Dear Future Biology Students,

Dear future biology students,

My name is Jolyn Tran, a student of the Class of 2020. I started the year as a scared, timid fourteen year old who had no idea how different high school would be. I took english with Wissolik, geometry enriched with Hamilton, Spanish 2 with Yeilding, leadership as a class representative, world geography with Ellis, orchestra with Boitz, and of course, biology with Mr. Orre. I didn't know how to high school. All I knew how to do is finish homework and study for test. I was never really engaged in any of the school subjects, which is something you really want to figure out, and forgot all of the material I learned after the day of the test. I was only invested in school activities, like marching band and clubs. I thought that I would fly through this class with ease, but I didn't until the end of the school year. 

Mr. Orre expects you to be respectful when he or someone else is speaking... so shut your yap and listen. He never really got mad at period 2 (my period) so I don't know how to describe when he's mad. Be on task! That's important. Only the few times hes got mad was when a student was working on the assigned project that was suppose to be done in class. On a typical day, you would come to class and take out your notebook. You'd start your "Do Now" paragraph and later would share a recap of the homework, or vodcast, you watched the night before (this didn't happen until the middle of the first semester, after we settled down). It's usually a 15 minute vodcast that you take notes on in your notebooks, which should be at least 150 pages. For me, it takes from 30 minutes to an hour to take hand written notes. For labs, he'd give you a packet or sheet of paper that has the background information, the problem, and an outline of the scientific method. At the end of a lab, you will need to type of a conclusion or a "Relate and Review" on your soon to be made blog, like this one. My favorite lab would have to be the Candy Electroscopes Lab. I won't go into much depth so you can have a better experience :) Tests are pretty straightforward. It's always a scantron with fifty questions. You really need to understand the concepts that the unit explained because some of the tests have questions that you need to evaluate and not memorize. I thought I became more tech savvy over the course of the school year and managed my time a lot better. Like if you aren't interested in the vodcast, it takes foreverrrrrr. The class is basically a very technology based classes, unlike the other biology classes. 

Like I stated before, Mr. Orre hates it when you are disrespectful to him or others and aren't doing what you are suppose to be doing, but there are definitely more pet peeves. For labs, you need to end the class with a spotless lab area. You can't leave with a messy, gross table. He is your biology teacher, not your mom. The assignments that are done are based on completion, even though quality work is important as well. I would say that home is essential for a good grade, especially if your test grades aren't the best (like me :P). For test, I would say just to take a deep breath and clear your mind of doubts, I usually had test anxiety and would panic. As for three things I regretted doing this year... 1) last minute studying does not work! Or at least for the long term. I should have understood what I was learning rather than watching a crash course the night before the test, 2) have a solid study plan! Studying without a plan is like practicing the piano with the wrong keys, it's pretty bad. and finally 3) don't stress about it too much, it's only freshman year. Sleep is wayyyyy more important than that one evolution test that you won't even remember next year. 

Overall, I really enjoyed the class. In the beginning of the year, I wasn't very happy about a "flipped classroom" but at the end, wasn't as bad as I thought. If this was a yelp review, I would give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars or 4 out of 5 stars. I'm taking chemistry honors next year, or for you, this year. Hopefully, Mr. Orre taught me more than biology to take with me to my next science classes ^-^. Ok so here is a recap: be invested in what you are learning, don't piss off Mr. Orre, don't sleep at 3 AM to study for a test, and just smile. You are finally a high schooler. This is going to be the easiest year of the four years in this hell hole. Enjoy it while you can :) That's a wrap on biology for me. Good luck and thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

Jolyn Tran