7th Science 16-17 Fall Trimester Archive Page
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Week of 11/28/2016 – 12/2/2016: Wrapping up the Chemistry Unit
Monday 11/28: Investigation Design Video Screen-casts
Tuesday 11/29: Investigation Design Video Screen-casts
Wednesday 11/30: Viewing Investigation Screen-casts, Review Material
Thursday 12/1: Final Assessment for Chemistry Unit
Friday 12/2: No School – End of Trimester Grading Day
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Video screencasts need to be completed and submitted by 4:00 on Tuesday 11/29, Last day to turn in work for Fall Trimester Grading Wednesday 11/30, IC2 Final Assessment Thursday 12/1 (First grade of Winter Trimester), End of Fall Trimester Friday 12/2.
Homework: None assigned as of 11/27.
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 7th Grade Science, and the last week of the Fall Trimester! All the new work that we are completing this week will be counted as the first grades of the Winter Trimester. We will be finishing up our chemistry unit, and with that students will be completing video screen-cast presentations using our classroom iPads, and presented to the class on Wednesday. We will use this information as our review for our end-of-unit assessment which we will be doing on Thursday. After this unit, all of the science teachers have decided that we are going to be using our interactive notebooks more than the iPads for our daily work. There are a number of reasons that we have decided to go back to our old method of using the interactive notebooks for the primary work in class, and they all have to do with efficiency and effectiveness. The change means that starting with our next unit students earn a point for each page in their notebooks that are satisfactorily completed. I will be grading the notebook on a weekly basis, and students will be earning anywhere from 4-8 points on a given week depending on the amount of content that we input into our notebooks. Just as I have done in the past, students will have two weeks from the grading date to submit anything for regrading or if they needed to make anything up from absences. What you will see for the daily work in Synergy is a “Notebook” grade that will list the pages in our notebooks that went into the score. In addition, any assignments that I flag as “Assessment” pieces (typically specific labs, projects, quizzes, tests, etc.) will be graded separately just as we currently do. We had hoped that the IDE website would be more effective and efficient than using the interactive notebooks, but unfortunately this has not been the case. We will still use the iPads for a variety of assignments, but less so than we have been doing. Our next unit is a physical science unit, and we will be starting it the day that we get back after mid-trimester grading. Let me know if you need anything. I hope you have a fantastic weekend!
KK
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Week of 11/21/2016 – 11/25/2016: SLC Prep, Screencast Videos of Chemistry Final Project
Monday 11/21: SLC Prep, Finish Final Project Scientific Explanations, Introduce “Explain Everything” Screencasting App
Tuesday 11/22: Final SLC Prep, Planning & Prepwork for Screencast Presentations
Wednesday 11/23: No School – Make-up Conferences
Thursday 11/24: No School – Thanksgiving
Friday 11/25: No School – Thanksgiving
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Student-Led Conferences Tuesday 11/22, Screencasts need to be completed by Tuesday 11/29, Last day to turn in work for Fall Trimester Grading Wednesday 11/30, End of Fall Trimester Friday 12/2.
Homework: None assigned as of 11/20.
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 7th Grade Science! This week is a short one – between Student-Led Conferences and Thanksgiving break we only have two days of class. Monday we will be doing some prep work for conferences, and will be learning how to use the Explain Everything iPad application to create our Chemistry final project screencast video presentations for next week. Because I have an 8th grade advisory group, I won’t see you at conferences, but let me know if you need anything. Have a fantastic week!
KK
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Week of 11/14/2016 – 11/18/2016: Chemical Reactions, Substances, and Investigating our new Soap
Monday 11/14: Does Mass Change in a Chemical Reaction?
Tuesday 11/15: Is My Soap a New Substance?
Wednesday 11/16: Is My Soap a New Substance?
Thursday 11/17: Is My Soap a New Substance?
Friday 11/18: (Early Release, Periods 1-3) – Kordon gone on AVID Field Trip
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Kordon gone on AVID Field Trip Friday 11/18 (Early Release, Periods, 1-3), Student-Led Conferences Tuesday 11/22, Last day to turn in work for Fall Trimester Grading Wednesday 11/30, End of Fall Trimester Friday 12/2.
Homework: None assigned as of 11/12.
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 7th Grade Science! This week we begin wrapping up our chemistry unit by investigating if mass changes when a chemical reaction takes place. After a few more days, we will also do a few investigations with our newly made soap, and students will be able to take some of theirs home by the end of the week. By that point the soap will be usable, but the longer that students wait to use it, the longer it will last in the long run as it hardens over time. Our next major unit will be a physical science unit where we look at Newton’s laws of motion, and why things move, and energy transformations. Just a reminder that students have until Wednesday 11/30 to turn in any make-up work from the fall trimester as grades are due on Friday 12/2. The new work that we complete the week of 11/28 – 12/1 coinciding with our will all apply to the winter trimester rather than the fall trimester. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Let me know if you need anything.
KK
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Week of 11/7/2016 – 11/11/2016: Mixtures vs. Chemical Reactions, Making Soap, Other Chemical Reactions
Monday 11/7: Mixtures vs. Chemical Reactions
Tuesday 11/8: How can I make soap from fat?
Wednesday 11/9: Do people really make soap from fat?
Thursday 11/10: Does mass change in a chemical reaction?
Friday 11/11: No School – Veteran’s Day
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Kanazu Visitors Monday 11/7 – 11/11, No School Friday 11/11, Kordon gone on AVID Field Trip Friday 11/18 (Early Release, Periods, 1-3), Student-Led Conferences Tuesday 11/22, End of Fall Trimester Friday 12/2.
Homework: None assigned as of 11/6.
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 7th grade science! We have a short week this week as there is no school on Friday due to the Veteran’s Day holiday. This week is one of the highlights of the trimester in Science as we will be making soap. Specifically, we will use our knowledge of chemical reactions to not only make soap, but explain in some detail how it occurs. The soap is completely unscented, and is a recipe that Mr. Dawson and I have used for quite some time. This also has potential to be one of our more dangerous labs. For that reason I do not allow the students to handle the sodium hydroxide used in the experiment. Students not observing acceptable behavior during this lab will be sent to the Refocus Room with a referral. Students will be allowed to take some of their soap home after it has cured. Believe it or not, Student-Led Conferences and the end of the trimester are quickly approaching. Typically, one of my personal policies about what work is counted in the fall or in the winter trimester right at the end of the fall goes like this: Students who have make-up work to turn in have until Wednesday 11/30 to turn in any make-up work from the first trimester, and the work that we complete the week of 11/28-12/1 will all count towards the grade in the winter trimester. Also, on the note of conferences, if you would like a traditional conference instead, please be sure to contact the office so that accommodations can be made. I hope you all have a fantastic week!
KK
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Week of 10/31/2016 – 11/4/2016: Pathogens Lab, Electrolysis, Mixtures vs. Chemical Reactions
Monday 10/31: Introduction to Pathogens
Tuesday 11/1: Electrolysis
Wednesday 11/2: Electrolysis
Thursday 11/3: Mixtures vs. Chemical Reactions
Friday 11/4: (Early Release, Periods 4-6) – Conductivity of Substances Lab – Melting Ice
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Fall Fest Friday 10/31, Student-Led Conferences Tuesday 11/22.
Homework: None assigned as of 10/29.
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 7th grade science! This week we are going to be doing the first lesson of my Pathogens Lab on Monday, and will be investigating Electrolysis on Tuesday. The last time I did the Electrolysis Investigation it took a little more than a class period to complete, so we will start our discussion on the similarities and differences between mixtures and chemical reactions after we’re done with Electrolysis. Friday is an Early Release day, and students will have periods 4-6. As a result, science classes in periods 4 and 6 will do the Conductivity of Substances lab that periods 1 and 3 did on the last Early Release day. As a reminder, we are completing more than 80% of our work on a science website rather than our Interactive Notebooks. Students complete work on the website, and I post scores and provide feedback as well for individual assignments. Students can log into the website anywhere they have an internet connection. In Synergy, when I enter scores for assignments, in the assignment description, I indicate where the assignment can be found (e.g. Reading 8.2 indicates that it is the 2nd reading of Lesson 8 in our chemistry unit, and is found on the IDE science website). On the resources tab of our website, I have provided a link to the IDE, as well as instructions on how students log into it. There are no “parent” user IDs for it, but you can have your student log into it to see how/why they earned the scores they did on assignments. Check it out when you have an opportunity. That’s all for now. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Let me know if you need anything.
KK
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Week of 10/24/2016 – 10/28/2016: Acid Rain, Climate Change, and Light, Time, and Gravity
Monday 10/24: Does Acid Rain make new substances? IC2 Activity 8.2
Tuesday 10/25: How can I represent chemical reactions in words, symbols, and physical models? IC2 Activity 8.3
Wednesday 10/26: (Kordon gone) What can we learn from Venus about the Greenhouse Effect, and Climate Change here on Earth?
Thursday 10/27: Finish up Acid Rain investigations, team building, IDE improvement day
Friday 10/28: (Kordon gone) How do Light, Time, and Gravity affect our perception of the universe?
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Kordon gone Wednesday 10/26, Friday 10/28 & Friday 11/18. Students have until Friday 10/28 to turn in work from first six weeks for credit – not accepted thereafter. Student-Led Conferences Tuesday 11/22.
Homework: Students who are missing assignments have until 4:00 PM on Friday to turn them in from the first 6-weeks of school.
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 7th grade science! This week we will finish our investigations about Acid Rain – determining if a chemical reaction occurs because of it – and will begin investigating electrolysis. Unfortunately, we won’t be getting to Electrolysis and the similarities and differences between Chemical Reactions & Mixtures this week. The Acid Rain lab took a little longer for us to get through, but that’s just completely fine; sometimes we need a little bit longer to get through some materials, and not as much time through others. Just a reminder that students have until Friday, 10/28 to turn anything in from the first 6-weeks of school for credit. In the 2nd half of this trimester, and going forward, students have a 2-week time frame from the initial deadline of an assignment to turn it in for credit if they are gone. I will be gone on Wednesday of this week due to an AVID elective teacher PD, and on Friday because I will be at an all day meeting with the other instructional leaders in the building. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Let me know if you need anything.
KK
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Week of 10/17/2016 – 10/21/2016: Science Progress Reports, Goals, Different Types of Chemical Reactions
Monday 10/17: Finish Scientific Explanation for Lesson 6.1, Reading 6.2, Finish Notebook Check 2, Science Progress Report sent home – due 10/19, set Science Goals.
Tuesday 10/18: Is Burning a Chemical Reaction? Activity 7.1
Wednesday 10/19: Is Burning a Chemical Reaction? Activity 7.1
Thursday 10/20: Does Acid Rain Make New Substances? Activity 8.1
Friday 10/21 (Early Release, periods 1-3): Conductivity of Substances Lab – Melting Ice
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Celebrating Diversity Event Friday 10/21 5:00-7:30: Diversity Event Newsletter, Poster Diversidad Espanol, Diversity Poster – English. Kordon gone Wednesday 10/26 & Friday 11/18. Students have until Friday 10/28 to turn in work from first six weeks for credit – not accepted thereafter. Student-Led Conferences Tuesday 11/22.
Homework: Science Progress Report needs to be signed by parent/guardian and brought back to class by student by 10/19. Students will owe lunch if not turned in.
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 7th grade science! This week we will go further into our investigation of different chemical reactions. The week will start off with students examining their science scores from the first six weeks of school, and setting goals for the second half of the trimester. I will be giving each student a progress report from the first six weeks. This needs to be signed by a parent/guardian and be returned to class by Wednesday 10/19. Last week students learned that we create new substances through chemical by combining “old” substances. This week we will have a lab demo where I will burn magnesium in class, and students will investigate if this process has created any new substances by comparing the properties of the magnesium before and after burning. We will also investigate the effects of acid rain to see if acid rain causes a chemical reaction and results in new substances or not. There are a couple of dates coming up that I know that I will be gone. These are posted in the “upcoming calendar dates” section above. On Wednesday 10/26 Mr. Miller and I have a district-wide training that we have to attend because we are the AVID teachers in our building, and we will be gone again for an AVID event on Friday 11/18. It also looks like Student-Led Conferences will be held on the evening of Tuesday 11/22. If you would like to request a traditional parent-teacher conference please contact the office so this can be scheduled. Looking at our chemistry unit, it looks like we have about 4-6 weeks left before we will jump into our phyiscal science unit. Depending on how close to winter break we finish the chemistry unit, I am thinking about adding in a Pathogens Lab that takes us about 3-5 days where we investigate how different pathogens are spread, and we conduct several simulations, and also try and find “patient zero” of a simulated epidemic. We will do the unit at some point it’s just a matter of when is a good time to fit it in to the rest of our curriculum. Students in the past have had a lot of fun with the short pathogens unit. I have also posted some items under the “resources” tab – specifically, the syllabus, the scientific explanations rubric, and the student edition of the lab workbook that we use in this unit. The lab workbook is especially useful if your student has to be gone, and can at the least do the readings associated with the lessons we’re doing in class. I hope you all have a fantastic week! Let me know if you have any questions.
KK
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Week of 10/10/2016 – 10/14/2016: Mid-Unit Assessment, IC2 Part 2: “How do I make new substances?”
Monday 10/10: How are Fat & Soap Different Assessment, Reading 5.1
Tuesday 10/11: What happens to properties when I combine substances?
Wednesday 10/12: What happens to properties when I combine substances?, Reading 6.1
Thursday 10/13: No School – Mid-Trimester Grading Day
Friday 10/14: No School – Statewide In-service
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Mid-Trimester Grading Day 10/13, Riverwalk party 10/13.
Homework: None assigned as of 10/8
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 7th grade science! This week is a short one as we only have school three days this week. Thursday is a no school day for mid-trimester grading, and Friday is a statewide in-service. Thursday evening is also the Riverwalk party. This week we will be wrapping up part 1 of our chemistry unit on the properties of substances with our assessment on Monday, and will be introducing the second part of the unit where we introduce what is happening when chemical reactions occur. Students will be examining how/if new substances are created when a chemical reaction takes place. I hope all have a fantastic week! Let me know if you need anything.
KK
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Week of 10/3/2016 – 10/7/2016: Density, Mid-Unit Review, Mid-Unit Assessment
Monday 10/3: Density Demonstration Lab, Reading 4.1
Tuesday 10/4: Density Investigation
Wednesday 10/5: How are Fat & Soap Different Review Activity
Thursday 10/6: How are Fat & Soap Different Assessment, Reading 5.1
Friday 10/7: Science class does not meet – Riverwalk Fundraiser Day
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Riverwalk 10/7, Mid-Trimester Grading Day 10/13, Riverwalk party 10/13.
Homework: None assigned as of 10/2
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 7th grade science! This week we only have four days of science class as the Riverwalk Fundraiser is going to be on Friday 10/7, and this will take up most of the day after an extended advisory period in the morning. The following week is only a 3-day week with mid-trimester grading day on the 13th, the Riverwalk party on the evening of the 13th, and a state-wide teacher in-service on the 14th. We will be finishing up our discussion of the properties of soap and fat this week with a couple of labs on density on Monday & Tuesday. Wednesday we will have a review activity that covers what we have learned about the different properties of soap and fat, and then we will have our mid-unit assessment on Thursday. Students will be able to use their scientific principles from their INBs for the assessment as well as the work they do from the review activity on Wednesday. For the assessment, students will be writing a detailed scientific explanation that answers the question, “Are Fat and Soap the Same or Different Substances?” Students will receive a score for their Claims, their Evidence, and their Reasoning in this assessment based on the Scientific Explanations rubric designed by the Kelly Science Department last year – which is currently being used by most of the middle school science teachers throughout the district. In 6th grade, Claim & Evidence were both introduced, and in 7th grade we add the Reasoning component to our scientific explanations. This will show up on Synergy as three different scores (individually for the claim, the evidence, and the reasoning). Let me know if you have any questions. I hope you all have a fantastic week!
KK
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Week of 9/26/2016 – 9/30/2016: Melting Point, Hardness
Monday 9/26: Reading 2.2, Melting Point Demonstration
Tuesday 9/27: Melting Point Investigation
Wednesday 9/28: Melting Point Investigation
Thursday 9/29: Scientific Explanation Critique
Friday 9/30: Introduction to the IQWST IDE, Hardness Investigation
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Open House 9/28, Riverwalk 10/7, Mid-Trimester Grading Day 10/13
Homework: Safety Letter (previously due 9/12), Science Questionnaire (previously due 9/16)
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 7th grade science! This week we will be examining three different properties of substances: melting point, hardness, and density. Initially, I hoped to get through melting point last week, but with the addition of having to go over the use of the iPads in the lab – and taking a little bit more time on solubility – we pushed things back a day or so. At some point this week, some 8th grade leaders will be coming to our class to talk about the climate change federal lawsuit that is currently be heard in Eugene. They will be talking a little bit about the evidence behind the lawsuit. Later in the week, I hope that the online student logins will be activated so we can start using our online science “journal” for our daily work. Please expect the first two lab assessments to be graded and posted on Synergy by the end of the week. Also, a reminder that on Wednesday this week we have Open House. Your student should be coming home with an invitation as well as schedule from their advisory class. For the short time that we’ll have together, I’ll let you know a little bit about myself as well as how I run my classroom. I hope you all have a fantastic week, and I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday. Please check back to our website periodically for any updates.
KK
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Week of 9/19/2016 – 9/23-2016: Properties, Solubility, and iPads in Science
Monday 9/19: Substances, Mixtures, Introduction to Properties, and Scientific Principles
Tuesday 9/20: Substances, Mixtures, Introduction to Properties, and Scientific Principles cont.,
Wednesday 9/21: Assign iPads, acceptable use, introduce solubility
Thursday 9/22: Solubility Demonstration
Friday 9/23: Solubility Investigation
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Open House 9/28, Riverwalk 10/7
Homework: Reading 1.2 HW Response – due Friday 9/23
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to another week of 7th grade science! We have a full schedule this week, and we’re going to hit the ground running with our chemistry unit as we discuss the differences between substances and mixtures, as well as what is considered a property of a substance. This will lead into discovering a series of properties about some basic household substances that we introduced this last week. At some point this week we will start doing most of our work on the classroom iPads. However, your student needs to have his/her Google Docs & Technology forms signed and turned in or they will have to do all of their work on paper. Also, students need to turn in their signed Lab Safety letter. If this is not turned in, then they will only be able to observe in labs rather than participate – which it is much more fun and engaging if they can participate fully! Open House is coming up soon on Wednesday 9/28 where I’ll tell you a little bit about myself, the curriculum, how my class functions, and the resources available to help your student succeed in science. I have already been posting some items on Synergy, so be sure to be checking the progress of your student. Missing assignments hurt the grade a lot at this point in the trimester, so make sure you are checking in with your student if there is missing work listed on ParentVUE. Students have two weeks from the due date of an assignment to earn credit. There are several assignments listed with a “PA” after them. These are pre-assessments, and serve as baseline data for several scientific practices that students will build their proficiency in over the school year. These pre-assessments do not impact the grade whatsoever, and cannot be “retaken” as that would skew improvement data over the course of the year. I hope you all have a fantastic week!
KK
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Week of 9/12/2016 – 9/16-2016: Lab Expectations & Safety
Monday 9/12: Setup INBs, start Lab Safety
Tuesday 9/13: Work on Lab Safety Posters & Presentations
Wednesday 9/14: Finish Lab Safety Posters, Notes in Science, and start Presentations
Thursday 9/15: Finish Presentations, Properties of Substances & Describing Unknown Objects
Friday 9/16 (Early Release, Periods 4-6): 4th & 6th Period to get caught up to 1st & 3rd Period
Upcoming Calendar Dates: Open House 9/28, Riverwalk 10/7
Homework: Science Questionnaire – due Friday 9/16
Announcements: Hello, and welcome to our first full week of 7th grade science! My name is Kyle Kordon, and I am your student’s 7th grade science teacher. I am very excited to have your students in my class this year. I had the same group of students for the past two years as 7th and then as 8th graders, and am glad to start that looping process again with this group. Over the next two years we will cover a lot of ground in science, but we will start slow so we can go fast later on. This week our focus is Lab Expectations & Safety. Students have started to work on basic presentations on specific areas of lab safety and procedures in my classroom. These will conclude later this week before we dive into our first unit of the year – chemistry. Friday is an early release day, and this will allow periods 4 & 6 to catch back up with periods 1 & 3 after periods 4 & 6 did not meet last Friday due to the PBIS assembly. The agenda outlined above is to give you an idea of what we’re working on in my classroom. Most of the time we stay pretty close to this schedule, but can spend a little more or little less time on a topic depending on what the kids need. You can expect these agendas & emails approximately once a week typically toward the end or start of a week. I include helpful information in the agenda & here in the announcements section. Also, if I assign any homework (fairly rare in comparison to other classes), I will make sure it is added to the class website: http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/kordon_k/7th-science/. I have included an attachment of the syllabus to the email, and have it posted on the class website. Please do not hesitate to email me with any questions or concerns. Thank you, and I hope you have a fantastic week.
KK
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Here is a copy of the syllabus & lab safety letter that your student was to sign and bring back to class to input into their INB: Kordon 7th Science Syllabus & Lab Safety Letter, kordon-ciencia-7o-grado-2016-17. Here is the text of the syllabus for your convenient reference:
Welcome to a new school year! Those of you who are returning, it is nice to see you again, and those of you who are new to our school, welcome! This is my 5th year teaching at Kelly, and have taught Language Arts, Social Studies, Math, and Science during my career. I grew up in the Eugene area, did my undergraduate studies at Chapman University in California, and returned to the University of Oregon for my graduate studies. I am one of the three WEB coordinators at Kelly, am one of the four track coaches, and teach the 7th grade AVID class. In my spare time I enjoy spending time with my wife, Sarah, and our 2-year old daughter, Olivia. During the summer I also play for, and manage a baseball team, the Oregon Giants, in the local Eugene adult baseball league. Please don’t hesitate to email me if you ever have any questions about class, something going on at school, or anything in between.
7th Grade Curriculum – Major Topics
- Chemistry: How Can I Make New Stuff From Old Stuff?
- Life Science: Where Have All the Creatures Gone?
- Physical Science: Why Do Some Things Stop While Others Keep Going?
- Earth Science: What Makes the Weather Change?
- Engineering Design Projects: Wind Turbines & Solar Cars
- Life Science: What is Going On Inside Me?
Over the course of the year we will focus on crafting Scientific Explanations by making claims, supported by evidence, and explained by reasoning to explain the scientific phenomena we observe in class, as well as constructing and critiquing Scientific Models, and designing Scientific Investigations on the topics listed above.
Supplies
You must have all your supplies every day at the beginning of class. If you come to class unprepared you will be considered tardy. I expect everyone to have all supplies by Monday, September 12.
- Your school binder with:
- Pencil pouch
- Eraser
- Several pencils & pens
- Science Notebook (composition notebook) – one for the entire school year
- Your student planner – we will write in this every day
Grades: Daily Work – 60% of Grade
Most of our daily work from our labs, investigations, and experiments will be done digitally on our classroom iPads. This work will be given a weekly proficiency score on Synergy based on completion and effort. The IDE can be seen at home by logging into the IQWST IDE site – which will be covered in more detail during open house. The URL for the IDE is: https://www.eugene4j.iqwst.com/.
Grades: Assessments (Specific Labs, Experiments, Projects, Tests or Quizzes) – 40% of Grade
Once or twice a week, we will input one of our labs or investigations into our Interactive Science Notebooks (INB) for more detailed check-in and feedback. Which labs or investigations will be given this summative feedback will be announced during class, and will be given a proficiency score. This scoring will happen 6-8 times during the trimester, and will directly relate to our Science & Engineering Practices. We will set our INBs up on Monday, September 12 so it is essential that you have your notebook here that day. You must keep your INB in class and only take it home if you need to finish an assignment. If you need to take your INB home, it must be checked out, and checked back in upon return.
Letter grades will be awarded based on the standard grading scale. You should check your grades on synergy at least every other week.
90-100% A
80-89% B
70-79% C
60-69% D
Less than 60% F
Make-up Work
If you are absent or miss an assignment for any reason, it is your responsibility to complete all missed work. You will find what we did while you were gone in my science notebook, the class website, or in the assignment organizer in our room. An assignment missed for any reason will be accepted for credit for up to two weeks after the initial assigned due date (unless the end of the trimester occurs prior to the end of this two-week time period). Because this is a hands-on based class, making up labs and other activities will often require that you come in on your own time in order to complete it, or you may request an alternate on-topic assignment to be given at my discretion. The best times to come in will be before school, at lunch, or after school.
Class Website
I have designed a class website as a resource for this upcoming year. A couple of times a week, I will post assignment resources, readings, etc. to the site as needed. You will also get an email about once a week with an overview of the topics that we will be covering in the week ahead. I have found that this helps with generating discussion at home as to what is happening at school, as well as help keep families informed about how things are going in my class. Here is the URL for the website: http://blogs.4j.lane.edu/kordon_k/.
Contact
The best way to contact me is via email. I will generally take no longer than 24 hours to respond to an email, and never any longer than 48 hours. If you need to schedule a one-on-one meeting for any reason, please contact me well in advance to set up a time. I am looking forward to this year! Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
KK
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