Class Syllabus Biology I Honors - Fall 2021

Mr. Welch Room F209

Course Description: Biology is the study of life! This is a semester-long course designed to build upon the student’s prior knowledge of science and biology. Students will complete projects, labs and other activities on a daily basis. Every effort will be made to relate materials covered to student life and our society.

Course Outline: Each unit will culminate with an assessment to display the level of student mastery of the content.The Biology End of Course Assessment will be administered at the end of the semester and is worth 25% of the final grade. 

Daily Class Expectations: 

• Show up to class on time with all necessary materials for class.
• Log in to canvas each day to access the daily warm-up questions and daily content. This should be done if you are absent also. 
• To limit distractions, cell phones or other devices are to be stored in a backpack(not your pocket, or on the desk). 
• Students will have the option to use cell phones on some occasions, but only when expressly given consent for research, or other class related purposes. 
• No food in class.
• Enter the class prepared to learn, both mentally and physically.
• Be in your seat when class begins.
• Begin the daily warm-up activity at the beginning of each class. 
• If you miss class, or are late warm-up activities are up to the individual student to complete and are not exempted for absences. 

Required Materials: These items must be brought to class daily.

Chromebook and charger (a low battery is not an excuse for not fully participating)

• Google chrome is the required browser so all applications used in class will function properly. 
• You must have access to your google drive daily. 

Pencils with erasers

 One notebook – College Ruled – minimum requirement, 1 subject, 70 pages

Grading Policy: A weighted system of grading is used in this class. The categories listed below are used to calculate 75% of your final grade for the class. The remaining 25% of your total grade is from the Biology EOC. 

• Tests: 40%
• Quizzes: 20%
• Lab:25%
• Classwork/ Homework:15 %

Plagiarism: Acts of plagiarism are considered academic dishonesty and will not be tolerated. Students using part of another’s work without proper citation are guilty of plagiarism, and will be dealt with according to the WHS student handbook. 

Absent and Late Work Policy: In the case of an absence, students have one day from the due date to turn in an assignment. 

- Late work not caused by an excused absence is only accepted up to one day after the original due date. Late work will receive a maximum 50% of the possible score. No late work is accepted after one day from the due date. 

-If you are absent the day an assignment is due, you will not receive extra time. It must be turned in the next day you attend class.  

-The majority of tests, and quizzes will be taken in person this semester. If a test is missed due to an absence, and is not specifically a take home assessment it will only be allowed to be made up in-person. Missed assessments must be made up as soon as possible.  

-Class projects and/ or presentations will not be taken late unless previous arrangements have been made prior to the due date. If a presentation is missed it will be made up immediately upon your return to class. 

Class Resources: 

We will be primarily using two online platforms (Canvas, and Powerschool) throughout this year. Please ensure the student and parent can access all of these early in the school year. We will also use a wide array of other online platforms for research, simulations, activities, videos, etc. to complete assignments, and help students gain a deeper understanding of the content.   

CONTACT INFORMATION:

The best way for you or a parent to contact me is through email.  I will always be most responsive to email, as I am able to check it throughout the day.  However, I will leave other means of contact if you need to get in touch with me. If you leave an email and request a phone call back, I will make every attempt to contact you by the end of the day. 

Mr. Dan Welch

E-mail: daniel.welch@ucps.k12.nc.us

Office Phone Number: 704-296-6319 ext. 1955

 I am so excited for a wonderful semester with you! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask!