Guidelines for Mr

GUIDELINES FOR MR. WILKOSZ’S ADVANCED

CHEMISTRY STUDENTS- 2011-2012

(hilarious first week of school reading)

COURSE OUTLINE

Advanced Chemistry is a full-year course designed to introduce you to chemical principles and give you a chance to enhance your understanding with appropriate laboratory experience, including CAPT lab experiences. We will put strong emphasis on problem solving and higher order thinking skills such as transfer, application, and experimentation. In other words, you will be asked to use the knowledge you gain through this class to solve problems. The areas we will look at this year will include the following:

Safety & The Scientific Method

Measurement and SI units

Significant Digits

Classification of Matter

History of Chemistry

Atomic Structure

Periodicity

Acids and Bases

Chemical Bonding

Chemical Nomenclature

Formulas and Equations

Stoichiometry

States of Matter

The Gas Laws

Organic Chemistry

POLICY:

1. Please show RESPECT for all classmates, elders, equipment, and buildings (really there is only one building-BHS, but maybe we can have a new one soon).

2. YOU are RESPONSIBLE for YOURSELF, please take that responsibility SERIOUSLY.

3. Please RAISE YOUR HAND when you need to ask a QUESTION or make a contribution (which is encouraged, rewarded, and enjoyed).

4. Please BE PREPARED for class EVERY DAY!!! Get in the habit of being seated and working on the ‘DO NOW’ before the bell rings. Bring all necessary supplies (see Materials) with you EVERY DAY!

CONSEQUENCES:

If you choose to violate a rule (situations will be handled on an individual basis):

1. Warning (AKA Reminder)

2. Detention (after school w/ ME to be served within the next two school days)

3. Call Home (guardians love to hear about spitballs and the like)

4. Referral (and subsequent Tue/Thur)

GOOD IDEAS:

· BE HERE ON TIME: You are expected to report to class on time everyday and are to be prepared for the day’s learning. Please be in your seat when the bell sounds, or you will be marked tardy and have to sign-in on the TARDY CLIPBOARD. Two tardies will warrant a 10 minute after school visit. Only a valid pass will suffice as an excuse. Also, please remember that you are expected to report to class BEFORE going to a guidance appointment, etc. to hand in any work and pick up any materials that are to be distributed during class.

· BE HERE EVERY DAY: Sometimes, despite our best precautions, we happen to fall prey to sickness. Upon your return be sure to copy notes (not homework!) from a classmate and get all of your missed assignments. You will want to get assignments in as quickly as possible to avoid falling behind. See “What to do when you have been absent.” This echoes policy # 2 (the ‘you are responsible for yourself’ one).

· MAKE UP MISSED WORK: If you have missed a test, quiz, or lab, then you need to make arrangements to make it up outside of class time. I won’t come looking for you to get your make-up work. IF you are absent only the day before the test, you will take the test with everyone else.

· BE ATTENTIVE: The single best thing you can do to help yourself in this class is to be “with it” each class, all period. There was a recent study that linked daydreaming to Alzheimer’s. Researchers at Washington University found the portion of the brain used to daydream is the same where Alzheimer's develops. The study suggests the activity patterns associated with daydreaming may trigger a sequence of events leading to Alzheimer's. Listen to explanations, assignments, reminders, bad jokes, and even lectures and you will know everything you need to know. You will also surprise yourself by understanding more and doing better on tests. Even if you don’t enjoy the topic matter, you will enjoy your grade more.

· TALK TO ME!!! If you have a question, ASK! IF you need an assignment, ASK! If you have a problem with me or the course, (constructively) TELL ME! If you get behind, GET HELP! You can do this; all you have to do is get involved in your education. Please don’t be afraid to communicate…

EMAIL: PHONE: (860) 828-6577 x246

WEBSITE: http://science.berlinwall.org/staff/Wilkosz

· COME FOR EXTRA HELP: I am here to help you learn. Seek extra help as soon as you find that you are having difficulties. Jot down a list of questions and bring your text and notes so that we can review and clarify. When you come in for help, be prepared to ask specific questions rather than just to say “I don’t understand anything.” I’ll be happy to arrange to help you after school. After school help should be a priority over jobs, sports, and other activities-it is truly more important when you need help. I like to see you after school, believe it or not.

BAD IDEAS:

· Wearing Coats or Hats in class

· Eating or Drinking

· Being Disruptive

· Getting Up Before Dismissed

· Not Asking Questions

· Losing THIS Paper

1. Before first period on the day you return to school, come to the classroom to check out the MAKEUP NOTEBOOK for your class.

2. Take one colored COVER SHEET from the notebook for each day that you were absent.

3. Copy all information from the white MASTER SHEET(S) inside the notebook for the day(s) you were absent onto the colored COVER SHEET. DO NOT REMOVE THE WHITE MASTER SHEET FROM THE NOTEBOOK. It serves as a record of our class activities for all of your classmates

4. Give the cover sheet to me, and I’ll let you know when your makeup work must be completed (usually two days). If you are computer savvy, you can access and print out these documents without having to copy them by hand. Just visit: http://science.berlinwall.org/Wilkosz/blog and bring them in before school and I’ll let you know when your makeup work must be completed (still, usually two days).

5. Submit any assignments that were graded or collected the day(s) you were absent into the inbox for your class.

6. Copies of any materials that were handed out in class while you were absent will be in the notebooks with your name of them. If notes were taken in class, you must borrow them from a classmate and copy them.

7. If you missed a quiz or and examination while you were absent, you must make arrangements to make up the quiz or exam before you leave. Exams and quizzes must be made up within 2 days of your return to class. If you have been absent for an extended period of time, these deadlines may be adjusted.

8. If you miss a lab, you must make it up within the week of your return to class. Special arrangements will be made in the case of a long-term absence.

9. Any work that is not made up by the completion date assigned will be given a grade of zero.

BE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND AND FOLLOW THE SCHOOL’S ATTENDANCE POLICY AT ALL TIMES.

MATERIALS:

To be successful in this course you will need to have the following with you and ready before EVERY class period:

· Notebook (paper/notes/handouts)

· Sharpened Pencil (Pen optional)

· Covered Textbook Chemistry: Matter and Change. Glencoe McGraw-Hill, 2008.

· Assigned Work

GRADING:

· Brain (in working condition)

· Good Will and Humor

· Scientific Calculator (should do log functions, exponents and the like)

· Marble Composition Book (for joyous lab results & observations)

· Policy

I prefer to be very personal in my teaching, and very impersonal in grading. I will try my hardest to help you during the marking period to learn and get the grade you want. However, once the marking period is over you will get the exact grade YOU EARN. (Yes, 89.50% rounds up to 90.00%, but 89.49% doesn’t.) Trust me, this is a good thing because you will never have to worry whether I’ll ‘give’ you a point because I like you, or won’t because I don’t (but I do like you, really).

· Quarter and Final Grades

Your final grade for this course will be the weighted average of six grades: the grade you earn each quarter (20% each) and the grades you earn on the midterm and final exam (10% each). Your quarter grade is determined based upon the following weighted categories. I generally will not figure grades for you during class time, but I am happy to do this for you before/after class or school. Grades will be updated and posted at my discretion. You can also record a podcast for extra credit.

· Tests, Projects & Quizzes (45%)

Tests will occur at the end of units or sections, and will normally contain several types of questions that will assess your knowledge of the concepts and how to apply them. You will be given advance notice of tests because studying more times for fewer minutes will help you more than studying once (for any length of time). All tests count, no retakes, and no grades will be dropped. Cheating is never tolerated – cheaters can receive zeros, disciplinary action, and guilty consciences. To help avoid cheating the following testing conditions must be followed:

-No talking until everyone is done.

-Do not get out of your seat until you are done or have my permission.

-No sharing books, calculators, pen/pencils, or paper.

-No looking at another student’s work.

If you break any of the rules governing testing conditions, your grade will be determined by my discretion and may not be related to your performance on the test.

Projects will be assigned at various points through the year. Directions for completion and expectations for the products will be discussed thoroughly. Projects will be related to the concepts, and you may even be given in-class time to complete them.

Quizzes may be announced or unannounced. The purpose of a quiz is to help you keep up from day to day. Most quizzes will be announced- I’m not out to get you, really!

· Laboratory Activities (40%)

Lab work will be an important portion of this course. You will work in a group, but will write your own lab reports/answers to assigned questions. Safety is the most important skill you will learn. All students must wear safety goggles and aprons in the lab at all times. Any student wearing clothing which in the opinion of the instructor presents a hazard will not be allowed to participate in the lab activity (so think ahead about attire on lab day). A student endangering others through carelessness, ignorance, or malice will be removed from the lab and may receive a grade of zero for that lab. Keep your Marble Composition Lab Book for all lab assignments, data records, notes, and observations. You may not be allowed to take Lab procedures back to the lab tables, therefore, you must copy the procedure (not verbatim, but this will help to familiarize you with the steps) into your lab book prior to class. Late labs will be accepted with a 10% reduction per day late.

· Homework & In-Class Assignments (15%)

Homework is always due the class after it is assigned unless I tell you otherwise. Homework will be checked in class, and is considered on time only if it is ready at the beginning of class. Perfect homework is graded out of 10 points (less perfect=less points). Late homework will not be accepted. LEARN your homework! Copying from someone else’s homework is cheating in every sense of the word. To earn full homework credit the heading on all homework papers must contain, in addition to your name, the course name, the class period, the date, the assignment page, and problem numbers. You must also have all required materials everyday (See MATERIALS) lest you risk losing additional points on your homework.

In-Class assignments may be done individually, or students may be asked to learn cooperatively. These assignments typically provide practice for skills to be learned, expand on conceptual understanding, and/or serve as an introduction for discussion topics. Generally, In-Class assignments will be graded on the same 10 point scale as homework.

REMEMBER MOST OF ALL: However much effort this course may be, it will be fun to come to this year. Not fun in the sense that we goof off (Yes, we ARE doing something every day), but in the sense that learning and knowing is good all by itself (just because you can’t stand to be told this over and over doesn’t mean it’s not true).

(this is extra space to draw a potato)

Parent/Guardian (Home Copy)

Please read the entire Chemistry course description with your child, sign below and have your child keep this in his/her notebook. If you have any questions at any time please refer back to this sheet so that you may email me at or call at (860) 828-6577 x246 at the school. Thank you very much. I look forward to having a successful and productive year with you and your child.

Indicate, by signing below, that you have read and understand the classroom procedures and policies.