Dear HFASCS Parents & Guardians

September 6, 2016

Dear HFASCS Parents & Guardians:

Welcome to a brand new school year! Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kathy McDonald, and I am thrilled to be at HFASCS teaching science. I am originally from Flint, Michigan, and in my educational past I have been a Spartan, a Phoenix and a Warrior. This year I will be teaching high school Chemistry as well as an elective, Forensic Science, and a Forum. I am excited to be a part of the HFASCS community again and look forward to meeting you soon.

My passion for science and enjoyment of sharing science with students is what led me to teaching. Our experiential learning approach at HFASCS will involve a lot of hands-on activities, including labs and field experiences, so students should strive to be present and participate each day. I hope to have every student involved and engaged in our daily activities.

Because of the nature of lab classes, there are a few dress and behavior guidelines that must be followed for safety purposes, and those are indicated on the syllabus and lab safety contract, attached. Other attachments include a DonorsChoose.org permission slip, and a movie permission slip (forensic science only).

Please take time to review this information with your student. Sign and return it by Tuesday, September 13, 2016 clarifying that both you and your student understand what is expected of all three of us. Please include your telephone number and e-mail address where you can be reached.

If you have any questions, please contact me at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Kathy McDonald

Kathryn McDonald Science Teacher Henry Ford Academy School for Creative Studies Woodrow Wilson Teaching Fellow ‘14 Chemistry Syllabus Teacher: Ms. Kathryn McDonald HFASCS 2016-2017 Email: [email protected] Phone: 313-481-1424 Class Website: http://mcsciencehfascs.weebly.com

Course Description This one-year course is designed for high school students who have successfully completed biology. Chemistry examines, through relevant, hands-on exploration, the composition, structure, properties and behavior of matter, and the role energy plays in chemical and physical change. Students will learn the relevance of chemistry to their lives and develop scientific literacy, practical laboratory skills and reasoning ability through the use of engaging modeling activities, inquiry-based laboratories, and active discovery of concepts.

Expected Outcomes: At the end of the year, students will be able to…  Use their understanding of chemistry to describe and explain their world using chemistry principles.  Communicate understanding of the nature of science and demonstrate an ability to use scientific reasoning by applying it to the design, execution, and evaluation of scientific investigations.  Explain chemistry’s relevance to today’s world.

Supplemental Textbook: Modern Chemistry, by Davis, Frey, Sarquis & Sarquis, published by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2009 (Class set available during class, before and after school, or as needed by individual check out.)

Content Units: Semester 1: Unit 6: The Structure of Atoms (Charge Unit 0: Laboratory Basics/What is & Nomenclature) Chemistry? Semester 2: Unit 1: Physical Properties of Unit 7: The Periodic Table & Bonding Matter/Measurement Unit 8: Chemical Reactions (Particles Unit 2: Energy & States of Matter & Energy) Unit 3: More Energy & Matter: Phase Unit 9: Basic Stoichiometry Changes Unit 10: Further Applications of Unit 4: Describing Substances: Stoichiometry Compounds & Mixtures Unit 11: Acid-Base Chemistry Unit 5: Mass & Moles: Counting Particles Too Small to See

Materials Needed:  Optional: Scientific or graphing calculator (class set is for classroom use only; phone calculators will NOT be allowed during assessments)  1” 3-ring binder with 8 divider tabs or sticky notes  Spiral notebook  Pens & pencils  A great attitude!

A limited number of notebooks, pencils and binders will be available at cost from Ms. McD. School supplies are due by Monday, September 12, 2016. Lab notebooks will be provided.

ORGANIZATION OF SCIENCE Binder (each section should be labeled) Cover: Student Name and Hour (letter) First Page: Your Stamp Sheet—don’t lose it! Second Page: Chemistry Calendar/planner Divider 1: Glossary (Vocabulary List) Divider 2: Classwork & Homework—current and returned work in order by date Divider 3: Returned Tests & Quizzes (keep to study for exams) Divider 4: Chem. Essentials (passes, signed syllabus, lab safety info & contract, PT, study guides)

Classroom Expectations  All district and school rules/policies/expectations will be upheld in this classroom, particularly those pertaining to attendance, timeliness, and personal electronic devices (students will see the red/yellow/green cards in all classrooms indicating acceptable tech use). Consequences will also apply to behavior in the laboratory and restorative practices/sessions will be used as needed to address issues.  During assessments, students are expected to keep all electronic devices put away or placed in secure location provided by the teacher. Use of cell phones or other devices during assessments will result in a grade of zero (0). During formal testing, phones will be collected so students are encouraged to place phones in lockers on those days.  Students will engage in safe laboratory behaviors as detailed in the safety contract. Students who are unable to behave safely will be asked to leave during labs and/or will not be allowed to participate in a laboratory session. SAFETY FIRST!  Food and beverages, other than plain bottled water, should be placed in lockers.  Students will come to class prepared and ready to engage! Work will be marked down if student is unprepared for class (for example, no writing utensil).  Students will respect themselves by striving to do their personal best and participating positively in discussion, group activities, labs, etc.  Students will respect others by being considerate & cooperative; being a positive, contributing group member; positively acknowledging the contributions of others.  Students will respect their classroom and environment by treating furnishings & equipment with care; tidying desk or lab station before leaving class; taking care with proper use and disposal of chemicals.  Note about hall passes: Students should use the facilities before coming to class, as frequent trips to the bathroom not only disrupt the class, but prevent learning. Students will get 3 "free" passes per quarter--additional passes will require purchase with stamps earned in class by doing the warm up promptly, participating in class discussions, doing extra "jobs," or being on-task. Stamps will be awarded regularly and generously, so no issues should ever arise with students not having enough to "purchase" a bathroom pass if needed. Other uses of earned stamps will include quarter grade increases (100 stamps), test grade increase (50), snacks (10-15), and more.

Grading Policy:  Card marking grades will be based on a variety of assignments and assessments. Points values are provided below.

Classwork Activities 15 points Homework & Collaboration 10 points Lab Reports & Weekly Quizzes 25 points Exams & Projects 50 points

 Grades are calculated by dividing the points earned by the total possible points. Letter grades are assigned based on the following percentage ranges. A+ = 100% B- = 80-82% D+ = 67-69% A = 93-99% C+ = 77-79% D = 63-66% A- = 90-92% C = 73-76% D- = 60-62% B+ = 87-89% C- = 70-72% B = 83-86% F = < 59%  Intervention Plan—If a student’s grade falls below a 70%, or above 99%, it will trigger intervention measures to help students master the material and/or to challenge them to go beyond it. A contract, which may include additional assignments, after-school sessions or other activities, will be provided if intervention is warranted.

Homework Policy: Homework is due when students enter class. It will be checked in for completion or collected for grading. Late homework is accepted up to one week after the due date, with a 10% deduction per day. Better later than never! Missing assignments will receive a 0. All assignments and due dates will be posted on the website and in the classroom.

Absence Policy:  Assignments missed due to excused absences can be made up following the HFASCS guidelines. Lab experiments must be made up after school and within one week of the missed lab. Students should make extra effort to be present for labs.  Please note that Daily Warm Ups (DWU), are often the quiz questions on our weekly quizzes, so please make every effort to be present and on time.  Students are responsible for obtaining and making up notes and assignments missed due to excused absences. Notes and handouts/assignments will be in the ORANGE chemistry binder at the front of the room, or on the website (if no hard copy was given out). Assignments missed due to unexcused absences may be eligible for credit at the teacher’s discretion.

Communication Policy: Remind.com is up and running for Fall, 2016: text the message @hfachemistry to this number: 81010, to sign up and receive homework reminders. Parents and guardians welcome and encouraged to join! This is also my preferred method to communicate with students/parents. On that note, your success as a student depends on communication between student, teacher, and parent/guardian. To accomplish this, I will… provide timely feedback; be available to provide assistance after school; respond within one school day to remind.com messages, emails (please put the student’s name in the subject line of all emails) or phone messages from students and parents/guardians; contact parent/guardian as needed.

Please note that whether or not the syllabus is signed and returned, the policies of the syllabus will be followed.

Student Name (printed) Student Signature Date

______Parent/Guardian Name (printed) Parent/Guardian Signature Date