Get in Touch

I try to return e-mails the same day I receive them.

The second option is to call me at 407-4155. It is helpful to leave a number where you can be reached at about 3:30.

Grades

As befits college-preparatory work, we have fewer graded items with higher value;

so, please understand that Tyler grades will change about every two weeks, and especially dramatically at the end of grading periods.

Policies

You will need a scientific calculator (NOT graphing, NOT programmable [AP excepted]) and a binder.

Due dates: Assignments are accepted on the due date only; if a student is absent on the due date, the work

automatically becomes a make-up assignment.

For group work, IT’S ONE PER PERSON ALWAYS;

each person’s complete copy is collected; and one from the stack is chosen at random to grade.

For multi–day labs, a student must be present for ALL of pre-lab, data collection, and analysis phases.

Absence for any phase results in a make-up assignment.

Make-up points are earned by having the next grade sheet item of similar purpose count for the missing item (i.e.,

"next one counts double"); if the last assignment of similar purpose is missed, the final exam will count as the make-up grade.

Homework and class work are assigned frequently. Students submit work to their "packets," and a packet quiz is

given once a week or so on which they are allowed to use their submitted assignments.

Homework and classwork quiz points are collected for 2 to 4 weeks, at which point they become a "grade sheet" score.

Students must have been present for greater than half of the quizzes in order for the cumulative score to

be recorded; otherwise the make-up policy is invoked.

Graded work is stored for one grading cycle (4.5 weeks), during which grading and other concerns must be addressed.

Conference is the appropriate time to address such concerns.

No "re-takes" are offered, nor are extra credit assignments.

A student’s overall grade is based on total points earned; points are assigned such that tests account for approximately 60%, labs for approximately 30%,

and homework and classwork for approximately 10% of the semester grade.

Help is available during conference periods and after school on posted days.

UNPLUG! Personal electronics such as cell phones and music players distract from our academic chores—once the chores are done, go for it 

BE GOOD!! Keep the language clean; don’t eat or drink in the lab area; don’t trespass on other groups;

play nice with others, clean up after yourself, …you know.

SAFETY

You will be working with equipment and materials that can cause injury to yourself and others if not handled properly. Bad things happen in lab work due to carelessness, being in a hurry, trying to be funny, taking chances, and general disregard for safety rules. Following are some rules that will help to prevent bad things. If you violate a rule, you will either receive a single warning or be immediately removed from the lab area. If removal is necessary, you will receive a permanent zero on the lab, and a referral will be made to an administrator.

1. Read the instructions before doing anything. Ask questions, if the instructions are not clear to you.

2. Perform only those procedures that you have been directed to perform.

3. Let the teacher know if you have a medical condition that the lab may affect (allergies, asthma, color blindness, etc.).

4. Leave all unnecessary materials (such as book bags) at your desk.

5. Food is prohibited in the classroom at all times, and not even water bottles are allowed at the lab benches.

6. Dress appropriately: Closed-toed shoes may be necessary (you’ll be told in time to dress appropriately), hair sometimes needs to be tied back; dangling jewelry and hats are not good ideas.

7. Do not leave your lab bench without permission. Don’t distract, annoy, or interfere with other students’ work.

8. Use equipment only for its intended purpose.

9. Smell chemicals by "wafting," not by sticking your nose close.

10. Use the fume hood when instructed.

11. Dispose of chemicals as directed. Some are drain safe, but others go in waste containers in the fume hood.

12. Use the emergency equipment (eye wash, safety shower, fire blanket) as directed.

13. Notify the teacher when a spill occurs.

14. Notify the teacher when an injury occurs.

15. Notify the teacher when breakage occurs. There is a charge for irresponsible breakage.

16. Read the label—twice!—before dispensing a chemical. Know what you’re using!

17. Unused chemicals are not to be put back in the dispensing contained—it is assumed to be contaminated.

18. Wash your hands before leaving lab and if you come in contact with a chemical.

19. Sweep up—don’t pick up—broken glass, and dispose of it in the designated container.

20. Use extreme care with Bunsen burners—never leave them unattended; never insert objects into the flame.

21. Don’t look straight down into a container being heated.

22. Clean your work area before leaving: Wipe down benches, place stools under the bench, clean out the sink, leave bench equipment as it was found, return cart equipment to the cart

23. Do not enter the prep room.

24. If an evacuation is necessary, turn off burners before exiting.

25. Goggles must be worn at all times during lab work.

Financial compensation is/may be required for breakage of higher priced items at the discretion of the teacher.