Letter to Parents for Biology Students
Dear Parents:
My name is Brian Nevi (pronounced Navy, like the color) and I will be your child’s Biology teacher this year. This is my 21st year at Norwin. Academic Biology is considered a challenging course that is intended for students who plan on going to college after high school. We will go over my expectations and procedures in class and a copy has been placed on the Skyward Family Access website. Please take some time to look it over so you can understand how things are going to be in my class.
The transition from middle school to high school is often difficult. Adding to the difficulty is the state requirement for the students to pass the Biology Keystone exam in May. This requirement has led to me needing to ask for the most out of students during the year so they may be successful on this important standardized test. I will have to move through the material at a certain pace to make sure as much information as possible is covered. I will also have a certain degree of rigor in the course to make sure the students LEARN the material and not simply memorize it for one test and then forget it. Grading will rely heavily on quizzes and tests. I will always provide study guides and various worksheets, but they will not always be collected for points. We will go over them in class and they will then be used as the basis for the quizzes and exams. Too many students in the past have simply copied down answers from classmates and never really learned or understood the answers. They got the points for having the right answer but never really understood the material. The keystone exam does not allow for this kind of attitude towards schoolwork, and I am hoping that the move away from homework and more towards quizzes and tests will enable the kids to want to get a better grasp of the material and ultimately to be successful both in the class and on the test. It should also be noted that cell phones, especially texting and playing games during class has become an overwhelming problem. I stress to the kids that it is the choices they make that decide their success or failure in my class because I am unable to constantly be reminding them to put their devices away.
Students will be able to access class materials using Schoology on their Norwin iPad. There will often be additional things posted on the Schoology course site that we may not use directly in class but are things that I believe will help them be successful. Things like Quizlet flashcards or Kahoot review games will be posted as additional practice. If you ever notice anything wrong about a grade, please have your child ask me about it first-99.9% of the time I just entered something incorrectly and can be easily fixed.
Finally, if you need to contact me for anything, my email is address is [email protected]. Email is probably the best way to contact me and I can respond the quickest. If you need to talk to me in person, my number at the high school is 724-861-3005 ext. 3200. I am looking forward to an exciting and successful year!
Mr. Brian E. Nevi