Profile

  • Darcy Hover Darcy Hover
    dhover@mcpsmt.org
    728-2400 X6670

    I was raised in a small rural town of 350 people in the heart of the farming belt of the Midwest.  There were 15 people in my family.  My upbringing heavily influenced my perspective on life and my lifestyle.  From an early age, my siblings and I were taught to live off the land, and all our meat, fruit, and vegetables came from our garden or harvested from the surrounding area.  Growing up in the outdoors helped develop my appreciation and respect for the natural world around us.  From an early age, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the sciences and started my college education at River Falls, WI, majoring in Natural Resources and Conservation and minoring in Animal Science.  Wanting to see the majestic west, I enrolled in the student exchange program and transferred to the University of Montana, majoring in Wildlife Biology.  I graduated with a BS in Wildlife Biology in 1987 and proceeded to obtain my teaching certification in Secondary Science with endorsements in Biology and Broadfield Science.  I started my teaching career at Hardin, Montana in 1990 and obtained a position at Hellgate High in 1994.  I obtained my Master's in Curriculum and Instruction in 1999.  My passions in life are taking the time on a daily basis to enjoy the natural world around us and getting my students to appreciate the natural world as well.  
     

Schedule

  • Daily Schedule for 2024-2025

    Period 1 - Biology

    Period 2 - Wildlife Biology

    Period 3 - Biology

    Period 4 - Duty

    Period 5 - Wildlife Biology

    Period 6 -  Duty

    Period 7 - Biology

    Assignments and information will be provided to students via Google Classroom

    Wildlife Biology Syllabus

    Biology Classroom Policy
  • Darcy Hover - Hellgate Science

    Welcome to the 2024-2025 school year.   I teach Biology periods 1,3, 7 and Wildlife Biology periods 2 and 5.     You can reach me at dhover@mcpsmt.org or my room phone at 728-2400, Ext 6670.  The best time to reach me is from 7:45 - 8:30 AM.  Please do not call while I am teaching as I cannot talk with you.   I always return phone calls and emails and while I would like to make initial contact with parents, it is not feasible to do so when I have 100+ students.  I welcome parent involvement, and you are welcome to visit my classroom any time as long as you give me advance notice.  I also encourage parents to accompany us on field trips.

    Students will be most successful if they come to class daily, prepared and ready to learn and leave the cell phone off.  Supplies needed are a notebook or paper, a folder or binder for keeping assignments in order and a writing utensil.  All students have access to Google Classroom as a tool, where I upload assignments when possible.  This is a lab-based class with in-class instruction and attendance is critical. Google Classroom is not used as remote learning,  but help students who are absente.   Missing class may affect your grade.  

    Class specific information:                                                                                             

    Biology:  Students will be most successful when they review terminology and concepts, look for connections and emphasize evidence-based answers.  There are many new scientific words that need to be learned to understand the concepts.  I post my weekly schedule on Google classroom and on the white board every Monday and verbally review it daily.  Please encourage your son/daughter to write it down or take a picture of it and share it with you or read it weekly on this page.  The board schedule will be more specific.  Tests are generally every 3-4 weeks and students know when they are scheduled.  There is limited extra credit available throughout the semester.  Please ask your son/daughter what they can do to earn extra credit.  No extra credit accepted for the last 3 weeks of the semester

    Wildlife Biology:  This is an upper level science class designed to give students a scientific understanding of the field of wildlife management and conservation and be able to apply this knowledge to local and regional issues concerning this field.   Current events and collaborative learning are major components of this class.   I emphasize the importance of using scientific principles in wildlife management and technical writing.