Mrs. Blue

Textbooks

CMP books should be kept in the left pocket of your binder and brought to class every day.  You will also receive a Math On Call reference book that should be kept at home for use with homework assignments and review for tests.  Be sure to share this with your parents!

Binder

All of your math work should be kept in your math notebook and brought to class each day.  Please file papers in the appropriate section immediately as time goes by very quickly in class and you will need to be able to locate materials quickly and easily.  We will have occasional notebook checks for points so stay organized!  At the end of each unit we will clean out some of the sections of the notebook and others will remain until the end of the year.

Calculators

Your calculator is an important tool in this class.  However, it is not meant to replace your brain!  You need to bring your calculator to class every day.  Make sure you label your calculator with your name, as most calculators look alike.  White out pens work well.

Homework

Homework is the key to success in math class.  Like all things, practice is necessary when you are learning something new.  Homework is due the day after it is assigned.  Each assignment is worth 4 points.  Homework is an effort grade so if you put forth good effort you will receive 4 points.  Good effort means the assignment is complete with work shown, on time, legible and easy to read and understand, your explanations are clear, computations shown and graphs/tables are clearly labeled.  If you do not have a completed assignment in class when it is due you will receive 0 points.

Quizzes & Tests

You will have quizzes and tests in each unit.  Quizzes are periodic checkpoints to gage your understanding of the unit up to that point and will be given after every two investigations (approximately).  On tests you will be able to demonstrate your understanding of the entire unit.

Grades

Math grades are calculated based upon the points you earn from homework assignments, quizzes, and tests.  Homework assignments are worth 20% of your grade, quizzes 30% and tests 50%.  Your grades will always be updated and published on progress book so be sure to check on your progress periodically. 

Absences

In the event that you are absent, you will have the same number of days that you were absent to make up the assignment.  It is your responsibility to get the work to me.  Please label the work “late due to absence”.  If at all possible, it would be to your advantage to try to keep up with assignments when you are absent so that you do not have so much to do when you return.  Obviously, if you are very sick I do not expect you to be working on homework.  When you return to school, be sure to check the absence bin for any additional handouts that were given when you were absent.

Birthdays

Happy Birthday = No homework

Everyone should be able to enjoy their birthday with their family so my present to you is that you do not have to do homework on the night of your birthday.  If your birthday falls on a weekend or during the summer, you may pick one day during the year to celebrate by not doing a homework assignment.  Make sure you label a piece of paper with “No homework – Happy Birthday to Me!” along with your name and the assignment name on the day you choose not to do homework.

Help

Everyone needs help from time to time.  The key to getting help is to ask! Please do not wait until the night before a quiz or test to ask for help, ask as soon as the problem arises.  There are many options for getting assistance from teacher or peer help during team support to high school students and adult tutors in the community that are available on a consistent basis.  Remember there is no dumb question!