Dear Parents and Students s8

Science 7th Grade – Mr. Wieners

Welcome Students and Parents,

I am very excited to be teaching you 7th Grade Science this school year at Gorzycki Middle School. I had the pleasure and honor of joining the Gorzycki Team in January 2012 as an 8th grade Science teacher. Prior to that, I spent 7 years teaching Math and Science at top independent programs and schools in New York City.

Units of Study 1st 6weeks – Lab Safety, Experimental Design, Work and Organisms, 2nd 6wks – Cells, DNA and Human body (Nervous and Endocrine), 3rd 6wks - Human body Systems (Circulatory, Respiratory, Skeletal, Muscular, Digestive, Excretory, Reproductive and Integumentary) 4th 6wks – Heredity, Adaptations and Plants; 5th 6wks – Ecology, 6th 6wks – Earth Systems, Life and Space, plus Health and Sexuality

Make Up Work Make up work is work that was assigned in class on a day you were absent from class. Students have three (3) school days to turn it in, starting from the day you return to class. Students are responsible for getting the make up work from me and to me. You are required to do all work that was assigned and hand in those that are for a grade. Please let me know of special circumstances requiring extra time to complete make-up work.

Late Work Work turned in late will receive 5 points off per day with a maximum of 20 points off. If it is not turned in after 4 days the MSG in the grade book will be changed to a 0.

I reserve the right to suspend the late work policy on certain projects and activities when completion is critical by a certain time. I will inform students of this at the time the assignment is made.

Failures Students will be given the opportunity to improve/re-do failing grades on tests and assignments when they receive a score lower than 70. The maximum score on this redone work is a 70. Students may be required to attend tutoring or complete additional review activities before being allowed to retake a test.

Students who fail a six weeks will be assigned tutoring / intervention the following six weeks.

Detentions Lunch and after school detentions will be assigned to students whose behaviors are such that actions must be taken to modify the behavior. Parents will be informed of the need for the student to stay after school so alternate transportation plans can be made. Detention is from 3:35 to 4:00 Wednesday after school. Late students are not admitted. Students who do not serve their detention will be assigned two days of detention and the parent contacted. When a student still does not serve detention a referral will be written.

Grades 50% Test, Quizzes and Projects 50% Daily Work and Labs

Tutoring Monday at 3:45 to 4:30 – Students should tell me in advance and be in tutoring by 3:45. If I do not know a student is arriving I cannot guarantee I will be in my room after 3:50. This is a student directed opportunity to catch up on work, relearn material already covered, or have their questions answered. I do not plan activities or lessons for tutorials.

Notebooks Notebooks are a very important tool for students. They will be given printed instructions on how they are to be set up. The instructions are also located on my web page. Notebooks are graded every 6 weeks and count as a quiz grade.

Please retain letter for reference. Safety Contract Please complete the Science Safety contract and return it to class as soon as possible. Students may not participate in science labs without a safety contract completed and turned in to me.

Materials Please refer to the 7th grade material list that you received for Team 7-3. For Science class we will be building a lab notebook. This will require 2, 70 page spiral notebooks to be turned in at the start of the year. We will use one per semester. Students will also need a dedicated Science binder or folder in a general binder to hold material not placed in the lab notebook.

Optional Items – These are items that may have been asked for in general for 7th grade, but are to be turned in to me directly for use in Science class specifically. (Thank you!)

1 boxes of Kleenex or 1 pair of scissors or 1 ruler with Metric units

Behavior Students are expected to follow all school rules and classroom rules. The school rules are located in the student agenda. I know that there are times and circumstances in a students life that extra patience is needed. If there are circumstances that warrant extra patience please let me know. I will respect your privacy and wishes. I do share information with the team teachers and administration.

Science book The Science Fusion textbook is available on-line through the cloud. Students should explore the cloud by going to my.austinisd.org. Their username is their student number (s#######) and the password is the same one they use at school for logging onto computers. They can find the Textbook by: Log into the AISD Cloud (https://my.austinisd.org/) Search for ThinkCentral Username is the student ID number (S# (capital S)) Password is Aisd123! (exclamation at the end)

Optional Book: Sciencesaurus Student Handbook (ISBN# 978-0-544-05840-8) is another resource that students will have on-line access. This would be a great supplemental book for at home to prepare for the STAAR exam at the end of 8th grade.

Lab fee The $10 lab fee that is being requested is not mandatory but very much needed. If there is a financial hardship in the family, please do not worry about the fee.

My passion is teaching young minds about the Scientific Method and Mathematical Principles that explain and govern our world. Through these disciplines, students learn how to ask questions that lead to knowledge, and how to solve problems in a rational and logical way. These are the skills that are required to become competent, thoughtful, and productive citizens that have a positive effect on society, which in my mind is the goal of public education.

To reach this goal, we have an exciting curriculum with numerous activities and labs to do. I believe that learning is hard work. It takes the combined effort of the students, teachers and parents for students to reach their full potential. My classroom is a place where students are respected, wanted and nurtured. I have high expectations for my students but also realize that students must be supported while they are learning.

I am truly looking forward to a successful year and getting to know students and parents alike.

Mr. Wieners 512-841-8695 [email protected] http://tinyurl.com/mr-wieners

______(Student Name) (Student Signature)

Please retain letter for reference. ______(Parent/Guardian Name) (Parent/Guardian Signature)

Please retain letter for reference.