• Course Description: This course will teach you useful information, both about Chemistry and the world around you, that you will use for the rest of your life. Be prepared to work very hard and have fun this year. This course is aligned with district, state, and national standards to support school-wide efforts in increasing student achievement.

    Course Objectives:
    By the time the student completes this course of study, the student will know or be able to

    1. Have enhanced study and test taking skills.
    2. Have an increased appreciation of the world around us
    3. Have developed critical thinking skills.
    4. Be prepared for college level courses in science.

     

    In addition to the course objectives listed above, the following “Arizona College and Career Ready” Anchor Standards for Writing are also embedded;
        •Standard 1- Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. 
        •Standard 2- Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization,                                      and analysis of content. 
        •Standard 9- Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

    Class Expectations:

    1. Treat everyone in the class with respect at all times.
    2. Entry into the classroom - You must be in the class and moving toward your seat when the bell rings or you will be marked absent.
    3. Attention - While a teacher or student is addressing the class, remain quiet and pay attention.
    4. Any student caught with their head down will stand the remainder of the hour.
    5. Exit - All students must be in their seats before the class may leave.

    Consequences:
    Steps:

    1. Verbal warning
    2. Isolation in the room, and a parent phone call
    3. Removal from class, parent phone call, and detention
    4. Referral

    Grades:

    1. 好色导航work: Expect homework 3 to 4 nights a week.
    2. Labs: When we have a lab you will be assessed on your completion of the lab and your comprehension of the lab concepts. All labs need to be 100% complete in order to receive full credit!
    3. Assignments: Worksheets, questions, test reviews, etc. All assignments should be 100% complete in order to receive full credit!
    4. Quizzes: You can expect a quiz each Monday of class.  There will occasionally be other announced quizzes on other days.
    5. Tests: There will be several summative assessments that will cover a number of units of study. In most cases, units of study are divided in Canvas by module.
    • There is no extra credit at MRHS

    A = 100 - 90        好色导航work and class work = 10 % of grade
    B = 89 - 80          Labs and Projects = 20% of grade
    C = 79 - 70          Tests and quizzes = 70 % of grade
    D = 69 - 60
    F = 59 – 0         

     

    Report Cards:

    In an effort to conserve resources and harness the capacity of our electronic grade reporting program (PowerSchool) district schools will no longer print hard copies of report cards unless requested by individual parents. To request a hard copy of your student’s report card, please contact the front office at 623-376-3000.  To receive your PowerSchool login, please stop into the office with a valid photo ID.

    Power School Online Access & Grades:

    Grades and attendance may be accessed 24 hours a day online with your Power School access code.  Access codes are available in the Counseling Office or Front Desk Monday – Friday 7:00 AM– 3:30 PM. You may check student progress regularly on the PowerSchool site using the same login for one or more students.  For Mountain Ridge parents/guardians without home computer access, a computer with guest log-in capability is available in the Counseling Conference Room.

    Academic Assistance/Office Hours:
    In addition to the Academic Prep times built into our schedule each week, additional assistance/tutoring is provided on a weekly basis both by MRHS and individually by instructors. These office hours will be posted in my classroom, website, and/or Canvas at the start of each week. I will demonstrate to the students how to find my availability each week.


    Daily Device Use (iPads): 
    Students should come to school with their iPads charged and ready to use in each class every day. Devices may not be used to record or take photos of other people without their consent.  Consequences for classroom disruptions and misuse of devices will follow a progressive discipline model, beginning with a phone call home and progressing to office referrals for repeated or more serious offenses. See the Student Rights and Responsibilities consequence chart in the handbook for more specific descriptions of infractions and consequences.


    Laboratory:

    • Correct lab procedure will be explained before each lab and students must follow the lab safety rules reviewed at the start of the semester.
    • Horseplay will not be tolerated. Students will leave the lab and will not receive credit.


    Makeup Policy & Retest Policy: (absent work can be daily assignments, quizzes, labs, or tests.)

    • After an absence, a student has one school day for each day missed to make up work/tests, regardless of the number of days absent. If many days were missed, please schedule an appointment with me to formulate a plan for the completion of make-up work. In Canvas, you will be given 3 days before the assignment locks.  Make-up work for extended absences (over 3 days) may be requested through the Counseling Office and picked up there. 
    • Mountain Ridge students have within the current unit of study to turn in assigned work for full credit, as determined by the teacher, level, and department on campus. The length of the unit of study and due dates will be clearly communicated to students by the teacher. Any assignment less than a week old at the end of a unit will have a one-week submission period.
      • Any work that is past due and due time will be required to be written out by hand, NOT printed out of notability, and turned in on paper.  You do NOT need to print out the worksheet/lab, you can just write out the work and answers on a notebook piece of paper. 
      • You MUST include your first AND last name, your class period, AND the title of the assignment.  
      • It is your responsibility to ensure the correct file is submitted and the file is uploaded before the due date and time shown in Canvas
    • However, the point of assignments/homework/labs and projects are to expose students to content and help them obtain mastery of that content through timely practice so that they are successful on all forms of assessments. By not completing assignments by the due date and instead, submitting the work late, the students' ability to achieve mastery as they may go into assessments without feedback and practice.  Having late work also causes students to have to play "catch up" which for some will cause additional stress.  It is highly suggested that students complete work by the due date and only on rare special occasions do they turn the work in late.
    • Students will be allowed a maximum of 2 attempts on summative/end-of-unit assessments (this does not include quizzes). 
      • In order to take the second attempt, the student must turn in all work (homework, classwork, projects, labs, etc) covered in the exam.  Any missing work after the exam date must be turned in even though no credit will be given. 
      • The student will also need to complete a second exam review and earn a score of 85% or higher to retake the exam.  This review will need to be done during Aca Prep in my classroom.
      • The teacher will share a specific date that the 2nd attempt must be completed.  Most retake times will be at the end of the month only.  After this date, the student will no longer have the opportunity for a second attempt.  In some cases, a different assessment that covers the same standards will be provided for the retake in lieu of the initial assessment.

    Science Calculator Policy: 
    Students may use their calculators for classwork and homework. Students will be required to use a calculator from a class set for all exams and quizzes. A student may also use one of these calculators if the student hasn’t brought a calculator to class.

    Classwork:
    We will spend time on a daily basis working in small groups or individually on assignments. THIS IS NOT FREE TIME.  In-class assignments may be due by the end of the class period and no late work will be accepted.  If you need extra time, please speak to me before you leave.  Students who are off task during class will NOT be given an extension.

    Mastery Quizzes:
    As an honor student, prior knowledge is essential. Therefore, four quizzes each year (2 per semester) are considered Mastery Quizzes. These quizzes include essential, foundation material that covers content we build upon in the course, therefore, it is imperative that the content is well understood. Passing of these mastery quizzes means a student must earn a score of 85% or higher. If mastery is not achieved the first time taking the quiz, (a score less than 85% is earned), students must come in to retake the quiz, knowing that the maximum score they can now earn (as they are having to utilize multiple attempts over the same content) is a 75%.

    Students have the opportunity to study more and commit the mastery concepts (base content) to memory by taking a re-quiz before the end of the unit, when the teacher is available. If after this time frame, the student is unable to reach a score of 85% the student will receive a zero on the quiz.

    If a zero is earned, it is the reflection of a student's effort. The mastery quizzes are memorization type, base-level content that IF a student is actively engaged in their learning, pose no problem for a student to master. It is also important to remember that students have access to many resources in this class to assist them in their achievement of mastery. All mastery quizzes will be announced in advance.