East Chapel Hill High School

500 Weaver Dairy Road

Chapel Hill, NC 27514
(919) 969-2482

August 18, 2017

Dear Biology Student and Parent(s),

The ECHHS science department biology teachers are excited to be starting another year and are especially looking forward to getting to
know you. Biology is a fascinating subject that should help you understand how the realm of living things functions and behaves. We will be
helping you understand the many interconnections and relationships that exist in nature, where humans fit into these relationships and
what our responsibilities are. As well as studying more traditional biology topics, we will delve into the unfolding mysteries of genetics and
the DNA molecule using the new national Common Core standards which have been adopted by the State of North Carolina.

Ready END of COURSE TEST (EOC)

The Biology EOC is a standardized test required for graduation from high school in the state of North Carolina. This test, which is
administered at the end of the school year, will count towards 20% of the students final grade in the class and is reported on the students
permanent high school transcript. We will be working hard to help each student be successful in biology. It is of course, necessary, that each
student put forth his or her best effort, also.

TEXTBOOKS
Our textbook is BIOLOGY by Kenneth Miller and Joseph Levine, published by Prentice Hall. Each student will be assigned a textbook that
must be returned in good condition at the end of the year. Students must pay for missing or damaged books. In addition to the text, we will
have many other biology research sources in our classrooms and in the media center.

ACTIVITIES
Biology is a very activity-based course. Our curriculum is based on research showing that students learn best by actively participating in
inquiry-based laboratories, group work, and projects. We encourage them to ask questions, to risk, to collaborate, and to think! Where
possible, we ask students to redo work until it is their best. Many assignments allow students to go beyond the curriculum as they are
interested and inspired.

HONORS and STANDARD BIOLOGY

This year students were given the choice to take either honors level biology or standard biology. Teachers will be happy to discuss these two
levels of biology in more detail with any parents who are interested.

SUCCESS
We have found that the students who are successful in biology (and in the rest of their courses) are those who pay attention in class, ask
clarifying questions, do their homework, study for tests, and hand assignments in on time. At home, each student should be reading, doing
study guides, finishing the analysis questions for lab and other activities, and working on projects. Hopefully, each student will also show
enthusiasm and curiosity about the study of living things!

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call the high school and leave a message for your childs teacher. In addition, if you
would like to volunteer to be a speaker or a tutor, please let us know. We consider parents to be partners in helping their children be
successful and enthusiastic students. Your help and your insights are welcome.

We wish you and your child an exciting year studying the web of life.

Sincerely,

Tim Clark (ext 27130) tclark@chccs.k12.nc.us

Josh Hartzog (ext. 27202) jhartzog@chccs.k12.nc.us
Auburn James (ext. 27102) ajames@chccs.k12.nc.us
Kimberly D. Manning (ext 27100) kmanning@chccs.k12.nc.us
Doc Snyder (ext. 27230) ssnyder@chccs.k12.nc.us
Haley Wamble (ext 27132) hwamble@chccs.k12.nc.us