BIOLOGY Classroom Rules and Procedures

Classroom Rules

Beginning with "I will..."

1. Respect myself, other students, and all school staff.

2. Be responsible for my actions and words (NO cussing!).

3. Be on-time, on-task, and prepared to learn each day.

4. Respect the classroom space and all property in it.

5. Use appropriate noise and voice levels.

Laboratory Rules

1. All protective wear, including eye protection, aprons, and gloves, must be worn AT ALL
TIMES!

2. No eating, drinking (even water!), or chewing gum.

3. No personal belongings near the lab tables during experiments.

3. No horseplay or distracting behavior in the lab setting.

Note: Breaking any of the laboratory rules will result in dismissal from the laboratory, an
automatic zero for the assignment, and possible disciplinary action. You and your guardian
will sign a laboratory contract that will further outline these rules.

Daily Procedure

1. Entry: Students will be greeted at the door as they walk in. They will enter the classroom and
sit at their assigned seat. Journal helpers will pass out journals, and the students will
independently complete the bell ringer for that day. I will take attendance as students work. Once
a majority of the class has completed the activity, we will go over it as a class.

2. Homework Collection: Following the bellringer, students will need to get out any assignments
or homework from the previous class day. I will collect them and stamp completed work to show
the assignment was turned in on the correct date.

3. Activity or Lesson: Students are expected to be attentive and focus during the lesson. I will
review previous material in a brief 5-minute recap before beginning new material. Any
independent activity, group work, or laboratory experiment that is assigned during this time is
expected to be done following my directions.

4. Recap: With less than 10 minutes of class left, there will be a material review and time for
students to ask any additional questions. Following this, students will clean their area and
prepare for dismissal.

5. Dismissal: Students will wait for my verbal dismissal to be released. Students will not be
released if the classroom is not clean or there is noise above the assigned voice level.

Positive Praise:

Results from positive behavior! Given at the discretion of the teacher.

1. Verbal or written praise.

2. Phone call or written statement from teacher to parent or guardian.

3. Ability to choose music for class to listen to while doing independent work!

Consequences of Negative Behavior

1. Verbal warning.

2. Student-teacher conference.

3. Phone call to parent or guardian; if in extra-curricular, sponsors will be contacted.

4. Referral to front office.

Grading Policy

Major Grades = 70% Average of exams, projects, selected labs

Daily Grades = 30% Average of labs, quizzes, daily work/homework,
journals/notebooks

Assignments will be verbally assigned to students, written on the whiteboard, and posted on my
website. Students are responsible for their own work. Grades will be accessible online at all
times. Each day a daily grade assignment is turned in after the due date will result in a -10 points
until 5 days after the due date when the student will receive a zero.

A: 90-100% B: 80-90% C: 70-80% D: 60-70% F: <60%

Major Grades & Testing Policy

All Major assignments are due on time IN YOUR CLASS PERIOD. If late a zero will be given
and the student will lose 10 points per day that it is late.

Retest Policies and Procedures:

All level biology students will be given the opportunity to retest a failing test grade for a
maximum of a 75. However, to do so the student must come in a do test corrections prior to
taking a retest. In addition, all retest and test corrections must be completed within one week of
the day the student received their original test score.

Make-up Work & Labs

If you have an unplanned absence, you should:

 Check our Class Absent Folder. If empty, ask me.
 Arrange a tutorial session with teacher as needed
 Complete/turn in work 1 day for each day absent.
 Tests are assigned 1 week ahead. If you are absent the day of the test, you must take
the test the day you return.
 REMEMBER: Assignments due the day you were absent are DUE the day you
RETURN to class.
Important note for those of you participating in extra-curricular activities:
If you miss class due to a school-sponsored activity (football, tennis, choir, art, etc.), you are
NOT considered absent and cannot use the make-up work policy as an excuse for missed
work. You are expected to complete & turn in all missed work BEFORE you miss the
class.

Electronic Policy

Students will be told exactly when they can have their phones or electronics out. Students are
expected to have their electronics put away and out of sight from me at all times unless
otherwise told so. I will enforce the district policy on phones at all times.

Cheating Policy

Cheating will not be tolerated. Any student caught cheating, copying, or sharing answers will
receive a zero as an assignment grade and a warning. If the student is found cheating once more,
the student will automatically be sent to the office with a referral.

Classroom Environment

My classroom will be a bully-free, inclusive space at all time. Bullying, harassment of any
kind, unkind language, or offensive jokes will call for immediate dismissal from the class and a
referral. There will be zero tolerance of any of this kind of behavior. No exceptions!
If students have questions or concerns that they would like to bring to my attention about this
matter, there will be an anonymous box at the back of the room where students may write me a
note.