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Welcome to Headquarters!

Think of the Headquarters as a center of operations, a gathering place, a space for the command and control of both humans and non-humans. From your specially created HQ, you have lots of key information and resources made available to you on a single webpage. As one of his GRADE 7 science students, Dr. Merritt suspects you will spend plenty of time this year making good use of your grade’s HQ.

"Science: it’s like magic, but real!"

Tweet by Derek Johnson (@derekjGZ), 26 June 2020

THIS WEEK IN SCIENCE!

CURRENT

ARCHIVE

2025/26 SYLLABUS

PDF

VERACROSS STUDENT PORTAL​

LINK

G7 NOTES PORTAL

DIGITAL VERSION

SCIENCE NOTEBOOK

TOC

SCIENCE JOURNAL (QWs)

Google Doc

Course of Study

Our Units

7.1

Driving Question

How do Earth's slow, powerful processes recycle and remake the materials of our planet, from the deep core to the surface we walk on?

7.2

Driving Question

How do chemical substances move through Earth's atmosphere, water, and land to change the planet we live on?

7.3

Driving Question

How can something so small be the basic building block of all living things, and what does it need to stay alive?

7.4

Driving Question

How might humans create something new that wasn't there before?

7.5

Driving Question

How do the instructions in our DNA create BOTH the shared traits that make us a family AND the unique differences that make us an individual?

7.6

Driving Question

How might flowering plants create something new that wasn't there before?

7.7

Driving Question

How do plants use the energy from sunlight to create the food and building blocks they need to survive and grow?

7.8

Driving Question

How do plant cells use the food they make to power every single life process?

7.9

Driving Question

How does the flow of energy and matter through an ecosystem create a web of interdependence where every organism plays a vital role?

7.10

Driving Question

How do the motion and scale of objects in our solar system create the cycles we experience every day, from a day to a year?

2025/26

Grading

ACADEMIC MARKS

Dr. Merritt uses a standards-based, revision-driven, 10-point grading scale when assessing student work.

The numbers, letters, and word descriptors he associates with this grading system are provided below.

10 pts  = Done/Exceeds = (A) 

  • The submitted work is done and exceeds the target standard(s).

9.2 pts = Done/Meets = (A-)

  • The submitted work is done and meets the target standard(s).

8.5 pts = Done/Nearly meets = (B)

  • The submitted work is done and nearly meets the target standard(s).

7.5 pts = Done/Approaches  = (C)

  • The submitted work is done and approaches the target standard(s).

6.5 pts = Done/Below = (D)

  • The submitted work is done and falls below the target standard(s).

0 pts = Not Done/Well Below = (F)

  • The submitted work is not done (or done and not submitted) and thus falls well below the target standard(s).

EFFORT MARKS

As published in the MS Student Handbook, TASIS uses 5-level scale for communicating student effort.

5 = Outstanding
4 = Very good
3 = Good
2 = Needs improvement
1 = Does not meet expectations

The TASIS MS established a policy in 2025/26 requiring all MS teachers to issue students Effort Marks every two weeks. 

  • In Veracross, these are called Effort (but they have no effect on students’ overall Academic science grade).
  • In Veracross, students will also periodically see their Science Journal grades issued according to the 5-level Effort scale.

WEIGHTING

To calculate a student’s overall science grade, Dr. M weights his assignments as outlined below:

Classwork (30%)
This includes a variety of different assignment types–e.g., Investigations (INVs), Response Activities (RAs), etc.–assigned and completed during class.

  • In Veracross, these are categorized as Classwork.

Formative Assessments (25%)
This consists of the class activity commonly referred to as an end-of-unit “Test.” Students can expect 10 end-of-unit tests during the 2025/26 school year.

  • In Veracross, these are categorized as Test.

Preparatory Assessments (15%)
This consists of the class activity commonly referred to as an end-of-concept “Quiz.” Students can expect (approximately) 30 end-of-concept quizzes during the 2025/26 school year.

  • In Veracross, these are categorized as Quiz.

Science Notebook (20%)
This includes all student-driven work regularly entered into the Science Notebook and aimed at showing–both visually and textually–students’ ongoing efforts to answer each unit’s Driving Question.

  • In Veracross, these are categorized as Learner Portfolio.

Homework (10%)
This includes a variety of different assignment types (including Classwork) assigned for completion outside of school.

  • In Veracross, these are categorized as Homework.

Science Journal (0%, but visible in Veracross)
This consists of the regular class activity commonly referred to as “Quick Writes” (QWs). Students can expect 1-3 QWs per week during the 2025/26 school year.

  • In Veracross, these are called Effort.

Formative Assessments (0%, but visible in Veracross)
This consists of the regular class activity called “Diagnostic Questions” (DQs) most frequently completed with Exam.net.

  • In Veracross, these are categorized as Formative Assessment.

2025/26

MS Homework Policy

B period

MONDAY

—

TUESDAY

Homework collection day

WEDNESDAY

—

THURSDAY

Homework collection day

FRIDAY

No science lesson

C & H period

MONDAY

—

TUESDAY

No science lesson

WEDNESDAY

Homework collection day

THURSDAY

—

FRIDAY

Homework collection day

2025/26

Academic Calendar

FALL SEMESTER
18 weeks

Start of semester – 28 Aug
Interim grades – 24 Sept
Midterm grades – 27 Oct
End of semester – 23 Jan

SPRING SEMESTER
18 weeks

Start of semester – 26 Jan
Interim grades – 13 Feb
Midterm grades – 23 Mar
End of semester – 3 Jun

NO SCHOOL DAYS
7 days

Friday, 10 Oct
Monday, 13 Oct
Friday, 7 Nov
Friday, 28 Nov
Friday, 19-20 Feb
Friday, 9 Mar
Monday, 16 Mar

MAJOR HOLIDAYS
2 breaks

Winter Holiday (Dec 20-Jan 11)
Spring Holiday (Mar 28-Apr 12)

MS SWISS EXPERIENCE
2 trips

Fall (Nov 3-6)
Winter (Feb 16-19)