8th Grade Science

  • Welcome to 8th Grade Science and the ECU Pirates Team!

    My name is Kelci Bishop and I look forward to a great year of science exploration together. I know you are inundated with new technology and procedures, but please read this syllabus entirely, because it holds a lot of very important information about this class.

    • Email: kelci.bishop@cabarrus.k12.nc.us

    • Remind: @ecuscie [You can join through the Remind app or by texting the code to 81010]

    • Extra Help is available by appointment. Email me to set up an appointment. 

    Course Details

     Required Daily Resources

    • You will need to bring your charged chromebook and power cord.

    • Pencil, highlighter, science notebook, glue stick/tape, color pencils (in a pencil box/pouch)

    • Science Composition notebook and pocket folder

    Communication Protocol

    Getting Class info: This year we will be working with a combination of paper and Canvas based activities and assignments. Students will be able to find all course information both in class AND in our Canvas Course (ex: info on what is to be turned in digitally vs on paper). 

    Questions or concerns, please contact me the following ways:

    • Students: In person is always the best! Talk to me in class!

    • Students and Parents: Email (kelci.bishop@cabarrus.k12.nc.us) is the fastest and easiest way to reach me outside of class time. I will always respond within 24hrs weekdays and non-holidays. Weekends may take longer. If it is longer than that, please resend your email because it may have gone into our spam-filters.

      • Please include your full name AND if you are a parent, your student’s name (I have a lot of duplicate names, so I need first and last names please)

    Remind: I send out Remind notices from time to time, and will accept short/quick questions via the Remind app, but please use email for detailed questions and concerns.

     Academic Policy, Procedures and Assignments

    • Grading:

      • A student’s grade will be based on

        • Vocabulary Assignments – will count 1 time

        • Classwork & Quizzes – will count 2 times

        • Projects & Tests – will count 3 times

      • Most assignments will be submitted in Canvas. Students will see the grades for those posted in Canvas but the official grades on each item will appear in Powerschool and will reflect the grade-weights mentioned above.

      • Please check Powerschool regularly. Grades will be updated weekly. Students will periodically be given the opportunity to remediate, retake or make corrections in order to improve assignment grades. Please be sure to encourage your students to take advantage of those opportunities. They will be expected to complete these in a designated time frame. No late corrections are accepted.

      • Notebook:

        • Students should have a notebook designated and used only for science.

        • Notebooks should be used to keep track of class notes and to help students organize thoughts, complete rough drafts, and track progress.

      • Classwork:

        • An important part of 8th grade is preparing for the rigors of high school, so this year should and will be more challenging than the previous years. Good time management and meeting deadlines are two skills that will become increasingly valuable to your student, and we will be working on these throughout the year. One important part of this preparation includes getting work in on time.

        • Most graded work will include significant class time to complete, but also, there will often be time allowed for finishing the assignments outside of our set class time, for students who need more time.

        • Assignments and due dates are posted in Canvas. You can access these via the “Modules” link in the menu on the left margin of the Canvas homepage.

        • All daily work may have to be completed in order depending on the situation.

        • Any time you have specific concerns about an assignment be sure to discuss them with me BEFORE the day the assignment is due!

      • Missed work: If you miss class, you are still responsible for the assigned work for that day. Please be sure to watch any slide presentations, read the daily Canvas page instructions and get any paper copies from the “Absent Station” in my room.

      • Late Work: Assignments are done to help our brains learn and retain information. We have a lot of information to cover, so we will have assignments daily. If you are not doing the work, you are not doing your part in learning. It is also important that the work is done on time so that you are prepared for learning each day. However, I know that sometimes there are emergencies or mistakes and you may miss a due date. So below is the grading policy for late work.

        • Late work is accepted with the following conditions:

          • Late work is not accepted the last week of each grading quarter. Work assigned on the last week of the quarter will count towards grades for the following quarter, in order to allow for any school/family scheduling conflicts or emergencies during that week.

     Thanks so much for your hard work and assistance in the coming year!  

    -Ms. Kelci Bishop
PAWS