1. Algebra II Mr. Kopkas Welcome to Solon High School. I appreciate and welcome your participation and involvement in your child’s education.

2. Experience: ( 14 years) Solon High School 2002-Present

3.  Also teach AP Statistics  Head Baseball Coach and Head Girls Golf Coach  Father of 2 boys (Kason, 5 and Kamden, 2)

4.  1. To spend every class minute engaged and interacting.  2. To create a desire in my students to be lifelong learners.  3. To help foster more productive members of society.  4. To focus on the positive

5. 5 Study Teams During this course your child will collaborate with other students as a member of a study team. Together, each team will complete problems and activities that will help them discover new mathematical ideas and methods. This is a very student-centered class. I will support your children as they work, but will not take away their opportunity to think and investigate for themselves. In order to be successful in this class your child will need to be a willing and active participant as they develop their mathematical understanding.

6.  Students learn best engaged in inquiry that leads to deep conceptual understanding of the underlying mathematics, exploiting each others’ insights, and using distributed learning to increase retention and transfer of knowledge.  The CPM Connections series integrates basic skills and procedures with conceptual understanding, encouraging students to understand ideas, see relationships between them, and apply mathematical principles to complex problems.  Students are held responsible for high academic rigor, analysis, and critical thinking, and communicate their mathematical findings in writing or in oral presentations in a clear and convincing manner. 6

7.  We learn to win/achieve with dignity  We learn to overcome disappointment and loss  We rely on our friends and teammates for support.  Collectively striving for the same objective enhances these benefits.

8. Investigations with Families of Functions Sequences and Equivalence Exponential Functions Transformations of Parent Graphs Solving Equations and Systems of Equations Solving Inequalities and Systems of Inequalities Inverses Logarithms Polynomial Functions

9. Note: Current grades are accessible on the parent viewer. Grading Scale A90.0 – 100% B80.0 – 89.99% C70.0 – 79.99% D60.0 – 69.99% F59.99% and below Weighting of Grades% Individual Assessments70% Team Assessments and Small Quizzes 20% Coursework10%

10. Individual Tests (70%) Team Assessments & Small Quizzes (20%) Coursework (10%) Individual TestsTeam TestsClass Presentations Larger Announced Individual Quizzes Homework QuizzesParticipation Quizzes Formative QuizzesTechnology Activities Entrance/Exit SlipsProjects Math Notes QuizzesHomework Checks (very rare) Graded AssignmentsParticipation/Blogs Small Quizzes

11.  Remind your child that daily homework assignments are an essential part of this class providing additional instruction, practice and reinforcement of review and newly acquired concepts as well as a preview for upcoming concepts.  Encourage your child to seek help immediately if they are having difficulty so that the problem can be remedied quickly. Students can get help from me, another student, or the Math Lab.  Instill in your child that attendance is a requirement for success.

12. On my page, you will find daily lessons, homework, upcoming tests and quizzes as well as some of the class resources. To get to my page follow these steps: 1. Go to the Solon Schools web page www.solonschools.org 2. Choose Schools - SHS 3. Choose Staff Directory 4. Scroll down to my name (Damien Kopkas) 5. Choose “Calendar” from the bottom 6. Choose the appropriate class (CPM Algebra II)

13. If at anytime you have a concern or question, please email or call me. I check and respond to email regularly, so that is the preferred method of contact. If you need me to call, please leave a number you can be reached at during school hours. Voicemail: 440-349-7757 EXT 5413 Email: damienkopkas@solonboe.org

14. Please feel free to contact me at any time with concerns or questions. My school website is a great place to find out what your son or daughter is or should be working on! Thank you for being a supportive parent. I am looking forward to a rewarding school year.