Thursday, January 26, 2017

End of the Semester


  • Tues 1/24:  More work on IA's.  Review Ecology and Evolution Concepts.  Please submit the Front End of your IA write-up (Focused Question, Solid Background w/ citations, Variables, and Methodology) through turnitin.com by Monday 1/30.  I will give points for completing this before the end of the semester, although it will not be formally graded. 
  • Thurs 1/26:  More work on IA's.  Review Biodiversity Concepts.  Look on the website for powerpoints for these topics.  Last day for book groups, either FLEX or during lunch.
  • Mon 1/30:  Last day of the semester.  Book Group reviews due through turnitin.com by 6:00 pm.  Front end of IA write-up also due through turnitin.com by 6:00 pm today.  Play Kahoot to review.  You can access the Kahoot game if you get a Kahoot account and look for mokenny's quizzes.  I will make it available to the public after 7th period today.

Friday, January 13, 2017

Snowpocalypse Update!

Hello Students!  I hope you are enjoying your extended snow break!  While it is inconvenient academically and for getting around, we'll all remember this event for quite some time.  Enjoy the slower pace and the shear beauty.  We'll be back to the rain and your heavy workload in no time.

Some of you may be concerned about your Internal Assessments.  Don't worry about it too much.  As many of you saw on Tuesday, the plants grew like gangbusters and it is likely that many of you with plants will have to start over.  The good news is that we now know that the plants grow really well on that cart and you may have a few ideas about doing it differently next time.  Also, remember that starting over gives you more to talk about and more personal engagement!!   Hopefully you can all get your investigations done in the remaining class days before finals, but if people need more time, that is okay.  Basically, the labs need to be completely done and graded before Spring Break.  I'll have you turn in a rough draft the 3rd week of February, give you some feedback, and collect the final draft the first week of March.

Also, we have lost 5 B-days so far and while some may be made up at the end of the school year, the date of the IB Biology exam will not change, so we will need to move pretty quickly during the 2nd semester.  Be prepared for that.  I will give you the topics and readings in advance.  The remaining topics include:   Gas Exchange (6.4), Immunology (6.3 and 11.1), Muscles and Movement (11.2), the Kidney (11.3), Hormones and Human Reproduction (6.6 and 11.4), and Neurons, Neurobiology, and Behavior (6.5 and Option A).  As you can see, it is a lot!  In addition, last year we had review sessions during FLEX for different topics from first year.  I think that really helped some people and if enough of you are interested, we will do that again this year.

Finally, I have put a review sheet for the first semester on your website.  Book groups need to be discussed by Friday, January 27th (2 weeks from now) and turned in through turnitin.com by Monday, January 30th.  Any questions??  Let me know.

Stay warm and safe out there!
Ms. Kenny