DEAR SUMMER

Dear Summer,

It was a great summer! Mixed into my ongoing work with the Paideia basketball program, I got married.  Most of July was spent traveling to great places to celebrate our marriage.

The first stop was one of my favorite places to visit, the North Georgia Mountains in Blue Ridge, GA.  My wife and I spent time tubing, shopping, eating, and relaxing with our family members.

We then made our way to to Jamaica, where we stayed two weeks at Sandals Montego Bay and The Rockhouse in Negril! We finally returned to Atlanta after having tons of fun in Jamaica just in time to start preparing for teaching Discrete Math and putting together this blog! :-)
Twitter details about the summer, etc.

Now it is time to leave the summer and enjoy the beginning of the school year. Use this blog as a window of opportunity and keys for access to the world around you! Become a global learner!

Holidays and Tentative Quiz/Test Dates

Holidays and Tentative Quiz/Test Dates (subject to change)

PLEASE PUT QUIZ/TEST DATES IN YOUR PLANNER NOW

CQ = Cumulative Quiz

F	26-Aug	CQ1
F	2-Sep	CQ2
M	5-Sep	Labor Day
Th	8-Sep	Test 1 Chapter 1
F	16-Sep	CQ 3
Th	22-Sep	CQ 4
F	23-Sep	Activity Day
T	27-Sep	Test 2 Chapter 2
Th	29-Sep	No School, Rosh Hashana
T	11-Oct	CQ 5
W	12-Oct	PSAT
Th	13-Oct	Fall Break
F	14-Oct	Fall Break
W	19-Oct	Test 3 Chapter 3
F	28-Oct	CQ 6
F	4-Nov	CQ 7
W	9-Nov	Test 4 Chapter 4
T	22-Nov	CQ 8
W	23-Nov	Feast
Th	24-Nov	Thanksgiving
F	25-Nov	Thanksgiving
F	2-Dec	CQ 9
Th	8-Dec	Test 5 Chapter 5
W	14-Dec	Finals 2/4
Th	15-Dec	Finals 3/6
F	16-Dec	Finals 1/5

This course syllabus provides a general plan, deviations may be necessary.

Supply List

SUPPLY LIST FOR MATH

1. A TI-83 PLUS or TI-84 PLUS graphing calculator. You can get these at office supply stores or stores like Target. You can get them online as well. PLEASE SAVE YOUR UPC CODES!! I will collect them and they can be used to purchase supplies for our classroom.

2. In addition to the ones in your calculator... please keep a spare 4-pack of AAA batteries in your backpack. Inevitably, your calculator batteries will die in the worst moment. BE PREPARED! I do not keep spare batteries and you'll be out of luck :(

3. Two 1.5 inch, 3 ring binders. You will need one for class, and one for your portfolio. The portfolio binder can be kept at home until it is due. If you wish to combine your math binder with another subject, that's okay as long as you separate work clearly with dividers. In that case, you may want to have a 2 inch binder.

4. Plenty of notebook paper.

5. Pencils with erasers. Homework must be done in pencil. I recommend keeping a separate, spare eraser for when the little ones on the pencils run out. There always seems to be more pencil than eraser.

6. A pencil sharpener. The kind that come with the case to catch the shavings are best. I do have a sharpener in the classroom if you need one, but it is noisy and distracting. It's better to have one at your seat.

7. A straight edge. The planner given to you at the beginning of the school year has one of these in it. That will be fine, but please bring it to class and have it available at home for homework.

8. Graph paper. I have provided a link on the homepage if you prefer to print your own paper versus buy it.

9. A pack of dividers. You will need a divider for Notes, Homework, and Quizzes/Tests in your class binder. You will need a minimum of four dividers for your portfolio. So altogether, you'll need a pack with at least 7 dividers.

10. A pack of 3 X 5 notecards. These will be important for studying.

Class Path and Expectations

The Path to Success!!

You can succeed in math and in this course if you:

1. Respect everyone in the class at all times. We all work at different paces and use different methods. Please respect those differences.
2. Always be on time and prepared for class.
3. Have read the lesson and done the homework.
4. Show all your work
5. Check your work carefully so that you know what’s hard for you and mark the items on your homework that you want to discuss in class.
6. Review your class notes every night before going to bed.
7. Always get extra help from the teacher when you feel you are falling behind.
8. Find one or two people to be your study partners and form a study group.
9. Make the class work for you by making sure you get your questions answered, and listening to what other students have to say. Your classmates have great ideas, sometimes better than my ideas, so, be attentive. They may also ask questions you want to ask. Listen to your classmates.
   
10. Participate regularly in class.

GRADING SETUP

Test	25%
Cumulative Quizzes	20% (total of	9, drop lowest)
Daily Quizes	10%	(drop lowest 3)
Homework/Special Projects	15%
Final Exam	20%	(can replaces lowest test score)
Study Pack/Notes	10%

All homework will be submitted through Google docs for grading. You should include your name, lesson number, and the assigned problems.

Here is an example of how you should title your work (top left corner of document):
Michael: How to Title My Homework, 1.1 Pg. 1 1 - 20 all 
 

Homework will be graded as follows out of 5 points:

1 did something

2 did half

3 did most

4 did all

4.5 did all and checked

5 did all, checked, and formatted correctly


Notes

For notes, you should include your name, the pages, and the lesson title.  Notes must also be submitted to Googledocs.

Here is an example of how you should title your work (top left corner of document):


Isabella: How to Title My Notes, 22.1

Notes will be graded as follows out of 5 points:

1 did something

2.5 half information is covered

4 most of material covered

4.5 All material Covered

5 Neat, Images included, organized

Attendance
You must come to class if you are at school. If you are not here when I take attendance you will be marked absent. If you arrive late I will change the mark to tardy. If you have a note your tardiness will be excused. (Note: excessive absences can prohibit you from passing the class) For every unexcused absence you will lose a whole point from your final average. For every three unexcused tardies you will lose a whole percentage point to your final average.


If you miss class you are still responsible for the homework. The best way to prepare for a trip is to get your assignment in advance.


BEHAVIOR
Disruptive or offensive behavior will not be tolerated. Offensive language is not used in my room.


NO CHEATING! Do not roam your eyes around the room. Please keep your eyes on your own paper to avoid even the appearance of looking at the answers of classmates it may be mistaken as cheating.


CELL PHONES
Cell phones must be turned off and put away at all times during class. A violation of this policy will result in the removal of the phone and it will be given to Paul Hayward.


EXTRA HELP
We all need a little extra help every now and then. While every effort will be made to answers questions during class, there may be times when you need further clarification. I will be regularly available to help students with math during:


Wednesday @ Lunch


Please contact me as soon as you become uncomfortable and we will find a time even outside of these times to get you help. I’m more than willing to work with you, but I also expect you to make the effort and show me you are invested in learning. If you are having trouble with any part of my class, let me know and I will help you. I am a big helper, that’s my job.

Class Goals

According to Professor Lee of Washington University, "Mathematics is the single field of human endeavor in which we are the most certain of the correctness of our knowledge.  We use algebra everyday.

The main goal of this class is to help you acquire a deep understanding of and appreciation for  algebra. You will learn to think about it in a more confident and focused manner.

A secondary goal of this class is to help you become adept at mathematical communication. Opportunities to improve your communication skills on several levels will arise throughout the class (see below for details): speaking precisely about mathematical ideas in class; writing informally about mathematical ideas; and writing careful mathematical conclusions on homework assignments.