.
2. The predicted grades are based on the following:
a. September: based on the DP1 over-all grade and all other assessment done, if any, between the start of the school year (DP2) and the September predicted grade deadline.
b. December: bases on/referred to your DP1 over-all grade and all other assessments done between the start of the school year (DP2) and the December predicted grade deadline.
TEXTBOOKS
1. You will be issued textbook/s as per the requirement of the subject by the team of laboratory assistants on specified dates communicated to you by your teachers.
2. Please mention the names and details of the book that you have borrowed, in the following table.
TEXTBOOK TITLE
LAST 6 DIGITS OF BARCODE
3. It is very likely that textbooks can be swapped with other students. You are encouraged to write your names using a soft pencil on back of the front cover.
4. You are responsible for taking good care of the books, not damaging them, underlining or marking them in any other way, or losing them.
5. Textbooks MUST returned on the last day of your specific subject’s final exam. You must return the same textbook that is issued to you. Failing to return a book or returning a damaged book will attract fines equivalent to the cost of procuring a new book at the prevailing price on the day of return.
6. If you are changing a subject, please ensure that you return the books issued to you when you come with subject change form.
LABORATORY USE PROTOCOL
1. You must always be familiar and practice the lab safety rules and protocol when you are in the laboratory for either normal classes or performing experiments.
2. Entry into the laboratory without proper uniform and shoes is restricted. Students with any footwear are prohibited from entering a laboratory.
3. Please make yourself- familiar with laboratory safety rules and accident and fire escape procedure.
4. You must be under a direct supervision of science department staff while working inside a laboratory. Please make prior appointment with your teacher or laboratory technicians for any such work.
5. Lab equipment for normal class related experiments must be requested in the prescribed form with teacher and Head of Sciences' authorization, as and when necessary, before 15 working days. Sometimes, the materials requested may not arrive within this time. So, please follow up with your request to make sure that everything is ready before starting your experiment/s.
6. Lab equipment and materials for IA and summative projects must be requested by the deadlines communicated to you by your teacher and the Head of Sciences.
7. If you order ant perishable item for your experiments, please follow up with the laboratory technicians for the delivery of such items promptly. If such items are not received by you on time, we will dispose them off. Such materials will not be procured any further.
8. Any laboratory equipment must be returned within the allowed time and a clearance of borrowing must be signed with the laboratory technicians. Any damage or loss of borrowed equipment will be recovered from you by charging the current cost.
9. Unused and surplus materials must be return promptly.
10. Due to sustainability concerns we advise you to consider reusing, recycling, up-cycling, and reducing the quantity of materials used, without compromising with your IA/project goals.
11. Use of bio-hazardous substances and radioactive substances are strictly prohibited.
12. Please dispose hazardous substances in appropriate bins.
13. Please note that your laboratory work ethics is a part of assessments.
GROUP 4 PROJECT
1. Except for ESS, Group 4 Project is an integral part of all sciences offered at UWCCSC.
2. At UWCCSC, we organize Group 4 project towards the end of the DP1 (during DP2 Project Week). So, all DP1 students will do their Group 4 Project in DP1 academic year.
3. Participation in this project is mandatory, failing which the completion of a science subject's internal assessment requirement will remain incomplete. Please note the date for Group 4 Project from the Internal Deadline Calendar, and make sure that you do not plan for any travel on those days.
4. In case of emergency like death in the family, accidents that restricts your presence or any similar adverse circumstances may be accommodated on a case to case basis. However, in such instances you have to participate in the Group 4 Project in the following year. One important thing to note here is the fact that, participation in Group 4 Project in DP2 will deprive you from going on DP2 Project Week.
Head of Sciences
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF POLICIES AND PROTOCOLS
I _________________________________ have read, understood and agree to abide by this policy and protocol of the Science Department of UWCCSC as described above.
Student’s signature ____________________________________________________________
Type Name: _________________________________________________________________
Date____________________
Parent’s/Guardian’s signature ___________________________________________________
Type Name:__________________________________________________________________
Date:____________________