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I am looking forward to an awesome year. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Mike Epperson
7th Grade Science
Murray Middle School

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This science course is based upon the state approved Next Generation Science Standards. These are the same concepts being studied by middle schools students throughout Kentucky as well as other states around our country. This is one of the years that science is tested by the state of Kentucky. Your scores on this state assessment as well as classroom grades and other criteria may impact what science courses your child will be required to take at the high school level. This content is the foundation that future science classes are built upon. Thus, this year is very important, especially if the student has aspirations towards college entry and science or math related career fields.

The specific content statements that every child should know and be able to do by the end of the 7th grade year can be found at the following web address:
http://education.ky.gov/curriculum/sci/Pages/Next-Generation-Science-Standards.aspx http://www.nextgenscience.org/

Although this curriculum addresses what will be assessed by the state, students will be learning much more to prepare them for high school, college, or other avenues of higher learning or future careers. For example, students will be learning to communicate scientific ideas in an appropriate real world manner through analytical writing. Students will learn valuable science skills that will help shape their critical and logical thinking processes. Students will also obtain experiences in planning investigations that have relevance to real-world problems. They will carry out these experiments as well as analyze the data and communicate the results to various audiences. Students will also learn the principles of engineering which is a key component of the Next Generation Science Standards.

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Although not usually a problem, it needs to be mentioned. Academic dishonesty is a very serious offence in my classroom. Any student that is caught cheating (using someone else’s work or answers) or completes work for someone else will have his/her parents notified and must complete an alternate assignment. A second offence will result in further disciplinary consequences and a zero on the assignment. THIS INCLUDES HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS!

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7th grade science class has access to a great resource called Study Island that is used for preparing our kids for their future. This program will help you be more successful in this class along with high school science courses, the ACT/SAT, as well as the state assessment. This web-based program will also help provide you with a foundation for college science courses. You will be provided a user name and password within the first few weeks of school. If you have Internet access, you can access Study Island from home. If you do not have Internet access, your can use computers in my room. I am here at school by 7:00am each day. Most of this program will be completed outside of class time, so time and resource management skills will come into play and be very important. The most important aspect of completing Study Island assignments is to answer each question carefully. DO NOT GUESS. Since this is an Internet activity, any answers may be looked up while online. In fact, I ENCOURAGE THIS. To pass a particular assignment, you have a target goal that must be achieved. Once that goal is attained, you are finished with that assignment and get full credit (Blue Ribbon). Wrong answers count against you and are cumulative. That is, they make the goal more difficult to attain since you would have to answer even more questions correctly to reach your goal. The minimum number of questions a student must do on regular assignments are ten and the goal for a blue ribbon varies but is usually a 70% or 7 out of 10. Study Island assignments will be used as a test grade during each nine weeks. For example, if a student gets blue ribbons in 4 out of 5 assignments, they will receive an 80% for a test grade that counts toward that 9 weeks average while getting 5 out of 5 blue ribbons earns a 100% for a test grade. In addition, at the end of the year the TOTAL blue ribbon count is used as a test grade carrying the same weight as the final exam, so students must keep up and not fall behind.

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There will be several methods of instruction in our science class. The methods used in class will include, but not be limited to lecture, discussion, demonstrations, hands-on activities and labs. In addition to “doing” science, we will be learning about science and exploring topics by conducting research, making presentations, and writing essays, analyzing articles, and doing investigations.

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Grading Scale                                                                                                             Grading Set Up
A    94-100                                                             Category                                                           Percentage of Term Grade
B    86-93                                                      Homework and Brainchecks                                                         0%
C    77-85                                                      Labs and Projects                                                                           0%
D    70-76                                                      Summative Assessments (tests) and Writing                          60%
F    0-69                                                         Term Final                                                                                       40%

Most of the assignments and activities we do this year will be placed in the grade book so that we (me, you, and your parents) can keep track of how you are doing. However, you may notice above that our daily learning (homework, Brainchecks, labs, and projects) also called formative assessments will not count toward your final grade in the class. Because many students are still learning during the unit, I do not want to penalize students for the content they have not mastered. These daily grades will still be recorded as activities in the grade book. All students will receive feedback on assigned work, but there will be no portion of daily work counted as part of the overall term average unless it is an assessment that is being used to assess your knowledge at the end of a unit or term. Homework is considered practice and I believe practice assignments should not count toward the grade. However, since homework is an important practice for assessments, if you do not complete assigned work, you will be given consequences. Practice assignments are important to understand what you know and can do so we can work together to improve and have you ready for the summative assessment. Most of the time, you know if you do not know something or how to do a specific task. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, someone else in class may be thinking the exact same thing! Each time we meet, you should be prepared for a Braincheck (quiz) over previous material, notes or reading assignments. Although not part of the term grade, these allow you to “check your brain” to see if you are on track with the material we are learning. It is very important that you keep up with reading assignments and notes given in class. The only grades that count toward your reported average will be writing assignments, summative assessments (tests) and the term final.

If you don’t do well on a test, you will be offered one of two ways to better your score. You may be offered a retake or you may be offered bonus work. Before a retake or bonus work can be completed, you may be asked to obtain a parent signature and return the test to schedule the retake or receive the bonus work. In addition, prior to a retake or bonus work being assigned, students must complete any missing assignments. Please realize, the “retake” test most often will be different from the first test and it will be AVERAGED with the first one. Although these tests may be different, they will cover the same standards. This will help make sure you know the content and not just the test. Bonus work will be worth half the points missed on the original test and typically be rewrites and/or Frayer Models. Frayer models will be discussed in class. I have my own personal version.
Please realize these important things:
1. Retakes and bonus work are only offered to those with no zeros for that particular time period or unit.
2. A parent/guardian signature on the first test may be required.
3. Retakes or bonus work must be completed within 1 week of getting the original test back.
4. The retake score is averaged with the original test score no matter what the grade is and the bonus work is worth half the points missed on the original test.

The only tests that cannot be retaken or receive bonus work are the term finals given at the end of each nine weeks.

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Planners
To help students with organization and improve our communication home, all students will receive an agenda planner that will be used to record homework assignments and communicate with parents. We will sometimes write notes in the planner to parents. A good practice would be for parents to check your agenda planner each night or at least every Friday. This will help parents keep up with homework, school activities, and communication with the teachers. Students shall not remove any of pages from the agenda planner without being asked to do so by a teacher. Removal of pages could result in disciplinary consequences. For bathroom emergencies and the occasional forgotten homework in the locker, 5 hall passes per grading period will be allowed for each student. Teachers will initial the student planner each time they leave class.

Classroom Environment
It is important that the classroom environment be structured in a way that maximizes the potential for students to achieve the teacher’s goals. Every student has the right to participate in a classroom that is safe and free of distractions. To help keep the classroom safe and free of distractions, the 6th-8 th grade teachers utilize various strategies and procedures that promote appropriate positive behavior and provide consequences for inappropriate negative behaviors. Depending on severity or frequency of inappropriate behaviors, students may receive a negative Dojo point, infraction, student/teacher conference, teacher/parent conference, office referral, academic/alternate lunch, loss of break, loss of hall pass, etc. In addition, inappropriate behavior and Dojo percentages may impact participation in dances, field trips, and other school related activities such as sports.

Automatic detentions are given for misbehavior for a substitute teacher, chewing gum on school grounds, writing/receiving personal notes, bullying/harassing, and not having his/her planner when asked to record information.

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We will be doing labs that involve equipment or chemicals that could injure students that don’t follow rules or guidelines. It is very important that you follow the teacher’s safety instructions. If you have a question, do not hesitate to ask. If at any time you see an unsafe act, bring it to the teacher’s attention immediately. Remember, if you think it is unsafe, it probably is and everyone in the classroom is in this together!

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In most cases, a student may have to miss one or more classes because of various extracurricular activities, family emergencies, or an illness. The responsibility of making up missed work belongs to the student. It is very important that you check with the teacher to get specifics on assignments or pick up any handouts as soon as they return to school. After the allotted time period (number of days absent plus one), the assignment will be counted as missing.

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Full classroom participation is expected from each student. There will be activities that require you to work individually, in pairs, and in groups. When working with others, part of your success may be based on the work and accomplishments of the group. Being part of a group and working toward a compromise is a very important skill. There are very few jobs or careers that require people to work totally alone, so experiences such as these will help you throughout life.

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Seventh grade has several tools to help keep you and your parents/guardians informed of the many activities going on this year as well as provide you with resources for academic work.

The first and most important tool is the agenda/planner that each student is issued during the first week of school. You should use the planner to record important dates as well as daily homework assignments.

Another useful tool that is fairly new is ClassDojo. This tool is used to update parents on not only behavior, but also important reminders, private messaging between teachers and parents, and photos of what's going on at school or on field trips. You and your child will receive information on how to sign up. There is an app for your phone that makes it very convenient to check on your child's status and contact their teachers.

Another tool is the 7th grade hall calendar which will contain important events such as tests and field trips.

In addition, a few of us have teacher web pages or blogs. On my web page, you can find out what we are studying in class, gain access to other sites for in-depth study of material or even get help with homework questions. There could also be photos of classroom activities that will be added from time to time. Please feel free to visit often and offer suggestions for improvement.

The address is: http://mrepperson7thgradescience.weebly.com/.

Lastly, 7th grade will have a homework email that will send homework assignments to the email addresses students and parents provide. If you have any questions, simply press “reply” and a teacher should be able to get back with you fairly soon. If you would like to be included on this list, please forward your name and the email address that you would like the messages sent to my email.

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pencils

loose leaf paper

1-two pocket folder (preferably plastic) with brads to hold loose leaf paper

Composition Notebook (not spiral bound)

You will also need to store digital files and documents. A USB pen drive or other removable media for the USB port will be very beneficial and last a long time. I recommend that the capacity be at least 1 gigabyte, but larger drives will actually be better. This type of storage will be used year after year, so it is a good investment. I may provide a textbook that may be used as a reference or resource, but this class will not be textbook based. Other reference media such as the Internet, periodicals (magazines), and videos will also be used. The best resource is my web page because it will have a plethora of online resources to accompany what we do in class.

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School Phone 753-5125 ext. 2393
Classroom Weebly Web Site: http://mrepperson7thgradescience.weebly.com/

School Email: mike.epperson@murray.kyschools.us

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I just wanted to welcome your child to the 7th grade. But just as important, I would like to welcome you into the 7th grade as well. The seventh grade team is a very strong, student-centered group of teachers that would like to extend education beyond the school walls. We know that you understand the importance of education and we hope to see you involved with not only the academic realm, but the potpourri of other activities your child will be part of this school year. In my classroom, students will be challenged to be responsible and take charge of their own academic future. The seventh grade is a time of transition. Soon, students will be expected to have a great deal of internal motivation and responsibility toward achieving their educational goals. It is important that we work together to help them “be all they can be”. If you have any questions about this document or our classroom in general, please feel free to contact me, I would be glad to talk with you. In addition, please provide an email if you would like quick communication if the need ever arises.

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Welcome to a new and exciting year at Murray Middle School. My name is Mr. Epperson and I will be your science teacher. This document is an overview of what is expected of you as seventh graders in our science classroom. This document contains information on what we will be doing this year, safety during labs, and other important issues concerning the classroom. This will be a challenging, yet rewarding year. I only ask that you give 100% and be a responsible person. Who knows, you may even have fun!