Dear
Salam Academy Middle School Parents and Families,
As
of today, I will be taking over as your child’s science teacher. Some of you
already know me well, but others do not. My name is Maggi Mars Brisbin, and I
taught middle school science at Salam Academy last year. As an undergraduate, I
took a pre-med curriculum and was officially a biology major (GPA 3.93). I
completed 2 semesters each of chemistry, organic chemistry, and university
physics. So, even as a biology major, I am proficient in the other sciences as
well. After studying abroad in Australia and Ecuador, I felt a stronger pull
towards natural science than medicine and attended graduate school at Stony
Brook University. I studied marine science (GPA 3.75), which was an
interdisciplinary program including core classes in biological, chemical,
geological, and physical oceanography. This program relied heavily on a firm
understanding of all aspects of science, not just biology. I have taught
general chemistry, microbiology, and marine biology at the university level and
I have taught marine biology and conservation policy to high school students
receiving college credit. I have also taught outdoor environmental education
for middle school students, grades 5-8. These experiences have shaped my teaching
philosophy and I strongly believe in hands on activities to make science, and
learning in general, fun.
It
is difficult to have a new teacher in the middle of the school year, but I am
going to work my very hardest to make this transition and the rest of your
child’s school year successful. In order to make this possible, I would like to
build an open relationship with parents and families so that information can
flow freely between us. I am going to be closely following the student handbook
in my classroom management and discipline policies. Based on my experience last
year, the most common discipline issues are classroom disruptions. Students
will receive a verbal warning, followed by a written warning. If another
warning is needed after the written warning, a lunch detention will be
assigned. All written warnings will be posted on GPA and lunch detentions will
be accompanied by an email. Because I believe so deeply in hands-on, active
education, there will be an experiment or activity in class at least once a
week. Because experiments can include boiling water, using glassware, or even
using scapulas for dissections, attention and awareness is imperative. On
experiment days, students will receive one verbal warning and then will be
asked to leave the class and miss the activity, which will have an effect on
his/her grade.
Homework
will be assigned nightly and will include readings from the workbooks, online
quizzes on the textbook’s web page, watching and summarizing short science
videos, working on science vocabulary, doing online lab experiments, finishing
class work, and writing lab reports, among other things. The week’s homework
and due dates will be posted on the class blog page so that parents will always
be aware of what is expected of their students. Links to sites that are needed
to complete homework and weekly lesson plans will also be available on the
class blog. In addition, I will be updating grades on GPA at least once a week,
so please stay current on whether or not your student is doing his/her
homework.
To find your class blog, visit
brisbinscience.blogspot.com. In the top left corner there are four buttons
(home, 6th grade, 7th grade, and 8th grade),
click on your students class. Please sign up to receive email alerts from the
class blog by entering your email on the right side of the page.
My
email address is maggi.mars@gmail.com and my mobile is 631 871 9089. Please
feel free to contact me with questions and concerns. I am looking forward to a
successful science program at Salam Academy and more than anything need the
support of parents and families to make this possible.
Sincerely,
Maggi
Mars Brisbin, M.S.
P.S.
please return the attached index card with your current contact information
including an active email address and phone number.
