Welcome & Classroom Information
Science Information, Class Policies, Safety Procedures. (Read this before taking any surveys below!)
7th & 8th: Student Beginning of Year Questionnaire
In science, students should have and bring to class every day, a binder with class section tabs, writing materials, and their charged Chromebook. A set of headphones is also extremely useful!
Students who are absent (or just forgot what we did in class) should be sure to check the Google Classroom feed to find out what they missed.
See the Science Information letter (linked above) for a detailed explanation of how grades are calculated for Science Class. 90% of the grade is based on mastery of the Unit and Chapter concepts which students explore through investigation questions at their own pace. Students often have choice in how they show their mastery of these topics.
A typical day in class consists of introduction/discussion of what we are investigating, a block of student work time in which they are investigating concepts through Google Slide decks, video clips, annotating articles, online Simulations and Modeling activities in Amplify Science and hands on activities. Some of these activities are required "tasks" and some of self selected or optional. These are listed in Google Classroom and students receive feedback on them regularly. A portion of the class may also include small groups discussions, small group mini lessons or feedback with the teacher, and whole group labs or review games.
Students (and parents): Get in the habit of checking feedback on Google Classroom daily and using the "Progress Mastery Tracker" to keep tabs on your grade. Remember: you are expected to revise and edit work to improve your mastery grades for each Unit/Chapter up to one week before the end of each trimester.
Q is our online gradebook and parents do have access to it. Each week you will be able to see if your student is doing the required tasks in order to progress towards mastery by checking Q. The final grade, however, is mostly determined by their final Chapter/Unit mastery - progress on these can be found in the "Progress Mastery Tracker" which students access using their school gmail accounts.
If you don't have a Q parent account, contact the front office. Bookmark the link to Q Parent Connect: https://pvsd.vcoe.org/parentconnect/
I act as the teacher representative of the California Junior Scholarship Federation on our campus. It is open to 7th and 8th grade students who qualify each trimester by having a 3.5 GPA in their 4 "core" subjects. See the file library for a complete description of CJSF. 8th graders who maintain CJSF grades for 5/6 trimesters in 7th and 8th grade, receive the CJSF gold seal on their report cards and wear gold cords with their graduation gowns.
Teaching is my passion! This will be my thirteenth year teaching 7th and 8th grade science. In addition, I previously taught 6th grade math and science for two years, and prior to that I taught first and fifth grade. I received my bachelor's degree in Science from the University of California at Irvine, with a minor in French Literature and obtained my teaching credential from Cal State Northridge. I have a 34 year old daughter and a 24 year old son. Outside of school my hobbies are cooking (and trying new restaurants), working out/yoga, meditation, reading, travel, and writing--who knows, maybe a novel someday?