Mercer Middle School
Science Explorations Course Outline
Mr. DiEmidio 2015-2016
The purpose of scientific investigations and discovery are to satisfy humankind’s quest for knowledge and understanding.
During this course, students will be utilizing scientific instruments and technology to explore and discover the wonders of how
science works. By the end of this course, students will have gained the ability to communicate scientifically and apply scientific
concepts, skills and processes to everyday experiences.
Classroom Expectations:
A. Students will arrive on time and be ready to participate. This means that you must have homework assignments, a
notebook, pen or pencil. Students will keep a binder that is preferably dedicated to Science and not shared with any other
subject.
B. Participate in all activities. Be attentive and have an open mind.
C. Complete all required assignments. To receive credit all work must be identified with student name. Students will keep an
assignment sheet and use a planner to stay informed.
D. Be courteous to and considerate of all persons in the classroom.
E. Be aware of laboratory safety. It is expected that each student will behave in a manner, which ensure his or her safety and
the safety of classmates. (see Safety Agreement)
F. Food and/or drink is not allowed in the classroom.(unless given by teacher) Bags and other items (not being used for class)
are placed under the chairs/tables.
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G. No student may leave class in the 1 or last 10 minutes of class unless it is an emergency. Students are expected to use the
restroom or get a drink of water prior to entering class.
Assessment Policy:
Grades are intended to communicate a student’s understanding of the standards and mastery of the grade level concepts and
skills. Grades and progress reports are used as communication tools between the teacher, student, and parents. To this end,
science grade reports closely align with what each student knows about specific science topics.
Assignments are driven by the Virginia Department of Education science standards. These assignments are designed to reflect
a natural learning progression: introduction, practice (formative), and mastery (summative). Introductory assignments are
used to present new concepts/skills; practice assignments (these typically make up the majority of work) give students
opportunities to develop their understanding of the new concepts/skills. Mastery assignments enable students to demonstrate
their solid understanding of material presented.
Formative Assessments
Summative Assessments
Class Work: Introductory and practice type assignments
(labs) are formative assessments. These assessments help
students, parents, and teachers gauge progress.
Unit Test, Projects and Labs: Summative assessments (unit
tests, projects etc.) are designed to measure student mastery
of assigned materials.
Homework: As with formative assessments, homework
assignments are designed to help each student obtain
mastery of science content. Homework assignments are kept
to a minimum and are not busy work. All students are
required to complete homework and a partnership with
deans and counselors will help to ensure that students do not
Retakes of Summative: A retake will be issued to any student
who scores below 65% proficiency on an assessment.
Retakes come with a contract checklist of requirements to be
completed prior to the retake.
Examples include: homework
completion, assignment corrections, class work completion,
re-teaching time, etc. There must be a commitment by you
fall behind.
and a timeline for completion.
Labs: Labs are an essential part of practicing and
demonstrating mastery of learning targets. Within one lab
there can be formative activities as well as demonstration of
mastery on a summative level. Keeping this in mind portions
of labs may be reported as formative or summative.
Evaluation of Summative: Summative assessments are
reported as percents of one-hundred. The students grade will
be created from the average percent of all summatives taken.
**Please see the Mercer Middle agenda for the class grading
scale.**
Evaluation of Formative: Selected formative assessments are
recorded and progress on these assignments will be
communicated through progress reports. Progress for
formative assessments will be reported using a scale of one
through four.
**Please see below for further explanation of scale.**
Assignment & Make Up Policy:
-All assignments will be turned in on time. (Unless otherwise stated, due date is the next class)
-It is up to the student to find out any missed work. The majority of all handouts and class presentations will be online.
-Students will receive same amount of time of their absence to complete the missed work.
-Make – up tests/quizzes are
administered during resource block.
-Extra assistance is traditionally done in resource. If resource is not available, please
contact me and we can arrange a time before or after school..
Projects & Materials:
-Periodically throughout the year we will be working on long term assignments like “3D” Models, which may or may not need
extra supplies like poster board, etc.. If there is any concern I happy to provide students with an alternative supply list.
-For class, students will need:
-3ringbinder(preferred1-2inch)
-5 Dividers (we will make them in class if you don’t have any )
Contact Information:
Parents/Guardians are encouraged to contact me and/or the main office.
Mercer’s Main Office - (703) 957-4340
My email address is: anthony.diemidio@lcps.org
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Parent Information: Please indicate, by checking one circle, the most preferred method of communication.
o I’d prefer email and realize that the email content may contain confidential
information (grade & behavior summaries) pertaining to my student. I.E. (Even if
you chose this I may still try to contact you via the phone.)
o I’d prefer to be contacted via the phone, please DON’T USE EMAIL to send academic
information.
Please Sign: Indicating you have read and understand the syllabus & may/may not have given permission for confidential
information (pertaining to this class) to be sent via email.
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Student Signature
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Parent/Guardian Signature
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