Debbie Wheeler
Sayre School
Goal
Field Notebook
Weblog
Science Fair
Tremont
Materials
Resources
Taking Tests
Computer Issues
Laptop Organization
Laptop Ground Rules
LARK
Policies
Late Work
Grading
Absences
Honor Code
"The Earth does not belong to Man. Man belongs to the Earth.
Man does not weave the web of life. He is merely a strand it it.
Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself."
- Chief Seattle
Environmental Science is the study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment. This science course is interdisciplinary. Physics, chemistry, biology, the social sciences (like sociology and psychology), and economics will help us understand how all organisms (including humans) are interconnected with their environment in multiple ways. This course will provide a college level introduction to basic ecological concepts – ecosystems and how they work and change, human population studies and problems, production and distribution of food, concepts related to both terrestrial and marine ecosystems, and explorations of current environmental topics and problems among many others.
The AP Environmental Science course is the equivalent of a one semester, introductory college course in environmental science and is weighted accordingly. All students that sign up for the AP course are required to take the exam. Although your score on the exam does not affect your grade in this class, you may earn college credit by doing well on the exam. The work we do will prepare students to take the AP Environmental
Science Exam in May.

The goal of the course is to provide students with the scientific principles, concepts, and methodologies required to understand the interrelationships of the natural world, to identify and analyze environmental problems both natural and human-made, to evaluate the relative risks associated with these problems, and to examine alternative solutions for resolving and/or preventing them.
Appropriate, mature, and respectful behavior at all times.
All safety procedures are to be followed at all times.
Daily participation in classroom activities, and meaningful contribution and cooperation in class discussions.
Assignments are to be handed in on time. See ‘Late Work.”
Assume responsibility for seeking additional help outside of class when necessary
As an AP class, covering college level material, college level work is expected, with an appropriate attitude and work ethic.
Assume responsibilities necessary for successful preparation for the AP
Environmental Science exam.
As part of this course, you will maintain a field notebook this fall. Field Ecology is designed to teach general scientific methods, procedures, and thinking skills, as well as specific methods and procedures used to study plants and animals in their natural setting. In addition, observation of natural processes often helps us gain an appreciation for them. Maintaining your notebook will involve visiting your site once a week and submitting your notebook each week. Specific information should be recorded each week. A detailed list of required information will be given later.
A weblog has been initiated for our AP Environmental Science class. Twice a term, students are required to post one environmental science related article and to comment on two other articles other’s have posted on this weblog (yes, two articles per term, at least four comments per term). Everyone will also write a discussion of their article as a separate document which is submitted to me. There are specific requirements for how each of these should be completed. This information (and a scoring guide) is available on a separate document. A link to the weblog is available by clicking on the word ‘weblog’ in this paragraph. If you visit the website, Blogmeister, to look up this weblog, you can find it listed under my name.
B
EFORE
MAKING YOUR FIRST ENTRY, please read the “Blogger’s Pledge” located at the bottom of the blog page.
After reading it, send me an email stating you will abide by it. I will not post any of your entries (or give you credit for them) until this is completed.
All students are required to complete a science fair project and present it at the Sayre Science Fair. A pdf with detailed explanations and deadlines for each section of this project will be provided. Deadlines will occur throughout the 1 st , 2 nd , and 3 rd terms.
Our trip to Tremont will help us fit in labs that are hard to complete during the school year in our limited class time. It was also give us a chance to enjoy the outdoors together and have fun! Please make sure you reserve the Tremont dates on your calendar: Friday, November 14 th – Sunday, November 16 th , 2008. Plan

to miss all your Friday classes (your teachers have been advised of this trip but will expect a prearranged absence form from each of you). All APES students are expected to go as part of the class. Estimated cost of our trip: $375 (approximately ½ of the cost is for Tremont – room, board, activities, and ½ is for our charter bus). Please bring money for lunch on Friday but no other spending money is required (though there is a small gift shop on the grounds you may visit). A detailed itinerary and list of items to pack will be provided as our trip date approaches.
Textbook: Miller Jr., G. Tyler, Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections, and
Solutions, 15th ed., 2007.
1 inch 3 ring binder with dividers or a folder for organizing loose papers
NOTE: I am trying to ‘go paperless’ as much as possible, but there may be times when I pass out hard copies of information you’ll need to keep. You may choose to maintain a small 3 ring binder for this class or a folder to handle these papers. Stuffing them in your laptop case is often not very efficient, a good way to lose papers or a good way to wad them up into an unrecognizable mass. Choose a notebook or folder please. pen or pencil calculator
Study Guides: Many are available (and I have copies of many you may peruse) but the book that seems to get the best rating by students in my class is Princeton’s . Many of the students that did well on the AP exam began using this review book early in the spring semester. I don’t spend an enormous amount of time reviewing (I tend to refer to what we’ve covered as we go through the course) so this book can be really helpful if you are motivated to use it.
My website: http://www.sayreschool.org/page.cfm?p=733
Be sure to visit the AP College Board website, the link for our textbook, and the other links available through my website
Our class time is precious and I work hard to make the most of it. With this in mind, our tests will be scheduled outside of class time – typically during your study hall. I will announce tests ahead of time and ask you to schedule to take your test within a 3 to 5 day period of time during your study hall. Students will come to my room a few minutes before their study hall begins to pick up the exam (please try to avoid interrupting my class) and take it to the assigned study hall teacher. The study hall teacher will initial the exam to verify it was taken in his/her study hall. After completion, exams should be returned to me immediately. You are expected to adhere to the Honor Code system in its entirety during this procedure.
Keep in mind that any information you divulge to classmates that have not taken the exam is not only in violation of the Honor Code but will also likely ruin the ‘curve’ for you (questions that many students struggle with on my exams are often reduced in point value, improving student scores).
Laptops usually help us to be more organized and work best when you have a system. On your laptop, typically under “Documents” or on your desktop, you should create a folder titled “AP Environmental
Science.” Within that main folder, should be subfolders, organized by the date material was covered, and in a way which is helpful for you. I would suggest organizing by content (titles of the chapters we cover would be helpful). Whichever system you choose, please keep up with it. This will make studying for tests and the spring AP exam much easier.

Gaming: Games should not be played at anytime in my classroom – not before, during, or after class or during any ‘down’ time. Excessive gaming can cause your laptop to fail and uses a tremendous amount of resources, both on your computer and – if you are playing peer-to-peer – on the network.
Misuse of the laptop for gaming or any other off task behavior can result in removal of laptop privileges in my room – temporarily or permanently.
AIM: instant messaging should not be activated during class.
Taskbar/Dock: I should be able to see your taskbar/dock at ALL times when I stop by your computer.
Please do not set it to disappear and reappear.
Internet use should be limited to academic purposes, specifically only what is needed for this class.
To clarify this point, keep in mind that some activities are completely off-limits: shopping, surfing for music, looking up sport scores, and gaming ( including peer-to-peer games).
If you don’t know whether or not it’s okay, on the computer or in class in general, please follow the “LARK” rule.
Legal: Is it legal?
Appropriate: Is it appropriate for your grandmother and/or your kindergarten sister to see/know about?
Responsible: Are you treating this item as if it is your own?
Kind: Is it kind?
All assignments are due at the start of class. These will typically be collected from a folder on the server.
Class will not be delayed to wait for students to submit assignments. Therefore, students should arrive to school and/or class with sufficient time to submit assignments before they are pulled from the server folder.
With the exception of an excused absence, late assignments will not be accepted.
NOTE: If assignments are discussed in class on their due date, and answers are given, these assignments
CANNOT be turned in late. Major laboratory reports or projects will be accepted past due and penalized according to Sayre policy. That is, for each day up to 3 days, the paper will lose a letter grade per day. No more than 50% credit will be given past the third day, and none will be accepted late past the end of the marking period.
Students are expected to remove graded work from their graded work folder on the server at regular intervals.
The grading scale used in this class will be as follows:
A+ (97-100) B+ (87-89) C+ (77-79) D+ (67-69) F (59 and below)
A (93-96) B (83-86) C (73-76) D (63-66)
A- (90-92) B- (80-82) C- (70-72) D- (60-62)
Points will be distributed as follows: 50% = Assessment items (tests, quizzes, papers, projects)
50% = Daily Work (classwork, homework, labs)

1.
Make-up work is the student’s responsibility. It is due after the student has returned from school as outlined by school policy.
2.
My website contains a calendar with an agenda of the day’s activities, due dates, and homework assignments. Students should make every effort to retrieve and complete assignments using this resource.
3.
If a lab was completed during the student’s absence, the student should ask me about making up the lab ASAP. Some labs can be made up before or after school, other labs may be difficult to make up therefore an assignment of equal value may be given.
4.
You are expected to be present for every test or quiz. If you know you will be absent the day of an assessment, you are expected to make arrangements to take the test before the assigned test date.
NOTE: Until absent work has been turned in, graded, and entered in the grading software, missing assignments will be assigned a grade of zero.
The Honor Code will be strictly enforced. All graded work will include the Sayre Honor Pledge, written and signed by the student. “I hereby pledge my honor that I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this work.”
I'm looking forward to an exciting year as we gain a better understanding of the world we live in. I want every student to be successful in this class and I hope we can work together to make that happen. I am available to help every
Tuesday afternoon from 2:30 – 3:00 pm. You may also meet with me before or after school or during breaks if you need additional help - I will be available most days.
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