Sept. 5, 2012 Dear Grant Parents, My name is Ethan Medley and I will be teaching your child in biology.

While I am primarily a physics teacher, this will be my third time teaching biology. This is my sixth year at Grant, and my nineteenth year in the district. I hope biology will be a challenging class for students, but one for which they will feel thoroughly supported. I eat lunch in my room, and stay late after school. Kids are always welcome to drop by or set up a time to meet. The year will be roughly divided into five major units: Ecology, Cells/Disease, Genetics, Evolution and Energy in Living Systems. Throughout the year, students will participate in weekly lab experiences to keep the curriculum real and hands-on. I have created a web site to allow parents to see weekly class goals and activities. Please bookmark the site: http://biologyghs.blogspot.com. I hope you find it useful. It is also possible to access student grades online. I use the same service that most PPS teachers use, and there is a link to it on the website. Students must bring a simple three ring binder to class every day. As they enter class they always see two things on the screen. The first is a list of written assignments that they need to keep in the center section of the notebook behind their assignment sheet. These could be classwork, notes, or homework. Students keep an up-to-date list of these assignments on their assignment sheet. The second is a warm-up question that they answer on the backside of the assignment sheet. If theyre late or dont have a pencil they dont get a stamp for the warm up. Every other Mondays students see a list of goals for a two week period. Every other Friday they have a short quiz directly over the goals during the last 10 min. of class. They also turn in their notebook every other Friday. Both the quiz and the notebook are returned on the following Monday and updated grades are posted on the wall with a code. Students always know their new grade on Mondays. Additionally I will give major tests about three times a semester and some major projects will be turned in outside of the notebooks. I allow students to retake quizzes and tests, though they can only get back half of the points that they missed. This gives them an opportunity to compensate for a poor test, but not a window for ignoring their initial responsibility. For example if a student got a 30 out of 50 on a quiz they have one week to retake it and on the retake the highest score they can get is a 40, gaining back 10 out of the 20 points they missed. I accept late notebooks the Monday after theyre due with a 20 point penalty. The letter grade is based on the percentage of points earned out of the total possible points according to the scale: 90-100A, 80-89B, 70-79C, 60-69D, 0-59F. Thursday nights are a great time to ensure that all of your childs assignments listed on the assignment sheet are ready to be turned in. There is always time on Friday to answer student questions, so even if you are unable to help your child finish his or her work, simply helping them get organized and aware of what questions they might have is very important. It is also a good time to go over the weekly goals and assignments to help them prepare for Fridays quiz. I am excited to have your child in class this year. I always appreciate hearing from parents if you have questions or concerns. The best way to reach me is by email at emedley@pps.net, but you can also reach me by phone at Grant at (503) 916-5160. I look forward to a good year. Sincerely,

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