Science / Math - Mr. Forbes - August, 2026
Welcome Back to School! This year we’ll be teaching four science classes and one math class in room B1. We have large class sizes in seventh grade, and I wanted to introduce myself and let you know what will be needed in our class for success. I like to keep supplies and routines as straightforward as possible so students are not overwhelmed by details and can instead focus on the curriculum and on being prepared for high school.
I’ve taught math and science for two decades and have been here, at the Pacifica School District, for about half that time. Before teaching, I worked for Chevron Corporation in various capacities (mainly as a computer programmer), and my experiences with an international petroleum company informs much of my teaching in chemistry, Earth science, and the engineering design process.
Seventh-grade science standards focus on biology and evolution. The standards cover quite a bit of ground, and the focus here will be;
Earth Science and the interaction between Chemical Cycles and Biology.
The human impact on the environment and the ongoing challenge of living sustainably.
A background of how life developed on Earth and the mechanisms of evolution.
The importance of biodiversity and being environmental stewards.
The Engineering Design Process (EDP) and Scientific Method.
Math curriculum both complements and enhances the Science curriculum with particular focus on solving one and two-step equations, the Cartesian Coordinate System, solving word problems, probability and statistics, arithmetic properties, solving inequalities, proportions, percents, and the geometry of circles, triangles, and three-dimensional solids.
Material for all classes;
A. Spiral-bound notebook. These will be used daily. Students may use a binder with lined paper, but an eight-inch by ten-and-a-half-inch (8” x 10.5”) spiral notebook works well for both taking the notes and having a resource to use on our exams and assignments.
B. Pencil and Pen.
C. Colored pencils. (A small pack is fine.)
D. Small hand-held pencil sharpener. (These are for the colored pencils as pencils with color tend to be tough on our mechanical sharpeners in class.)
F. Glue sticks. (For our handouts, diagrams, and notes.)
In math, there will be a text-book to take home and a class-set as well, so there’s no need to carry a book in the backpack. Science relies on the spiral notebook being in class and ready-to-go each day.
The whole class can check their Google Classroom and my website (www.pacificascience.org) for the interactive class notes and assignments.
I’m looking forward to another year of learning and discovery! We’ll be jumping in on the first day with assignments as we make every one of our 180 days together count.
Happy first week of the ’26 / ’27 school year!
Mr. Forbes- Room B1 - Science and Math
