WELCOME TO LINEAR ALGEBRA Mr. Schmidt 8 th Grade- Room 303

Mr. Mike Schmidt  3 rd year at Altadena  Recently married in March.  Received Bachelor’s in Urban Planning and Master’s degree in Secondary Education from Arizona State University.  Elementary and secondary certified  Taught high school and elementary school  Went to French Polynesia this summer.  Avid golfer in free time when not at ASU games.

Goals as an educator  Have students become lifelong learners  Have students accomplish their goals and prepare them for high school (Only 4 years until college….)  Have students build self confidence and build respect with peers

Student expectations Be ready and prepared to learn. Treat people and property with respect. Follow classroom procedures. Follow school rules. No bullying.

Communication  -The quickest way to reach me. Webpage- Includes 8B announcements, weekly agenda and math resources (currently being updated) Syllabus- will be handed out the first day of school. The back page will need to be signed and returned by Friday August 7 th.

8 th grade Linear Algebra  All 8 th grade math teachers teach Linear Algebra this year.  Mr. Jolin will be teaching all the Algebra classes  Mr. Hanepen will be teaching all the Honors Geometry class.  All four of my classes are Linear Algebra. 1 st period is on 8A for the rest of the day. My first period Algebra went to Mr. Jolin and his Linear Algebra came to me. All math teachers have a common plan and we will all have common assessments. The first two weeks of school include rules and procedures, “Who I Am” collage and a Math Boot Camp.

Policies and Procedures  Grading Scale  80% Assessments (Tests, Quizzes, Projects)  20% Practice (Homework, classwork, warmups)  A = % B = % C = 70 – 79 % D = 60 – 69 % F = 0 to 59%

More Policies & Procedures…  Required Materials:  1” to 1.5” 3 Ring Binder for Math Only,  Plastic 2 Pocket Folder with 3 metal prongs,  5 Tabbed Dividers (warmups, notes, classwork, textbook, homework notebook)  LOTS of Lined Paper  LOTS of pencils (mechanical ones are appreciated),  Erasers, red pens, scientific calculator, highlighters.  4- 1 subject college ruled notebooks for homework (1 per quarter)

More Policies and Procedures… Homework  Expect homework daily. It will usually take about 30 focused minutes to complete.  If you don’t understand a problem or assignment, check the problem in class during correction time. This is what it takes to avoid no credit if you are really confused.  On your homework, please show all of your work and all of the steps we write down in our notes. No work = No points.  All homework should be completed in pencil; work in pen will not be accepted.  Homework will be self graded in class daily. Late Work Policy  Work needs to be completed on time and will be checked at the start of each class.  Work completed late will be accepted up to two days late.  Absolutely no late work for any reason will be accepted after two days unless absent

Daily Schedule Homework Grading Student goes to stations Uses red pen to correct own HW Original HW must show work and corrections for all problems to receive credit Student shows me during warmup for grade, then returns to desk to complete warmup Student is to check three questions they were lost on. Warmup When HW is not being graded, students should be working on this. Students will self grade from overhead projection. Lesson Notes are taken during this time. Notes should be dated to be able to archive. Notes will be posted daily. Homework Review Problem questions are reviewed. Remaining time will be used for the current night’s HW.

What You Can Do To Help Your Child Be Successful 1.Monitor Progress  Student Agenda  Study and Prepare  Check Grades Online on ParentVUE -Please be sure your correct address is in Parent Vue so you receive our team s.  Progress Reports  Check team website and schedule 2.  Questions or need clarification just ask

Retesting and Extra Help Retesting  Retesting is only used for unit tests, not quizzes.  The two test scores will be averaged for the final grade on the test.  It’s human nature to learn from our mistakes, so prior to retaking a test, the student must complete test corrections and go over the corrections with me. In these corrections, students must re-work EVERY incorrect problem on a separate piece of paper, show all work, and provide a sentence or two explaining why they got the problem wrong in the first place. Generic explanations such as “I did it wrong” do not count. Students may work on their corrections at home and go over them with me during PRIDE hour or by appointment before school.  Students need to schedule a time for a retake within one week of receiving the test back. Extra Help  Tuesday and Friday mornings, 7:45- 8:20 or by appointment.  Learning lab hours to be announced

Linear Algebra Students will be receiving a consumable textbook from Carnegie Math -I will ask students to put one chapter in at a time to save on the weight of the backpack. Here’s what will be learning this year…. Algebraic Thinking Pythagorean Theorem and Transformational Geometry Linear Systems & Properties of Exponents Volume Data Analysis

8 th Grade AZ Merit Math  Volume- 7%  Data Analysis- 15% Practice test can be located: Algebraic Thinking- 25% Pythagorean Theorem and Transformations- 33% Linear Systems and Properties of Exponents- 20%

Math Counts -Meets once a week -Prepares for regional, state competitions at ASU and U of A. -Meets once a week after school

Let Me Run 7 week mentorship program for boys. Helps develop character, life skills and team building Should have full information at the 3 rd week of school. Also looking to run Heart and Sole, a program for girls in the spring. Program is after school and ends with a celebration 5k.

Thanks for coming!

4 th period at Altadeña Middle School PRIDE Hour

Professional Learning Communities (PLC) You and your student will be hearing this term several times this year. It is not a new education initiative, it is a school culture. PLC is a powerful way of working collaboratively that profoundly effects the rise in student learning. So how are we going to do this…

As a member of a PLC There are four questions we, as teachers, will be asking this year: 1.What do we want students to learn? 2.How do we know if the students have learned? 3.What do we do if students haven’t learned? 4.How do we respond if they already know it? Question 1 & 2, will be done through teaching and assessment. Question 3 & 4 will be done in our PRIDE hour. We will be looking at student data to determine if your student needs re-teaching or if your student already knows it, an enrichment activity.

Pride Hour – New to Altadeña First 2 weeks will be structured learning, such as – Study skills – Teach-to behaviors – Learning styles – Student handbook review – PRIDE program – Student math and ELA pretesting.

For the rest of the quarter, your student will be in one of the following: – an enrichment class, extension of core learning – an intervention class, such as re-teaching, extended time, filling in gaps – *This time is to ensure that ALL students are learning and mastering the state/district core standards. – *This class will be fluid throughout the year, meaning students will be moving in and out of classes due to their learning needs. – *This class will be a pass/fail grade based on participation and work completion of activities. Pride Hour – New to Altadeña

TRAVELING TO AND FROM SCHOOL FOR EVERYONE”S SAFETY By Automobile: Students are not allowed on campus before 8:00am. Drop off is in the middle parking lot in front of the lower level. Only drop off in the lane surrounding the parking lot, NOT in the parking lot. To go to the office, please use the crosswalk. Do NOT cross between cars. Please follow the lane keeping to the right and only allow students to get out of the car on the right and pull forward as far as possible. NO DROPPING OFF IN THE UPPER PARKING LOT. That lot is designated for busses only. Pick up after school – same guidelines as above. If you wait about 10 minutes after dismissal, there is much less congestion in the lower parking lot and once the busses leave, you can use that lot.

TRAVELING TO AND FROM SCHOOL By Bicycle: Students must abide by the laws as they apply to riding a bike on the streets and sidewalks. When on campus, bikes must be dismounted and walked. No riding bikes on campus or the sidewalks accessing campus. Helmets are highly recommended. The bike storage area is locked, but all bikes need to have a separate bike lock. Having a locked bike area does not prevent thieves from jumping the fence and stealing unlocked bikes. The school is not responsible for lost or stolen personal items, including bikes.

TRAVELING TO AND FROM SCHOOL By Skateboard, Inline Skates or Scooter: The rules for riding skateboards, skates and scooters are similar to riding bicycles. Skateboards and scooters cannot be ridden on campus and inline skates must be removed once the student arrives to campus. Storage is provided in the health office or with permission in teachers’ classrooms. By Walking: Students walking to and from school must cross all streets at crosswalks only. We have had calls in the past about students crossing the street outside of crosswalks and students walking down the boulevards. This kind of behavior could be referred to our SRO Officer.

DRESS CODE Kyrene Policy States: “ The body shall be adequately covered. Clothing shall not expose the chest, abdomen, back or buttocks area, and shall be sufficient to conceal undergarments at all times. Some examples of clothing items that are not allowed are listed below, but these examples do not cover every situation.” The following shirt examples are NOT acceptable

DRESS CODE Shorts need to adequately cover the buttocks and be long enough to participate in any activity and not be a classroom disruption. If any pockets are hanging down beyond the bottom of your shorts, the shorts are too short. Not acceptable: ARE acceptable

TWO ELECTIVE CLASSES EVERYDAY (EXCEPT WEDNESDAY) This year, every student will have two elective classes that meet everyday except Wednesday. Students will see one of their two elective classes every other Wednesday. We call these AM Wednesdays (when students will see their morning or before lunch elective) and PM Wednesdays (when students will see their afternoon or after lunch elective). AMPM

SUPPLIES – WE NEED YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT Due to statewide budget cuts, Altadeña had to cut our supply budget for the school year by over $5000 and our substitute budget by $15,000. We need your support thought Tax Credit donations (to pay for sponsors for clubs, Learning Lab, and other extra curricular activities). PTSO plans to support Altadeña by providing supplies, especially copy paper, to help ease the impact of these financial cuts. Please support our school so we can continue to provide the best possible education to your children!!

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