About me
Tara Holaday-High School Biology and Forensic Science Educator
HS building room # 306
Working hours: 7:40am-3:30pm
Office hours: 11:45-1:00pm.
Welcome to the science geek page!
I teach two exciting courses, Biology and Forensic Science. Biology is mostly offered to the Junior students. The Juniors start off being introduced to the levels of organizations in Biology. We learn the units of Chemistry of life and Macromolecules before we get into cells, gene expressions, and the body systems. Then we end the semester with learning about the human evolution and the ecosystem on Earth. I focus on spiraling the information from macromolecules to macromolecules, painting the big conceptual picture to the students. We each pick a disease topic and write a 5 page report as well as giving the presentation.
We participate in lab dissections on different types of specimens that I usually pick by my choice, including dogfish sharks, rabbits, fetal pigs, and cats. While identifying the organs and functions, the students are exposed to some of the dogfish females' umbilical cords that happened to be impregnated at that time. It is a rich experience for the students to see and learn on the spot. Now have I piqued your curiosity to find out what we will dissect this year? Join me and you will find out!
The unique Forensic Science course is collaborated with RIT/NTID for the dual credit program, which is offered to the college-bound seniors to receive high school and college forensic science credits at the same time. In Forensic Science, we learn the general concepts on the Ethical Standards, Criminal Justice, Fingerprinting, Blood Typing, Hair, Odontology, Anthropology, DNA, Footprint Impressions, and many more!
In addition to learning the concepts, we participate in mock crimes to solve mysterious cases and attend intensive field trips. Some of the field trips include Austin Crime Lab, Body Farm, Correctional Complex, Courthouse, & etc etc. The most exciting field trip we attended last year was witnessing some of the live testimonies at the trial. For any parents and guardians that are interested to volunteer on the field trips, please contact me at my email address above. I am excited to have anyone on board!
At the end of the year, the students participate in the CTE showcase for the audience as well as participating in a rigorous mock court that have been assigned to serve as specific roles such as Judge, Bailiff, Juror, Prosector, Plaintiff, Defendant, etc in a case.
While I serve my fun role as a teacher, I also do coordinations and coaching. Currently, I am also a coordinator and a coach of TSD STEM Tech Girls club and Aerial Drone/underwater ROV club. My goal as an educator this year is to help students realize their potential and engage them into the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) field. Being involved in the STEM field will allow the students to gain perspectives of the science process, use logical reasonings and evidence, and to solve real world problems.
Education at Rochester Institute of Technology
MS in Secondary Deaf Education
BS in Biomedical Sciences
Work Experience
TSD
Sequoia School for the Secondary Ed.
Certifications
Deaf and HOH K-12
Bilingual Education
Spec. Ed.
Let's have a great year together. Please stop by our classroom anytime! We would love to have you check out our school work. Please do email me with questions that you may have!
"The Science of today is the technology of tomorrow." - Edward Teller
