• Mike Valenti  8th Grade Integrated Science

     

    Welcome Families,

    Included below are some important things to know about 8th grade science:

    The topics we will be covering this year include astronomy, motion and forces, waves, genetics and evolution.

    Students will not have a hard copy of the science textbook. They will be expected to complete homework assignments by accessing the on-line version of the textbook. We will review how to do this in the first week of school and the login and password should be written in the inside cover of their science notebook. Students can expect to have homework approximately 2-3 times a week and it generally should not take them more than 20-30 minutes.

    It is imperative that students show up with a planner and their science notebooks daily; these things should be kept in the three ring binder (AVID binder) that they carry around to all their classes. They will be expected to write the day’s assignment as well as any possible homework in their planner first thing every day when they enter the classroom. Almost everything they do in science class will be done in their science notebook. They will use their notebooks to study for quizzes and tests and may occasionally be able to use them on assessments.

    The best way to stay on top of your child’s progress in science is to check in with ParentVue regularly. If you see an assignment is set up with a blank space, that simply means that it has not been graded yet or the score has not been entered. If the assignment has a zero entered, this means that they did not turn it in and should be a red flag. I am happy to accept assignments late as long as students communicate with me about it.

    Science is a proficiency based class, which means that you won’t see traditional letter grades in ParentVue. It is important to understand that a score of 2.7 or higher is considered to be proficient and a score of 3.7 or higher is considered to be highly proficient. Please know that proficiency is a good thing. If your student ends the quarter showing overall proficiency in science it means that they are exactly where we would expect them to be for 8th grade. While some students will demonstrate high levels of proficiency in science, this is not the expectation and will not be the norm for most students.

    If students need extra help or assistance they can come by in the mornings or after school as long as they have made arrangements with me ahead of time. I am always willing to be here to support and help them as long as they have communicated with me about it.

    If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me through email or by phone.

    Sincerely,

    Mike Valenti

    mvalenti@pps.net

    503-916-5646