IB Biology Course Information
Click here to download a copy of the Classroom Expectations
CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS
Attendance: Students are granted two days (not class periods) for every excused day absent. The expectation is if you miss a class it is your responsibility to be prepared (homework completed) at the start of the next class period. If you are absent do not wait until the start of the next class to find out what you’ve missed! Email me: [email protected], talk to your peers or check here.
Tardy: Students who arrive to class tardy without a pass will be marked tardy. Don’t wait until the last second to be in your seat and ready to start class. Tardies will be reported to the Secondary office.
Late work: It is not accepted. No exceptions. No parent notes. Be responsible for you work. Plan ahead. Be proactive. Communicate.
Neatness: Ensure your work area is neat and picked up when we are done. Leave the classroom looking better than you found it. This includes all equipment, tools, papers, water, anything that needs to be picked up, put away, thrown away etc… A lot of equipment is surprisingly expensive so treat it with care.
This is a lab environment. Please, please, please do not bring food and drink into class. Leave the Joffrey’s outside.
Organization: Get and stay organized. I recommend you organize by units. Use a binder and dividers if you like, but keep in mind I only will collect single subject notebooks during notebook checks.
Safety:
Click here for the safety contract.
Day of test absent: If you are excused absence from a class in which a TEST is being given, you must make up the test within two school days (which would mean by the end of the following class day). This is YOUR responsibility to set up a time with me to complete this. You will not be given extra time beyond what is explained clearly in the handbook. Remember, if you know ahead of time you will miss a test, notify your teacher immediately. Successful students are PROACTIVE!
Substitute teacher: please be…Respectful, Mature , Self – Disciplined, Organized, and thoughtful
Code of Ethics/Cheating/Plagiarism:
Refer to the handbook as to how cheating will be dealt with.
The work you present must be your own. This includes all homework, lab reports, magazine write-ups, essays, tests, quizzes. If you are not sure if some action you are considering may or may not be a violation of the code of ethics, then ASK! Be certain that you do nothing during a test/quiz that would bring your integrity into question. Also, when writing papers, homework, anytime you have had to consult a source other than your textbook, be sure to give credit by proper reference citation to the authors of your sources and include all bibliographical information.
ANY infraction will go directly to your counselor, parents, and the vice principal.
Cheating will not be tolerated and is clearly a violation of course and school policy. The following acts of cheating are examples of behavior that will result in disciplinary actions:
Tests: All tests will be kept on file at school. You can access tests at school and I will file them away for review at the end of the year.
Electronics: Refer to the handbook. Please just leave your cell phones in your bags. Don’t try to text under your desk-you’re not that slick.
Internet Use: Occasionally, I’ll ask students with laptops to bring them to class. Only do so if you and your parents are comfortable with you bringing them-they are expensive and fragile. I will be publishing information for students and parents on the website on a regular basis. Many homework assignments will include activities, which must be done on Internet. Not having Internet at home is not an excuse for not being able to do the homework. There are other ways to access the World Wide Web (at school in the library, at a friend's house). When I do give a homework assignment on Internet, be sure to start it early. Computers have a way of not working when you absolutely must finish something for the next day!
Class Management Issues: You can do as you like in this class, provided it doesn’t affect your learning or the learning of others in the class. I trust that you will be responsible for your own learning and will not engage in any activity that will take away from your own learning or from your classmate’s ability to learn. Nothing infuriates me as much as a student who disrespects another's right to learn. I have very high expectations of all my students. Biology is tough! If you find yourself spending a lot of time talking to your peers instead of focusing on your work, your grade will suffer.
*COME TO CLASS PREPARED AND ON TIME.
*FOLLOW SAFETY GUIDELINES
*BE RESPECTFUL AND COURTEOUS TO YOUR PEERS
*NO FOOD, DRINK OR ELECTRONICS
Preparation for Class: Your preparation for class will be assumed. Please bring to class each day the following materials:
Group Work: We will frequently work in pairs and teams, particularly in the laboratory. Sometimes I will allow you to choose your own partner, at other times I will assign students to work together. I expect you to accept these assignments without complaint/whining. Although we will do lab work in teams, each student will write up his/her own lab report. During group work, answers and solutions may be freely shared, but all members are expected to contribute. Simply copying answers from another lab report, homework, etc. without having helped to produce the product is plagiarism and will be treated as such.
Code of Ethics
It is assumed that DBC students are honorable people. Only those lacking in intelligence believe that cheating on academic work is profitable. Students are here to learn; cheating makes learning impossible.
CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS
Attendance: Students are granted two days (not class periods) for every excused day absent. The expectation is if you miss a class it is your responsibility to be prepared (homework completed) at the start of the next class period. If you are absent do not wait until the start of the next class to find out what you’ve missed! Email me: [email protected], talk to your peers or check here.
Tardy: Students who arrive to class tardy without a pass will be marked tardy. Don’t wait until the last second to be in your seat and ready to start class. Tardies will be reported to the Secondary office.
Late work: It is not accepted. No exceptions. No parent notes. Be responsible for you work. Plan ahead. Be proactive. Communicate.
Neatness: Ensure your work area is neat and picked up when we are done. Leave the classroom looking better than you found it. This includes all equipment, tools, papers, water, anything that needs to be picked up, put away, thrown away etc… A lot of equipment is surprisingly expensive so treat it with care.
This is a lab environment. Please, please, please do not bring food and drink into class. Leave the Joffrey’s outside.
Organization: Get and stay organized. I recommend you organize by units. Use a binder and dividers if you like, but keep in mind I only will collect single subject notebooks during notebook checks.
Safety:
- Listen carefully to all instructions.
- Lab coats and eye goggles must be worn during all labs unless otherwise stated.
- If you break something glass, obtain the broom/dustpan to clean it up. If a liquid spills, use paper towels to clean, if you get cut, burned or injured, let the teacher know IMMEDIATELY!
- No leaning back on benches … not safe!
Click here for the safety contract.
Day of test absent: If you are excused absence from a class in which a TEST is being given, you must make up the test within two school days (which would mean by the end of the following class day). This is YOUR responsibility to set up a time with me to complete this. You will not be given extra time beyond what is explained clearly in the handbook. Remember, if you know ahead of time you will miss a test, notify your teacher immediately. Successful students are PROACTIVE!
Substitute teacher: please be…Respectful, Mature , Self – Disciplined, Organized, and thoughtful
Code of Ethics/Cheating/Plagiarism:
Refer to the handbook as to how cheating will be dealt with.
The work you present must be your own. This includes all homework, lab reports, magazine write-ups, essays, tests, quizzes. If you are not sure if some action you are considering may or may not be a violation of the code of ethics, then ASK! Be certain that you do nothing during a test/quiz that would bring your integrity into question. Also, when writing papers, homework, anytime you have had to consult a source other than your textbook, be sure to give credit by proper reference citation to the authors of your sources and include all bibliographical information.
ANY infraction will go directly to your counselor, parents, and the vice principal.
Cheating will not be tolerated and is clearly a violation of course and school policy. The following acts of cheating are examples of behavior that will result in disciplinary actions:
Tests: All tests will be kept on file at school. You can access tests at school and I will file them away for review at the end of the year.
Electronics: Refer to the handbook. Please just leave your cell phones in your bags. Don’t try to text under your desk-you’re not that slick.
Internet Use: Occasionally, I’ll ask students with laptops to bring them to class. Only do so if you and your parents are comfortable with you bringing them-they are expensive and fragile. I will be publishing information for students and parents on the website on a regular basis. Many homework assignments will include activities, which must be done on Internet. Not having Internet at home is not an excuse for not being able to do the homework. There are other ways to access the World Wide Web (at school in the library, at a friend's house). When I do give a homework assignment on Internet, be sure to start it early. Computers have a way of not working when you absolutely must finish something for the next day!
Class Management Issues: You can do as you like in this class, provided it doesn’t affect your learning or the learning of others in the class. I trust that you will be responsible for your own learning and will not engage in any activity that will take away from your own learning or from your classmate’s ability to learn. Nothing infuriates me as much as a student who disrespects another's right to learn. I have very high expectations of all my students. Biology is tough! If you find yourself spending a lot of time talking to your peers instead of focusing on your work, your grade will suffer.
*COME TO CLASS PREPARED AND ON TIME.
*FOLLOW SAFETY GUIDELINES
*BE RESPECTFUL AND COURTEOUS TO YOUR PEERS
*NO FOOD, DRINK OR ELECTRONICS
Preparation for Class: Your preparation for class will be assumed. Please bring to class each day the following materials:
- One single subject notebook that is dedicated to science. You can keep it in a binder that also contains some additional loose leaf paper, but I will only collect and grade the single-subject notebook.
- A pen and a pencil.
- Calculator
- Your planner or personal assignment calendar.
Group Work: We will frequently work in pairs and teams, particularly in the laboratory. Sometimes I will allow you to choose your own partner, at other times I will assign students to work together. I expect you to accept these assignments without complaint/whining. Although we will do lab work in teams, each student will write up his/her own lab report. During group work, answers and solutions may be freely shared, but all members are expected to contribute. Simply copying answers from another lab report, homework, etc. without having helped to produce the product is plagiarism and will be treated as such.
Code of Ethics
- Passing calculators during a test, quiz, or other assessment.
- Copying someone else’s test, quiz, homework, assignment, or report.
- Letting someone copy from a test, quiz, homework, assignment, or report.
- Looking at notes during a test, quiz, or other assessment.
- Sharing questions from a test with students who have yet to take the test.
- Listing someone else’s data with out giving credit, or worse, making up data to fit the expected answer. It is acceptable to present your own data, to state the reasons that you feel the results should be disregarded, and then to present another student’s data (making sure the source is acknowledged).
- Using opinions, facts, ideas, charts, data and direct quotes from research papers, newspapers, magazines, textbooks, websites, or another person without citing the source.
It is assumed that DBC students are honorable people. Only those lacking in intelligence believe that cheating on academic work is profitable. Students are here to learn; cheating makes learning impossible.