Meeting 29 - Feb '15

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Science Department Meeting
Tuesday, February 17, 2015 (Homeroom 12:00pm – 1:00pm)
H103 – BioHazard Meeting Room


  1. Looking Ahead – Important Dates to Note
    1. Reminder: No Meeting on Thursday, Feb 19
    2. Mon, Tue & Thur, Feb 23, 24 & 26 – Pre-Registration Meetings (Schedule #2) - during homeroom, Robb will send out talking points about how to apply to get in to the various courses.
    3. Friday, March 6 – Career Day
    4. Friday, March 13 – Student Holiday
    5. Tuesday, March 24 – Midterm Grades Due
    6. Friday, March 27 – Science Department Meeting
    7. Wednesday, April 1 – Easter Break
    8. Thursday, April 2 – Gary’s Birthday

  1. 7th Period Discussion(*KIMBERLY - SEE BELOW to COMPLETE 7-PERIOD OPTIONS FORM)
    1. 50 Minutes
    2. 70 Minutes
    3. Refer to Notes (Thank you Kimberly)
- perception, science dept. wants 70 minutes, as a consensus
  1. Registration Reminders (Refer to the Handout for a Timeline)
    1. No Student Ratings
    2. Top 100 – guaranteed in AP or Honors
    3. Bottom 100 – not admitted into AP or Honors
    4. AP Chemistry students NEED a life science
    5. Restricted Course lists due to Robb by 8:00am on Wednesday, April 15
    6. Restricted Course lists will be posted on Canvas on Thursday, April 16
  • Acceptance lists not due until April 15 - mid April
  • Accept list and a deny list to be submitted to Bren on April 15 as an excel spreadsheet
  • Process of Petitions and wait-list
  • Pre-reg meetings ensure students know what to do to apply for the restricted courses
  1. Formal Observations
    1. Google Form Sign-up
    2. Modified Observations
i. 30 minutes
ii. Student Interviews
iii. Focus on Reflection

  1. Hiring for Next Year
    1. Looking for “Smart Creatives”
    2. Everybody knows somebody Great
    3. Department “Interview” on the day of a Sample Lesson

- Robb is going to push for on the day of their sample lessons, have the candidate in BioHaz, informally talk to the candidate (break, lunch, etc.)
- Department Interview potentially for the new candidates.


Kimberly - Please fill this form out as points are shared regarding the proposed schedules. Thank you!

7-Period Schedule OptionsWeek of February 17­20, 2015Department Feedback
Department: Science
Department Members in Attendance:

After listening to the presentation on February 13, and hearing about the process that has gone into arriving at the the 50-minutes and 70-minutes schedule options, what factors do you perceive school administrators should consider for final decision-making? This may be submitted in list or narrative form.
  • science dept. prefers 70 minute schedule
  • very clear from the student's perspective - either way the department could adjust
  • science teacher - longer periods for labs, etc.
  • For Teacher and student mental health - Easier in regards to student stress, eliminates time for reflection, will not have as much homework due for the next day. Better learning environment overall, not as much stress.
  • As a parent - not stress of the school day, but outside the school day. School day is shortened with the 70-minute, since there are fewer passing periods. Workload of a student involved in co-curricular activities, increase workload outside of class, and starting co-curricular activities later. School day lengthened, co-curricular activities forced to start later, less time outside of school to work on homework, etc.
  • Stress reduced with 70 minute - shorter school day, planning with homework - would not have homework for all classes each night.
  • Fewer opportunities for exams on the same day with the 70 minute period
  • Quality of work - less time to do more work each night
  • More minutes overall with the 70 minute schedule
  • suggest for Monday 70 minute period - have two periods in between breaks, and not 2 after lunch

Factors:
  • Student stress - mission of the school, asking them to be involved outside of the school day, making it more challenging outside of class with lengthened school day and more homework on a given night
  • Days with courses after lunch - second period after lunch is the least productive time for student learning - 4 second periods after lunch in the 50 minute schedule, versus 1 day in the 70 minute schedule
  • Teacher load - depth vs. breadth, want the students to have time for reflection and processing of information - more in-depth options with the 70-minute period.
  • Students out of class for activities, absent for a day - students would miss fewer courses with the 70-minute period. Students leaving early for activities, fewer after lunch periods with 70 minute schedule
  • time for reflection - different learning for different courses - how to structure, full curriculum perspective.
  • Looking at what is best from the student's perspective

As Ignatian Educators please offer your collective feedback on whether the 50-minutes or 70-minutes schedule is optimal for Loyola High School as a whole. In other words, if you had to make the decision for the entire community, what would you choose? Please express the Department’s spirit of adaptability to either or both of the schedule options. You do not need to reach consensus, but we ask that you think together and summarize the departments’ collective thinking about what is best for Loyola.
  • In looking at how students manage their learning and stress - advantage for 70 minute schedule
  • Students benefit more from a 70-minute schedule
  • Balance - Academics, co-curricular - nice way to relieve some of the stress, 70-minutes results in greater quality of work, etc.
  • Potential to be adding more responsibility and larger workload with an extra period per day - stress would increase outside of the school day