Irene Paine

Thank you for being such a wonderful chemistry teacher this year! To be honest, before I took this course, I despised all forms of science, and chemistry was at the top of my list. I never understood why learning it was so important, and I struggled to grasp many concepts presented in the book. I used to follow through the Khan Academy course -- some of the videos were helpful, but a lot of the time I felt like he just breezed over important topics. My parents told me to just have a go at your BTO one, since the other Blue Tent courses I’ve taken were really good. And now I love chemistry! You have a very clear and concise way of teaching, and you helped me get my head around those chemistry equations that nearly suffocated me one year ago. I will definitely be moving on to AP chemistry for years 11 and 12 (though at school, because the BTO ones have different exam sittings than we do here). Again, thanks so much for helping me appreciate chemistry, and for being a brilliant teacher! 

Hi, Mrs. Paine! I wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed our jeopardy game today! It's always fun to review the material in this extremely competitive game😄. I can honestly say that I was sad to leave class today knowing that it was our last one of the year. I have thoroughly enjoyed our Tuesday morning meetings and I look forward them every week. I will certainly miss them next year! (I would take your human physiology class if I weren't so grossed out by the dissections). Thank you so much for all of the assistance and guidance you’ve given me this year. I have absolutely loved being in your class the past two years, and I am truly grateful for the chance to be your student. I can’t thank you enough for always going the extra mile and putting that extra effort in to provide the best experience for us.

Thank you so much for teaching me this year. You are always so kind and helpful. You’re my favorite teacher and my mom knows it . . . I’m hoping to take human anatomy next year instead of physics 

It has been a real pleasure and honor to participate in your class. I have learned an immense amount of knowledge while studying biology and have developed a love for the subject. Thank you for all the hard work and effort you put into teaching me this year. Being a part of your class was really a beneficial experience for me. I know that Blue Tent Bio is something that I will remember and maybe build off of for years to come. Who knows, maybe our paths will cross again in the future

I just finished all of my assignments and I wanted to thank you for a wonderful school year. Frankly, I was not looking forward to biology (really any sciences except computer science) coming into the year but this is one of my favorite classes now. I had a lot of fun and learned so much. Thank you again and I hope you have a wonderful summer despite this virus

 I wanted to sincerely thank you for being such an amazing teacher and running this class so well. I enjoyed it immensely and have obtained valuable knowledge. Thank you!!!!!

Thank you Mrs. Paine for being an awesome teacher! You do a great job in lectures, and you always have interesting snippets to put on the Monday Morning Message. Thanks for answering my questions quickly and patiently.

This class was by far the easiest platform to manage, and the most clear in terms of instruction and expectations. If we were homeschooling again, we’d continue with Chemistry/Blue Tent. Thank you for running a great class!

Thanks so much for teaching Anatomy and Physiology! I had a really great time as your student and hope to be in one of your classes next year. 

I know I haven’t quite finished the class yet (I’ll be taking the final exam later this week), but I wanted to thank you for such a wonderful year. I have *loved* taking your science classes for the past three (!) years now. I have learned so much and I am so thankful to have had you as my teacher over these years. I hope you have a wonderful summer and I hope you know how much I appreciate you as a teacher!

I wasn’t sure that an online biology class would be the best fit for my son given experiences we’ve had with other online classes. I’m very happy I got past that hesitation though, because it’s been an engaging, rigorous course. Mrs. Irene is extremely organized and provides excellent feedback on assignments. She maintains high expectations for her students, but she does it in a way that's fair. Not only has she taught my son biology, she's helped him learn to manage his time and to pay attention to detail. It's been a great choice for our family

Blue Tent’s Honors Biology class by Mrs. Paine has been an amazing class to participate in. The format of the class has been very easy to follow, yet I am constantly challenged each week from the curriculum. The curriculum balances the difficulty of each assignment to create a tough yet achievable goal at the end of the week and is able to supply and help maintain all the knowledge you need to know for an honors biology class.

With this set-up, I always feel prepared for the weekly tests. The weekly discussion forum is a lot of fun to take part in, as a lot of ethical, curious, and investigative discussions arise. It’s very easy to communicate with fellow classmates as well as Mrs. Paine in this course. Mrs. Paine sets up a very organized class with lots of chances to make up work with extra credit, and to top it all off, is very helpful and warm to any questions you may have.

Though this is certainly a very rigorous course, it has been a great fit for me and I’m sure for many others as well.

My daughter is currently taking Mrs. Paine’s Honors Biology class. I was hesitant about an online science course but I’m very glad we did it. Mrs. Paine gives clear, step by step, instructions, and my daughter has had a successful online classroom experience.

Mrs Paine has high, clearly-stated, standards that she helps the students achieve. Near the beginning of the course she requested a phone conference with us regarding my daughter’s scores. She had identified specific areas where my daughter could improve her grade, and she encouraged her to do so. 

She models kindness and respect towards my daughter and our family while insisting on integrity and respect in return. For example, last semester Mrs. Paine extended a deadline for my daughter when she had the flu, then she followed up with an email asking about her health. She has also made accommodations for family events.

Mrs. Paine has earned our respect with her professionalism, her well organized class, her high standards, and her commitment to bringing out the best in her students. I highly recommend her class.

Our 8th grade science-loving son is currently completing Mrs. Irene’s biology honor’s class. Both class and teacher were a perfect fit for him. Mrs. Irene’s rigorous curriculum has not only increased his knowledge in biology by leaps and bounds but her high, yet fair, expectations have also made of him a much more detail-oriented student. We couldn’t have been happier with the quality of Mrs. Irene’s class as well as with the encouragement and support she has provided to our son over the past year. He is planning and looking forward to taking Mrs. Irene’s other classes in the coming years.

I have been in Mrs. Irene's Honor’s Biology class for the past year and I really enjoy her guidance. In this past year, I have learned how to write well-written lab reports using MLA formatting, how to properly cite works for papers, and how to lead a discussion. While this course has been demanding, I love that Mrs. Irene is always willing to help with any problems I encounter throughout the course. She gives us outside resources such as videos on YouTube and TED Talks instead of just following the material in the textbook. I feel like she wants to help us learn more and have good grades. This course has made me ten times more interested in biology and I would definitely recommend her as an amazing teacher.

It was a wonderful experience for my son to be in the Honors Biology class. Irene Paine is a great science teacher who is patient, organized, detailed, and responsive! My son has learned so much. His time management has improved tremendously throughout this course due to the training of turning in the assignments on time each week. He has fallen in love with biology now and wishes to have one more year of biology class under Irene’s instruction.

Honors Biology with Mrs. Irene was awesome! I learned how to write a lab report, how to manage the weekly assignments, and how to dissect specimens. And, of course, I learned all about biology. Mrs. Irene was always prompt with replies to questions, and her answers were helpful. I loved this course so much that I’m planning to take Anatomy and Physiology with Mrs. Irene next year.

I am an 8th grader about to complete Mrs. Irene’s biology class. I honestly believe that there is no other biology class out there that is as rigorous as Mrs. Irene’s. For anyone interested in this class, you will need to carefully plan your work out because you won’t make it if you leave it sit on your desk until the last minute. However, for anyone seriously interested in building a strong foundation in this subject, this is without a doubt the class to take. Mrs. Irene’s high expectations and encouragement along the way will only make you better prepared for more advanced biology classes. I am planning to take Mrs. Irene’s other classes, and am looking forward already.

Mrs. Irene’s Honors Chemistry class is very well-organized. She is a knowledgeable teacher, and her dedication to her students is remarkable. Mrs. Irene is always available to help and responds quickly. 

This course covers a lot of material with labs. Both lab types are detailed and exciting. I have always been interested in science. This course increases my interest, and it shows me how chemistry can be related to other areas, such as physics. The discussion board is a great resource to communicate with my classmates. The different teaching methods help me understands the chapters in the textbook. I think this course prepares me well for SAT Chemistry. I would definitely recommend this class.

After taking the Honors Biology and the Anatomy & Physiology classes, I have learned so much about both subjects. The dissections have helped me understand the different parts of the digestive system, the brain, the eye, etc. because the hands-on learning helped me understand the concepts much better. When we did the cow eye dissection I was definitely not looking forward to it because the thought of cutting open an eye freaked me out, but I actually really enjoyed it and its probably my favorite dissection I've done because I feel like I know how the eye works now. Mrs. Paine has always been ready and happy to answer questions and give me resources to understand concepts we are working on. I feel much more prepared for future science. classes because I am confident that I have been taught a solid foundation in these subjects because of Mrs. Paine's classes.

I am so grateful and appreciative of Mrs. Irene's teaching and sharing her skills. Her attention to detail and preparing these students is amazing! Finding a high level science class online that my Senior Son has LOVED is a great way to finish his high school years! The knowledge he acquired in Anatomy & Physiology will support his Biochem major in college!

I've been a student in Mrs. Irene's classes for a year and a half now, and I've loved every week of it! Studying anatomy with her has been incredibly interesting--learning how the body's systems connect through labs, coloring, and some very interesting dissections (who knew a cow's eye could be so cool? Mrs. Irene, of course!). We're encouraged to discuss fascinating topics with classmates and go beyond the information she provides to dive deeper into topics that interest us. I wake up every Monday excited about what we'll explore next!