Prospective Scholar InformationStudent Participation in Joe Berg Seminars
1. You must maintain satisfactory scholastic standing, which means you must have a 3.0 grade point average on academic subjects. Scholarship may be reviewed at the end of each grading period. 2. We expect you to be punctual and courteous at the meetings. You must check in no later than 6:55 pm. The guest speakers are donating their time to prepare a presentation and MOSH donates the facility, so show respect to the speakers and to MOSH by being prompt to ensure an efficient and effective seminar. Turn off electronic devices and place them under your chair, along with any homework you have with you. Leave food and drink outside the seminar room. Listen attentively to the lecture and take an active part in the discussion period. Any talking should be on topic. Always dress respectfully. If you are required to dress up, such as for a visit to the symphony or theater, you will be forewarned. Expressing appreciation to the speaker is always appropriate. The director has the discretion to permanently dismiss you from the privilege of Joe Berg if you fail to show respect to our valued speakers. 3. The seminars will normally be held biweekly in the Wachovia Community Conference Room at MOSH. Field trip locations will be pre-announced but room changes at MOSH can occur the night of a seminar. You may be dropped off and picked up in the MOSH parking lot on the east side of the Museum (see MOSH Parking map). If you drive yourself you must park in the same lot on the east side of the building. Whether you are dropped off or drive yourself, enter the Museum through the back door adjacent to that parking lot. 4. Since Joe Berg is a series of seminars, you must attend a minimum number of seminars to successfully graduate from the program. You may miss two (2) of the six (6) seminars in the spring of your Sophomore year, you may miss three (3) of the twelve seminars in your Junior year, and you may miss two (2) of the six (6) seminars in the fall of your Senior year. These absences are for emergencies and are all that are allowed. This means that if you do not attend at least four (4) seminars as a Sophomore, nine (9) as a Junior, and four (4) as a Senior, you will not graduate. There is no differentiation between excused and unexcused absences. The seminars offer valuable experiences wasted by empty seats. Participation in Joe Berg requires you to prioritize activities and to manage time carefully. In setting up the seminar calendar, we work around the holidays and exam schedules of the Duval County Public Schools. It is nearly impossible to avoid all of the holidays and exams of the private schools as well. Careful advance planning is needed by students and parents of all seminar members to make sure that the minimum attendance requirement will be met. Bonus Seminars can replace an absence at a regular seminar. However, there will be no individual make-ups. The Joe Berg program operates on a very limited budget and the staff cannot handle individual student attendance problems, so please do not request to make up a missed seminar. You will have the annual Joe Berg calendar for advance planning. Additionally, you will be emailed an announcement telling the time, place, and usually the speaker for each seminar. This is necessary because both groups occasionally take field trips. If the seminar is a field trip, there will be no one at the Museum of Science and History to tell you where to go. If you do not come to the announced seminar location, you will be counted absent. You must be responsible- if you don’t check emails or aren’t receiving them, it’s your fault if you don’t arrive at correct venue. Please notify us of any changes to your contact information (email or mailing address, phone numbers, school, etc.) by completing our online Student Contact Info Update Form at http://tinyurl.com/JoeBergUpdates. If for some reason you are not receiving our weekly email updates, please check your email client’s spam filter in your settings and advise us in person, providing us with your correct email address. You are welcome to visit the other group’s seminars any time visitors are not specifically prohibited, which happens rarely. Parents are welcome to attend seminars with you (if space permits) unless visitors have been specifically prohibited. MOSH requests that parents who are not attending the seminar but remain in the museum stay in the lobby and do not go into other parts of the museum, because lights are turned off, alarms are active, and workmen often have dismantled areas- especially upstairs. It is extremely unsafe. 5. MANDATORY JUNIOR VOLUNTEERING You must assist at a Museum of Science and History event at least once before the end of April during your junior year. The Museum of Science and History does not charge the Joe Berg program for the use of their central location. The Joe Berg students themselves pay back the Museum and the community through their assistance at MOSH events. The shifts are usually 3 to 4 hours long and on weekends. Choices of dates will be made available. It’s better to not procrastinate with this requirement. 6. Joe Berg seniors will receive a description of the Joe Berg Seminars and their participation in it to include with their college applications. 7. The organization and protocol for seminars is for students to check in between 6:45 and 6:55 pm. The seminar will follow with time for discussion or questions and answers. Adjournment is at approximately 8:30 pm Incoming SophomoresPrior to completing the Sophomore Acceptance Form, please make sure that both you and your parents have read the Guidelines for Participation information above and accept the terms and conditions for participation. By checking Yes, you are affirming that you have both read and accept these Guidelines.
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