Guidelines and Procedures
Mr. U
Room 408
Shades Valley High School
The current guidelines and procedures of the Mr. U’s class are in this document, but more guidelines may be added as the need arises. Each parent and student is expected to review the guidelines and procedures and sign stating that they understand and agree to what they have read. This is done so that each student is treated with equality and respect while respecting their time and effort that they put forth in the class. This also allows for the most effective use of time benefiting the students by allowing them to receive the best education possible to become college and career ready.
1. Guidelines
Below are the guidelines for the class. These guidelines are designed to make sure that each student is prepared for the class as well as respectful of all others so that they can receive the best learning experience possible.
2. Consequences
If a student acts positively, positive consequences occur. The opposite is also true, negative acts create negative consequences.
a. Positive Consequences
3. Cheating
a. Cheating will not be tolerated.
b. Cheating will be considered as the following:
4. Grading
a. As per the Jefferson County Board of education, all students will be graded in the same manner. 75% of a student’s grade will be from assessments and 25% of the student’s grade will be from classwork.
5. Electronics
a. Electronic devices are a part of society today, and are an important tool for education, but can also cause a distraction. Students are encouraged to bring their electronic devices as long as they follow the guidelines below:
c. Please see the Jefferson County Board of Education policy on electronic devices for any further clarification of the electronics policy
d. Logging onto the public network:
6. Beginning of Class
a. Entry Routine
7. During Class
a. Students will stay in the classroom the first and last 25 minutes of class.
b. Students are expected to participate in the activities for the day whether it is a lab or classroom activities. This will include:
8. End of Class
a. The teacher dismisses the class, not the bell.
b. No one will be dismissed until all students have cleaned the room, are silently seated and looking at the teacher.
c. Dismissal Procedure
9. Outside of class
a. Contacting U:
10. Assignments/Note taking
a. Number each assignment/notes according to the number that is given on the board.
b. All assignments must be legibly labeled with the following information.
d, All assignments should be written in blue or black pen, or pencil. Anything that is written in other colors will either recieve a grade of 0 (zero) or be returned to the student to be redone and recieve a late grade.
e. All assignments must be turned in on the correct day. Any late assignments will recieve a penalty of 20%.
f. Special note: Many times students will be asked to work in groups. Oftentimes, in a group setting, one person is designated by the group to hold all the materials. Experience has shown that the person who has all the materials will be absent the next time everything is needed. This is not an excuse to not turn in the work on time. Only the absent person will be allowed the turn in the work late without repercussions.
11. Lab
a. Students will be allowed to participate in laboratory activities (either in the classroom or the biology lab) once they have completed and returned the lab safety contract and have completed and passed (75% or higher) the lab safety test.
b. Any misbehavior will result in a student be removed from the lab with a zero for that lab.
c. Discipline in the lab will skip steps one and two of the discipline plan and immediately go to step three, four or five depending on the severity of the infraction.
d. Dissections are often part of many different science class, however many students do not wish to participate in the dissections for various reasons. If this occurs, students will be given another assignment to work on during lab.
12. Emergency Procedures
a. At times, emergencies occur. The most frequent emergencies are fire, tornadoes and lockdowns. The following are the procedures that will be followed for each:
13. Missed Class/Poor Grades
Note: Mr. U is not responsible for students missing class or getting poor grades. These policies are put into to place as option for the student and are not mandatory. If a student earns a poor grade, it is their responsibility to use the make-up work options.
a. If a student misses a class, the student will have missed whatever happened in class for that day. Students can check the Internet for the agenda of what happened during that day. The procedure for missing a class is as follows:
14. Exams/quizzes: Exams will be administered throughout the semester to assess the knowledge of the students. Exams will typically fall in categories 14b-14e. Many quizzes will fall in categories 14a and 14b. Exceptions may apply depending on the type of quiz or test or what type of comprehension is being tested.
a. Knowledge/Remembering is the ability to correctly remember information, typically in the exact for that it is taught (also known as regurgitation learning)
15. Parents
a. Expectations of the parent:
1. Clark, D. (2015, January 12). Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains. Retrieved June 23, 2015, from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html
2. Overbaugh, R., & Schultz, L. (n.d.). Bloom's Taxonomy. Retrieved June 23, 2015, from http://ww2.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm
3. U.S. DEP’T OF THE AIR FORCE, AIR FORCE MANUAL 36-2236, GUIDEBOOK FOR AIR FORCE INSTRUCTORS (12 NOV. 2003) hereinafter AFM 36-2236.
Room 408
Shades Valley High School
The current guidelines and procedures of the Mr. U’s class are in this document, but more guidelines may be added as the need arises. Each parent and student is expected to review the guidelines and procedures and sign stating that they understand and agree to what they have read. This is done so that each student is treated with equality and respect while respecting their time and effort that they put forth in the class. This also allows for the most effective use of time benefiting the students by allowing them to receive the best education possible to become college and career ready.
1. Guidelines
Below are the guidelines for the class. These guidelines are designed to make sure that each student is prepared for the class as well as respectful of all others so that they can receive the best learning experience possible.
- Be on time (class begins at the bell and ends at the bell)
- Be Respectful (to yourself and others)
- Be Prepared
- Be Safe (Follow all safety rules)
- Follow all guidelines and rules as set out by the Code of Conduct
- Special Guideline: Be Positive (This is a no whining zone. Everything we do is for your best interest.)
2. Consequences
If a student acts positively, positive consequences occur. The opposite is also true, negative acts create negative consequences.
a. Positive Consequences
- A stress free learning environment.
- No judgment zone.
- The joy of learning.
- First Warning and documentation.
- Behavior infraction notice.
- Documented in the behavior log.
- Second Warning and documentation
- Behavior infraction notice.
- Documented in the behavior log.
- Action Plan, parent contact
- Disciplinary Referral
- Severe Clause: Students who are openly defiant, fighting or causing some form of action that stops student learning will be sent immediately to an administrator.
- Note: Electronics are handled in a separate section, and will receive different consequences. See the electronics section.
3. Cheating
a. Cheating will not be tolerated.
b. Cheating will be considered as the following:
- Plagiarism (copying a document without the appropriate documentation).
- Example: Copying and pasting a Wikipedia article in a paper and claiming it is original work.
- Consequence: Level 3 consequence (disciplinary referral and parent contact), student receives a zero and the results of the action plan.
- Copying (copying another students work)
- Example: Copying the answers to an assignment during class to get credit.
- Consequence: Both students, (copier and the original) will have the document taken up, given a zero and will not be able to make up the assignment.
- Cheating during testing (looking on another students test and using the same answers)
- Consequence: Level consequence (disciplinary referral and parent contact), each situation will be handled individually based on the circumstance.
4. Grading
a. As per the Jefferson County Board of education, all students will be graded in the same manner. 75% of a student’s grade will be from assessments and 25% of the student’s grade will be from classwork.
- Assessments are any activity that can be used to determine if a student fully understands the material. In this type of assignment, points will only be given for the correct answers. This may include, but is not limited to, quizzes, lab reports, tests, exams, or homework.
- Classwork is any activity that is done that will be graded for completeness. This means that the student is expected to attempt the homework, but there is not a penalty for getting the incorrect answer. This may include, but is not limited to, participating in class, a lab or completing homework.
- Students may be allowed to exempt this exam if they meet certain requirements*.
- Typically the requirements depend on the grade of the student:
- Students with a 90-100% may exempt if they have not been suspended.
- Students with a 75-89% may exempt if they have no more than 1 tardy, zero absences (excused or unexcused) and have not been suspended.
- Freshmen and sophomores may exempt 1 exam; juniors and seniors may exempt 2.
5. Electronics
a. Electronic devices are a part of society today, and are an important tool for education, but can also cause a distraction. Students are encouraged to bring their electronic devices as long as they follow the guidelines below:
- Electronic devices are to be silenced/turned off during class (no sound- including vibrations or flashing lights).
- Electronic devices are not to be seen in the classroom (during instruction) unless they are being used for the current activity.
- Taking pictures of notes on the board is acceptable, if permission is requested beforehand.
- Listening to music should be done through headphones only, and at a level that only the user can hear (no earspray).
- Student use electronic devices for educational purposes.
- You may charge your devices while in class. However, your are responsible for the safety and location of your phone.
c. Please see the Jefferson County Board of Education policy on electronic devices for any further clarification of the electronics policy
d. Logging onto the public network:
- Username: [email protected] OR [email protected]
- Password: Lunch Number
6. Beginning of Class
a. Entry Routine
- Before entering the room, students will gather their materials from their bookbags/lockers. Students will always be expected to have several (3 or more) sheets of paper and 2 sharpened pencils, mechanical pencil with plenty of lead, 2 pens, or any combination of the above..
- After entering the classroom, the student should sit at their desk correctly and arrange their desk as follows:
- Homework, if any, in the upper right-hand corner of the desk.
- Blank sheets of paper/notebook in the center of the desk.
- Extra pens and pencils in the pencil tray at the top of the desk.
- All students must be in the room and seated by the time the bell rings or they will be counted as tardy.
- Once the student is seated, he/she should silently start to work on the assignment that will be found on either the Promethean board or the white board on the opposite side of the classroom.
7. During Class
a. Students will stay in the classroom the first and last 25 minutes of class.
b. Students are expected to participate in the activities for the day whether it is a lab or classroom activities. This will include:
- Raising hands to express ideas.
- Not talking over other individuals.
- Being respectful of other’s opinions and answers.
- Answering questions to the best of your ability. “I don’t know” is not an acceptable answer, an attempt must always be made.
- S: Sit-up- Posture is important, sit in the chair correctly with your back on the backrest. Lying on your arms or using your arms to support your head tends to lead to sleeping.
- L: Lean Forward- this indicates that you are paying attention and are interested in the lesson, it is also a good position to help you focus on the individual speaking and your notes.
- A: Ask Questions- if you do not understand something, ask a clear, concise on-topic question to clarify the subject
- N: Note Key Information- take notes in class, do not assume everything can be remembered. If the information is emphasized several times, it should probably be written down
- T: Track the Speaker- Use your eyes to focus on the individual speaking.
8. End of Class
a. The teacher dismisses the class, not the bell.
b. No one will be dismissed until all students have cleaned the room, are silently seated and looking at the teacher.
c. Dismissal Procedure
- Make sure that all trash has been collected and is in the trashcan/recycle bin.
- Make sure the desk is back in its original position.
- Wait for a verbal dismissal to leave the classroom.
- Take all your materials with you; no responsibility will be taken for any items that are left behind.
- While exiting the class, put the Plicker card back in the appropriate location
9. Outside of class
a. Contacting U:
- E-mail: [email protected] E-mails may be sent at any time and will be returned within 24-48 hours during the normal workweek, allow for extra time on the weekends. Verify that all e-mails are grammatically correct, addressed properly, signed correctly and professional.
- All student e-mails must be sent using your JCBOE gmail account. If an e-mail is not sent from the JCBOE gmail account, a response will not be sent.
- Homework may be assigned at various times throughout the semester, due dates will be discussed in the class
- Homework may be graded either for completion or for correctness depending on the assignment
- Any classwork that is not completed in the class will then become homework and will still hold the same due date originally discussed in class
- Tutoring is available outside of class, but is by appointment only.
- Once you have made an appointment, you should sign up on the tutoring schedule.
10. Assignments/Note taking
a. Number each assignment/notes according to the number that is given on the board.
b. All assignments must be legibly labeled with the following information.
- In the upper right-hand corner of the paper:
- Number
- Date
- Centered on the top line of the paper:
- Assignment name/number
d, All assignments should be written in blue or black pen, or pencil. Anything that is written in other colors will either recieve a grade of 0 (zero) or be returned to the student to be redone and recieve a late grade.
e. All assignments must be turned in on the correct day. Any late assignments will recieve a penalty of 20%.
f. Special note: Many times students will be asked to work in groups. Oftentimes, in a group setting, one person is designated by the group to hold all the materials. Experience has shown that the person who has all the materials will be absent the next time everything is needed. This is not an excuse to not turn in the work on time. Only the absent person will be allowed the turn in the work late without repercussions.
11. Lab
a. Students will be allowed to participate in laboratory activities (either in the classroom or the biology lab) once they have completed and returned the lab safety contract and have completed and passed (75% or higher) the lab safety test.
b. Any misbehavior will result in a student be removed from the lab with a zero for that lab.
c. Discipline in the lab will skip steps one and two of the discipline plan and immediately go to step three, four or five depending on the severity of the infraction.
d. Dissections are often part of many different science class, however many students do not wish to participate in the dissections for various reasons. If this occurs, students will be given another assignment to work on during lab.
- This option is available only during dissections; all other reasons to not participate in labs must be given prior to the lab and with a written reason as to why the student will not participate.
- If this is the case, the student will be given another assignment to replace the lab grade.
- Labs cannot be made up during class time.
12. Emergency Procedures
a. At times, emergencies occur. The most frequent emergencies are fire, tornadoes and lockdowns. The following are the procedures that will be followed for each:
- Fire- students will stop whatever they are doing and immediately head outside the building by using the stairwell closest to room 408 until they reach the bottom floor. After they have exited the building, they will all assemble in the 2nd level parking lot in the upper left hand corner. Roll will be taken to see if there are any individuals missing.
- Tornado- students will stop whatever they are doing and immediately go to the 3rd floor using the stairwell closest to room 408. They will then find a location on the ground to sit with their backs to the wall. The bathroom will be used if there is not enough space in the hallway. Roll will be taken to see if there are any individuals missing.
- Lockdown Level 1: Students will not be permitted out unless they have a pass, and those will be administered with extreme prejudice.
- Lockdown Level 2: Students will not be allowed in the halls or to leave the school until the administration determines the lockdown should be lifted.
- Lockdown Level 3: Students will quietly move themselves to the corner of the room away from all windows and sit down silently on the floor. The teacher will lock the door and cover the window and turn off the lights. No communication of any type will occur until an administrator has unlocked the door and lifted the lockdown.
13. Missed Class/Poor Grades
Note: Mr. U is not responsible for students missing class or getting poor grades. These policies are put into to place as option for the student and are not mandatory. If a student earns a poor grade, it is their responsibility to use the make-up work options.
a. If a student misses a class, the student will have missed whatever happened in class for that day. Students can check the Internet for the agenda of what happened during that day. The procedure for missing a class is as follows:
- Check the website for the day that you missed. The website is www.sciencewithu.weebly.com
- Look at the notes for the day and take any notes that you feel necessary from the website (Note: this may not substitute for notes/activities taken in class).
- Check to see the activities that occurred during the day and see if they can be made up or the optional activity that has been assigned (most labs can not be made up).
- Check to see if there was any homework that was assigned in class. If homework was assigned, download it and have it ready when you return to class
- If assignments were graded, the assignment will be graded upon return to class. Speak directly to Mr. U before or after (not during) class to grade the assignment.
- If you missed a quiz, see section 13b.
- If you missed a test, see section 13c.
- If a quiz was missed for that day, a makeup quiz will be administered to the absent student.
- If the quiz is not turned in within 1 week (7 days) of returning to school, it will be marked as a zero.
- If a student misses a test, a time must be set up to take the test.
- Students will receive a 0 (zero) on the test until is has been taken.
- Class time cannot be used.
- If a poor score is made on a quiz (60% or lower), the student will retake the quiz and the makeup quiz.
- The quizzes must be turned in 3 days to receive credit.
- Once the quizzes are graded, the student will receive the highest grade according to the following grading methods:
- The average of the two quizzes
- The higher grade of the two quizzes
- This process may be repeated as many times as the student desires until the student receives a passing grade
- If a poor score is made on a homework assignment (60% or lower)
- The student will correct the homework and turn it in within 2 days.
- Once the homework is graded, the student will receive the score made on the homework, OR a maximum of 75%.
- If a student make a poor grade on a test (lower than 70%), the student may make up points to receive a higher grade.
- The student will fill out a Request to Retest.
- After students have completed the request to retest form, it must be turned in within 1 week of the date that the test was handed back.
- Students may then retake the test to receive a higher grade.
- Students may retake the test as many times as they wish until they receive a passing grade (70% or higher).
14. Exams/quizzes: Exams will be administered throughout the semester to assess the knowledge of the students. Exams will typically fall in categories 14b-14e. Many quizzes will fall in categories 14a and 14b. Exceptions may apply depending on the type of quiz or test or what type of comprehension is being tested.
a. Knowledge/Remembering is the ability to correctly remember information, typically in the exact for that it is taught (also known as regurgitation learning)
- Examples include giving definitions for a word or repeating a principle/law word for word with little to no understanding
- A question that requires knowledge would be “what is the definition of allele?” or “what is the 2nd law of thermodynamics?”
- Key Words: define, duplicate, list, memorize, recall, repeat, reproduce state
- Examples would include being able to view a graph, interpret the meaning of the graph and then use that data to predict what will happen beyond the scope of what is seen.
- A question that would include comprehension would be “Explain in your own words what is an allele?” or “Using the graph of the populations or the snow hare and the snow leopard, predict what would happen after 100 generations.
- Key Words: classify, describe, discuss, explain, identify, locate, recognize, report, select, translate, and paraphrase.
- Examples would include the ability to correctly apply the scientific method to run a lab.
- Key Words: choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, schedule, sketch, solve, use, and write.
- Troubleshooting a lab experiment is a method of analysis as well as breaking down the data received from the experiment
- Analysis is typically part of a lab report and general discussion in class. This can also be a compare and contrast paper between two opposing views or even the critiquing of some form of literature.
- Key Words: appraise, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, and test.
- Examples include being able to determine what method would be the best manner in which to extract and analyze data from a given sample.
- Key Words: appraise, argue, defend, judge, select, support, value, and evaluate.
- Examples include unique communications (theme or speech), a plan of operation (a research proposal), or a set of abstract relations (schemes for classifying information).
- Key Words: assemble, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, and write.
15. Parents
a. Expectations of the parent:
- Keep an eye on student grades via INOW/Chalkable (you will receive a username and password from SVHS/JCIB)
- Any concerns should be brought to Mr. U as soon as possible, and not waiting until the concern has created any problems with the student or in the classroom.
- Encourage the student to participate in class.
- Encourage the student to complete homework and study subject matter from that day.
- Encourage the student to research topics being taught in class and use extra materials made available on the Internet.
- Encourage the student to speak to Mr. U should they have any concerns.
- E-mail: [email protected]. E-mails may be sent at any time and will be returned within 24-48 hours during the normal workweek, allow for extra time on the weekends. Verify that all e-mails are grammatically correct, addressed properly, signed correctly and professional.
- Phone: 205.379.5350 Leave a complete message with a subject, name(s), and a number to return your call. Contact will be made as soon as possible, often within 24-48 hours during the workweek. Allow for extra time on the weekends. Any messages without the appropriate information will not be returned.
1. Clark, D. (2015, January 12). Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains. Retrieved June 23, 2015, from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/bloom.html
2. Overbaugh, R., & Schultz, L. (n.d.). Bloom's Taxonomy. Retrieved June 23, 2015, from http://ww2.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm
3. U.S. DEP’T OF THE AIR FORCE, AIR FORCE MANUAL 36-2236, GUIDEBOOK FOR AIR FORCE INSTRUCTORS (12 NOV. 2003) hereinafter AFM 36-2236.