Class Rules and Grading Policy
Students are expected to know and follow all school and district rules and policies.
Read the rules in your agenda (if you got one)and ask questions if you don't understand what they say.
Class rules:
No gum is allowed in class at any time. It's unhealthy! Using any joint improperly and repetitively damages it!
Food and drinks are allowed as long as you clean up after yourself and they do not affect your ability to stay on task and does not disrupt others in any way. No soda or energy drinks allowed, drink water! No sharing of food or drinks is allowed.
If food creates a problem at any time, the entire class period loses this privilege.
Chatting during lessons on Google docs is forbidden.
Electronic devices are NOT ALLOWED unless I specifically give you permission to use it. No, you may not charge your device in school.
Be prepared for class everyday with the following supplies:
Your ID card, Textbook, laptop, agenda, class binder or notebook, blue or black ink pens, colored pencils (24 pack Crayola for Anatomy and Physiology), #2 pencils, pencil sharpener, white college lined paper 8.5 x 11 inch size preferred, 2 highlighters, eraser, white out and sticky notes.
There will be a class set of books available in the room, so if you have a library book checked out to you, you can leave it at home for homework. The class set of books should never leave the room. Please don't ask to borrow one, then students in another class will be short a book! There is an etext available, use it! Your laptop should never be left in the classroom. It is every students responsibility to maintain the security of their own textbook and laptop. If a textbook or laptop is lost or damaged, the student is responsible for the replacement of the book. Text books are expensive folks!
Show courtesy to all staff and students at all times.
Do not participate in rude, disruptive or distractive behavior. Stay on task.
A substitute, teachers aide or student tutor deserves and should expect exactly the same respect that you show to me.
Show respect to the facilities, staff and other students at all times.
School is a hate free, gang free, graffiti free and sexual harassment free zone.
MHS Agenda: No student has the right to disrupt the education of fellow students.
Ed Code: Willful disruption of the school or interfering with the peaceful conduct of the activities of the school is not allowed nor tolerated.
MHS Agenda: students who are a continuous disruption in a classroom may be subject to being dropped from that class with an "F" grade for the semester.
Ms. Mack's behavior guidelines (click this!)
No cheating, that means don't copy, borrow or share work. You can't learn it if YOU don't do it.
Plagiarism/copying - the definition of plagiarize is "to steal or pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own without crediting the source" (Websters 877). If I catch anyone sharing work or copying work (including taking pictures of it!) done by someone else, looking at someone's test, workbook or homework without my specific approval, it is considered cheating. Cheating is a violation of the MHS academic policy and California Educational Code 48900. Both (all) students involved in any incident will receive an F or zero points for the assignment. Depending on the situation, you may also receive a referral. All cheating incidents will be recorded in your discipline file. You will not be able to redo the copied assignment so you will lose all the points it is worth - permanently.
Hall Passes
The school provides a 7 minute break between classes, ten minutes between 2nd and 3rd period and a half hour at lunch. You are expected to take care of your personal business at these times and not ask to do so during class time. However, if there is an emergency, you can ask to use a hall pass. You will receive three hall passes each semester in Life Science and five for Anatomy and Physiology. To use a hall pass, you must sign out to leave the room. Do not interrupt class activities to do so, wait until there is a break in the activities and then sign out. I will not allow students to leave in the first or last 10 minutes of class. Please sign in when you come back. The sign out sheet is used to record the absence from class. After signing out, take your ID with you and leave the room. Passes may be used to go to the bathroom, the lockers or to visit your counselor. If you do not use your hall passes, you will receive ten points per un-used pass; 30 possible bonus points for Life Science or 50 A&P bonus points for each semester. If you must use more than four (or five), I will deduct points from your extra credit points or assign a detention for an additional pass. Asking for excessive hall passes in a semester can result in a referral. If there is a physical issue that requires you to leave the room often, I will need a parent contact to verify and determine a specialized plan for you.
BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION PROCESS:
1st issue: warning 2nd time: TSMP form and parent contact 3rd time: TSMP form and one period of IC
If the problem persists after all of the above, the student can receive a referral. All behavior incidents will be documented in discipline file in AERIES and can lead to being dropped from the class with an "F" grade for the semester or expulsion. See rules in your student handbook.
Students who fail to come in for their TSMP mediation will be sent with a referral to the AP.
Getting Help:
I am available for help before school starts, after school and during lunch almost every day. Please come by! My school email is [email protected] and I will get the message on my cell phone too. Use email or AERIES to get assignments if you are absent. Parents or guardians can contact me by email anytime concerning their students’ progress. My school website is a good place to go for class information and general reference.
Late and Makeup work:
You can turn in makeup work for any assignment that was missed due to a verified, excused absence. Makeup work must be turned in within two days of the absence to receive full credit.
Late work will have 10% deducted from the grade points for each day it is late. Excessively late work will be worth a maximum of 50% of the total points possible and only if it is perfectly done. All late work must be COMPLETE to receive credit. If you can't bother to finish it, I won't bother to grade it!
All tests and quizzes can be made up for full credit (by appointment only) if attempted within a reasonable time frame. The objective is for you to attempt all the work as you need to practice so your brain will retain the information. If you skip things, you lose your learning opportunity!
If you only work with the material once, you CAN'T learn it!
EXTRA CREDIT:
Any assignment, test or quiz that is turned in 100% correct is automatically assigned an extra credit point. This and certain select assignments are the ONLY extra credit I will offer for Life Science. Therefore it is VERY IMPORTANT TO DO ALL YOUR CLASSWORK!
My Anatomy and Physiology classes can do bonus articles to bump their grade points. I allow 15 articles per semester. Each is worth ten points maximum. They can find any CURRENT article ( magazine, online or newspaper) that relates to the class topic. They must turn in a copy of the article read with a full paragraph of their commentary on the article. Why did you pick it? What intrigued you about the headline? What concerns you or what reasons for interest in that topic do you have? What did you learn from it? What surprised you or does it lead you to want to learn more? I do NOT want a summary. You may turn in no more than three of these per week.
HOMEWORK:
Expect homework EVERY night for my classes. If I do not assign a specific assignment, your assignment is to review notes, re-read a chapter, or do some research on our current topic. Make a time commitment to this class, an hour a day earns A’s! Homework is open notes, open book, use any resource and you can come in for help: so it should be perfect every time. No excuses!
GRADING POLICY:
I follow and adhere to the Science Department grading policy.
A point system is used to compute grades. Points may be earned on exams, quizzes, laboratory reports, homework, projects and other assignments. Grades could be calculated as a percentage of the highest total points for the assignment (not necessarily possible points) on some assignments. Grades are cumulative for the semester.
A 90%- 100% D 60% - 69.99%
B 80% - 89.99% F 0% - 59.99%
C 70% - 79.99%
Plagiarism/copying - the definition of plagiarize is "to steal or pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own without crediting the source" (Websters 877). If I catch anyone sharing work or copying work (including taking pictures of it!) done by someone else, looking at someone's test, workbook or homework without my specific approval, it is considered cheating. Cheating is a violation of the MHS academic policy and California Educational Code 48900. Both (all) students involved in any incident will receive an F or zero points for the assignment. Depending on the situation, you may also receive a referral. All cheating incidents will be recorded in your discipline file. You will not be able to redo the copied assignment so you will lose all the points it is worth - permanently.
Hall Passes
The school provides a 7 minute break between classes, ten minutes between 2nd and 3rd period and a half hour at lunch. You are expected to take care of your personal business at these times and not ask to do so during class time. However, if there is an emergency, you can ask to use a hall pass. You will receive three hall passes each semester in Life Science and five for Anatomy and Physiology. To use a hall pass, you must sign out to leave the room. Do not interrupt class activities to do so, wait until there is a break in the activities and then sign out. I will not allow students to leave in the first or last 10 minutes of class. Please sign in when you come back. The sign out sheet is used to record the absence from class. After signing out, take your ID with you and leave the room. Passes may be used to go to the bathroom, the lockers or to visit your counselor. If you do not use your hall passes, you will receive ten points per un-used pass; 30 possible bonus points for Life Science or 50 A&P bonus points for each semester. If you must use more than four (or five), I will deduct points from your extra credit points or assign a detention for an additional pass. Asking for excessive hall passes in a semester can result in a referral. If there is a physical issue that requires you to leave the room often, I will need a parent contact to verify and determine a specialized plan for you.
BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION PROCESS:
1st issue: warning 2nd time: TSMP form and parent contact 3rd time: TSMP form and one period of IC
If the problem persists after all of the above, the student can receive a referral. All behavior incidents will be documented in discipline file in AERIES and can lead to being dropped from the class with an "F" grade for the semester or expulsion. See rules in your student handbook.
Students who fail to come in for their TSMP mediation will be sent with a referral to the AP.
Getting Help:
I am available for help before school starts, after school and during lunch almost every day. Please come by! My school email is [email protected] and I will get the message on my cell phone too. Use email or AERIES to get assignments if you are absent. Parents or guardians can contact me by email anytime concerning their students’ progress. My school website is a good place to go for class information and general reference.
Late and Makeup work:
You can turn in makeup work for any assignment that was missed due to a verified, excused absence. Makeup work must be turned in within two days of the absence to receive full credit.
Late work will have 10% deducted from the grade points for each day it is late. Excessively late work will be worth a maximum of 50% of the total points possible and only if it is perfectly done. All late work must be COMPLETE to receive credit. If you can't bother to finish it, I won't bother to grade it!
All tests and quizzes can be made up for full credit (by appointment only) if attempted within a reasonable time frame. The objective is for you to attempt all the work as you need to practice so your brain will retain the information. If you skip things, you lose your learning opportunity!
If you only work with the material once, you CAN'T learn it!
EXTRA CREDIT:
Any assignment, test or quiz that is turned in 100% correct is automatically assigned an extra credit point. This and certain select assignments are the ONLY extra credit I will offer for Life Science. Therefore it is VERY IMPORTANT TO DO ALL YOUR CLASSWORK!
My Anatomy and Physiology classes can do bonus articles to bump their grade points. I allow 15 articles per semester. Each is worth ten points maximum. They can find any CURRENT article ( magazine, online or newspaper) that relates to the class topic. They must turn in a copy of the article read with a full paragraph of their commentary on the article. Why did you pick it? What intrigued you about the headline? What concerns you or what reasons for interest in that topic do you have? What did you learn from it? What surprised you or does it lead you to want to learn more? I do NOT want a summary. You may turn in no more than three of these per week.
HOMEWORK:
Expect homework EVERY night for my classes. If I do not assign a specific assignment, your assignment is to review notes, re-read a chapter, or do some research on our current topic. Make a time commitment to this class, an hour a day earns A’s! Homework is open notes, open book, use any resource and you can come in for help: so it should be perfect every time. No excuses!
GRADING POLICY:
I follow and adhere to the Science Department grading policy.
A point system is used to compute grades. Points may be earned on exams, quizzes, laboratory reports, homework, projects and other assignments. Grades could be calculated as a percentage of the highest total points for the assignment (not necessarily possible points) on some assignments. Grades are cumulative for the semester.
A 90%- 100% D 60% - 69.99%
B 80% - 89.99% F 0% - 59.99%
C 70% - 79.99%