Welcome to 7th & 8th Grade Science

There are three primary goals for this course:

I. Get interested in science.
Science can be fun, interesting and relevant. Any one of these is enough to
engage each student. Interest and engagement drives learning.

II. Develop knowledge and skills.
All student will develop scientific knowledge and robust skill-set that will serve them well in their life and future science education.

III. Use our minds well.
Every student has an incredible capacity to think. Some have the tendency to be
more creative while others tend towards analysis. Some process information and
concepts through reflection and others through dialogue. This class requires each
student to use her or his mind well in a variety of capacities. All students will develop lifelong skills for collaboration, understanding, decision making and problem solving.

The Classroom

Our classroom will change as the nature of the subject changes. Sometimes it might feel like any other classroom, or a laboratory, research station or library. Occasionally our class might feel like a corporate boardroom or the chambers of Supreme Court as they discuss an important and controversial case that has been brought before them. Sometimes it might look like the workshop in a design-engineering firm or an art class. And sometimes it will be the night sky, a tide pool and the beach at sunset.

Several things will remain constant however. One of these is that each day I will do my best to make class interesting, engaging, challenging and fun. This I cannot do alone however so I ask for the students' help.

Another constant is the expectation that each student use her or his mind well and demonstrate:

• Respect for self, others and the environment
• A Positive attitude towards learning
• Full and active participation
• Preparation for class (which includes doing homework)