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Mrs. Olszewski's Middle School Science
Christ King Middle School Science
Mrs. Betty Olszewski
"Science is God's way of explaining His creation to us."
Revised: Sunday, November 22, 2009
HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL!
PARENTS, PLEASE LOOK IN YOUR CHILD'S SCIENCE NOTEBOOK TO SEE HIS/HER CORRECTED ACTIVITY REPORTS AND SCIENCE JOURNAL ENTRIES.
6th grade:
Class work:
The Invention Projects are now on display in the hallway outside of the science classroom. Come in to see the great creativity of the 6th graders! The students will bring these projects home after Thanksgiving.
On Monday there will not be a science class. Mrs. Klein will have all the 6th graders for an added practice time for the Christmas concert.
There will not be any classes for the rest of the week due to conferences and the Thanksgiving vacation.
7th grade:
The Archdiocesan Science objectives that we will cover in these chapters are:
1. Know that landforms are created through constructive (volcanoes and earthquakes) and destructive forces (erosion and weathering).
2. Know how features on the Earth’s surface are constantly changing
3. Know the components of soil and other factors that influence soil texture, fertility, and resistance to erosion
4. Communicate that the Earth is comprised of layers including a core, mantle, lithosphere, asthenosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.
5. Identify the characteristics of sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks and know the formation process of each
Class work:
The students on Monday will have an activity on the different kinds of erosional sediments, followed by a video.
There will not be any classes for the rest of the week due to conferences and the Thanksgiving vacation.
The test on this material will be on Thursday, December 3.
8th grade:
The Archdiocesan Science objectives that we will cover in these chapters are:
1. Understand that through the process of succession, communities change over time.
2. Describe the eight land biomes and the water biomes in terms of their distinct biotic and abiotic characteristics.
3. Know how energy is moved through food chains/food webs; explain the terms carnivore, prey, herbivore, omnivore, and predator.
4. Know that plants, animals, and their physical surroundings are interdependent and interact to form an ecosystem.
5. Describe how plants are producers.
6. Explain the oxygen-carbon dioxide cycle, water and the nitrogen cycles in nature.
7. Know the process of natural selection.
Science Fair work:
The first Science Fair logbook entry is due on Monday. It must be signed by a parent in order to get the 2 points for the week. The logbooks will be returned to the students immediately for them to continue their Science Fair work during the Thanksgiving break.
Class work:
On Monday we will have an activity.
There are no classes for the rest of the week due to conferences and the Thanksgiving break.
The test on this new material will be Friday, December 11.
Parents, if you need to contact me at anytime throughout the year, please reach me via my e-mail at olszewskib@christkingparish.org.
Science Policies (2009-2010)
Science is an area of study that is constantly changing and advancing. These advances require today's students to be prepared to make informed decisions on many everyday questions. Therefore, the goal of the science program in Christ King Middle School is to develop each student's questioning and problem-solving skills, as well as to increase their knowledge about the world around them.
Some basics that apply to all grade levels:
1. The Christ King Middle School's discipline code will be followed in all classes.
2. Most of the student's work will be contained in a 5-subject spiral notebook. Each student is
required to have this notebook with him/her for class each day. The first two sections of this notebook will be for class notes, the third section for the Science Journal, and the fourth and fifth sections for the Activity Reports.
3. Usually notebooks will be collected and checked on every test day. However, on occasion, the
notebooks will be collected whenever I see a need to do so. I do not have to announce in advance when I am going to collect the notebooks for grading. Any homework that is not completed on time will be counted as late. Late work will not be graded any higher than a "C". The longer the homework is late, the more points will be taken off. Besides this, the student will stay in at recesses until the late work has been completed.
4. Lab activities are an integral part of the course. These activities engage the students in the use of
scientific equipment, as well as improving critical thinking skills. Labs further encourage good organizational skills and personal responsibility for behavior. Graphing skills will also be developed to give the students the ability to analyze their data.
5. Each activity that is done in class time has an Activity Report to be done for homework, due the
next day. Each Report usually is worth 10 points toward the quarter grade. Activity Reports must be in correct numerical order and have this format:
a. Activity number and title on the top line of the notebook page
b. Objective for the activity
c. Data table(s) and facts collected in the activity
d. Conclusion (one sentence).
6. Usually tests are given at the end of every chapter, but a few tests will combine chapters.
7. A study guide for each test will be handed out on the first day of class notes for each unit.
Students can use these to begin studying immediately for the chapter test.
8. Every assignment, test and project will be assigned a certain number of points toward the
quarter grade. The amount of points earned by the student for each assignment/project/test will be added together at the end of the quarter and divided by the total points that were possible. This will give the student's overall percentage for the report card grade.
9. Usually the class period before each test will be devoted to using the study guide to prepare for
the test.
10. When the test is returned to the student, the corrected test will have the grade for the test on
top, as well as the student's current average in Science on the bottom of the test. All parents are expected to view the child's test scores on Web Grader after they have been posted. Posting will be done within 48 hours of the child taking the Science test, barring a major problem occurring.
11. Homework is expected to be done every night, whether it is going over the class notes of the
day, finishing the Activity Report from the day's lab work, or doing the Science Journal entry for the chapter.
12. Up to 10 points of Extra Credit can be done by each student each quarter. These points will
then be added to the total points accumulated by the student at the end of the quarter. Extra Credit work is reading a science article (either from the supplied Current Science Magazines or from any other good science source) and summarizing it in the student's own words. Personal opinions are not to be given in this summary. Ten good sentences in the summary will give one Extra Credit point toward a Science test or assignment. Also the "Chapter Projects" at the beginning of each chapter in the textbook can be done for some extra credit points. Other extra credit work will be considered if you ask me about it.
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Send E-Mail to: olszewskib@christkingparish.org
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