Syllabus - Houston Independent School District



Geometry Magnet Mrs. Christina TapiaFall 2019Conference Period: By appointment onlyE-mail: christina.tapia@Course Outline: A tentative calendar schedule for lessons, homework assignments, quizzes and exams will be provided to students at the beginning of each grading cycle. Updates may be necessary on occasion during a grading cycle. Students should use the schedule to plan their studies and to practice for assessments. Students are highly encouraged to read the lesson ahead to get the most out of the class. Again, students are expected to start on homework on the same day as the lesson. I recommend students should not have TV, cell phone, YouTube, music, etc. accessible or in use while studying and/or doing homework; they need to focus and devote their undivided attention to the assignments/reviews/homework’s given. Students should time themselves while doing problems to prepare for tests and quizzes, each problem should be completed within two to three minutes. Materials Required:100 page spiral notebook with graph paper. * See Attachment (Students who are absent are responsible for getting missed materials and keeping spiral organized – ask a class mate for help if needed!)BinderPencils, erasersCalculator (TI-30X or TI-Nspire recommended – I will provide calculators for those who do not have one)Hand SanitizerFacial TissueDeBakey High School Planner (participation grade will be penalized if your student does not have it daily)Recommended: Tape and mini staplerUnless specified, all work by the student must be recorded using pencil. Work written in ink or marker is unacceptable and will not be graded.After School Tutorials: Will be announced in class. Tutorials are subject to change. Students who attend tutorials should not expect to have a full lesson retaught, however tutorials are a time to get clarification or additional assistance on specific topics/problems/returned quizzes/taken exams. Students will not be allowed to stay in tutorials if they exhibit off task behavior (i.e. excessive talking, not working, excessive use of their phone, using YouTube or internet surfing, etc.). Student should come prepared with questions about material to get clarification/assistance. Tutorials will be a collaborative environment where students will work together and ask for teacher support when needed. Textbook/Online Resources: Online participation is required in this course! The textbook is Pearson Texas Geometry, students will need to access it through the HUB. The class syllabus and lesson plan calendars will be available on the HUB as well. Students are strongly encouraged to download any necessary material while at school if they do not have internet access at home. The HUB also provides limited accessed through an iOS or android app on a smartphone; look for “itslearning” in the appstore. Homework/Late Homework Policy:See the lesson calendar in spiral or on HUB/Google Drive (given at the start of every cycle) for the assignments. Most of the assignments will be done online through Math XL (accessible through the online textbook HUB-Pearson website). Students are expected to start on the homework on the day the lesson was taught. Homework answers are input through the website; however, the involved work must be written on the assigned homework box paper (using pencil) to be submitted in-class separately. Homework grade will be the grade received on the online homework assignment. All work must be shown on homework box paper and turned in to receive credit. Please note, if Math XL assignments are turned in late, grade will show up in red; if a Math XL assignment shows red, I will consider it late. In order to receive a late grade for the assignment, students must complete the online assignment, turn in the work on the box paper provided in class and sign the late homework log in my classroom. For paper homework assignments, students will need to show work on the homework box paper available in class and on HUB/Google Drive. Homework due dates are given on lesson calendar (available in spiral and HUB/Google Drive), same late work policy applies. Paper homework assignments are given completion grades, if students have trouble or would like help, it is the student’s responsibility to contact Mrs. Tapia in class, tutorials or on Remind for assistance. Grading Procedures:TESTS50%QUIZZES40% HOMEWORK10% TESTS: Two or three per cycle. End of Cycle Test (EOCs) will be comprehensive. QUIZZES: For every 4 quizzes, the lowest quiz grade will be dropped, per cycle. For example, if six quizzes were given, lowest one will be dropped. If nine quizzes were given, lowest two will be dropped.HOMEWORK: Homework is graded on effort and percent of work completed, not necessarily on correct answers. Work must be shown for each problem. No work = No credit. For online homework, the grading will be explained to you in-class.** Any questions/concerns/changes about grades (tests, quizzes, homework, etc.) must be made within 2 school days (not class days) after the assignment has been entered in the gradebook or returned to students. Grades after 2 school days will not be changed, so review all grades daily and look at all assignments when they are retuned. **Making Up Work Due to Absence:Students should use the cycle lesson/assessment plan distributed at the beginning of each grading cycle to plan their course studies. Homework assignments should be worked in advance of the due date and practice for scheduled assessments should be part of the daily routine.If a student is present for a class lesson, the homework assignment for that lesson is due at the next class period. If a student is absent at the next class period after a lesson is given, the homework assignment will be due the day he/she returns to class. If the student is absent from class the day a lesson is given, the student should attend the next available morning or after school tutorial to receive help (from any of the math teachers). The homework assignment for the missed lesson will be due no more than 2 class days after returning from an absence.Students who are absent on the day an assessment is given, must be prepared to makeup the assessment on the day they return to school. It is the student’s responsibility to come and schedule this make up assessment. Students who come to school the following day and fail to schedule a time to make up the assessment before the next class period will be penalized accordingly.Students returning from an absence on the day an assessment is given must be prepared to take the assessment as scheduled unless the assessment includes material that was covered during the absence. If so, the assessment must be made up by the next class period.The teacher may give extensions for students with extended illnesses or emergencies on an individual basis. Extensions will be given in writing and a new due date will be specified. Extensions will not be given for lack of organization or planning on the part of the student.School’s Grading Policy is as follows:If a homework assignment is not turned in on the due date, that assignment may be turned in to the teacher by the beginning of the next class meeting; the grade received will be no higher than a 70%. If the assignment is not turned in on the next meeting day, the grade remains a zero.No retakes are allowed for quizzes and the End of Cycle Test (EOC /CAT). If a student receives a failing grade on Test 1 in a cycle, he/she may request an opportunity to re-take that test. That request must be made in writing to the teacher during the class on the day that the student receives the graded test. Cancellation of the request made must be done 24 hours in advance of the test date with the teacher. If not, the zero is given in the result of not showing up to take the Retake Test.The retake final assignment grade will be an average of the two scores, the original and the retake, unless the average is higher than a 70. If the average is higher than a 70, the grade defaults to a 70. The highest grade a student can receive on the final assignment or test is a 70%.The Retake Test or class assignment must be completed within two school days of receiving the grade.Retake opportunities must be scheduled outside the regular class time. Details will be announced in class.Returning graded assignments:Exams and quizzes will be graded and returned to students as soon as possible from the time of administration. Some quizzes may not be returned to students before exams. Students are responsible to viewing the answer keys online (Google Drive) to review. Students may go over the exam in class and will not be allowed to take it home. Students are welcome to come during tutorials to work on questions they missed and to receive additional help. Students and parents can review graded exams from cycles 1 – 5 up until the first week of the following cycle. However, cycle 6 exams will only be available to view until the last day of class before final exams begin. Homework is available online for students to review at their leisure, work turned in will not be returned unless upon student/parent request. Please remember any questions/concerns/changes about grades (tests, quizzes, homework, etc.) must be made within 2 school days (not class days) after the assignment has been returned to students. Grades after 2 school days will not be changed, so review all grades daily and look at all assignments when they are retuned.For assignments that are not returned within the time limit stated above, Mrs. Tapia will post solutions to the HUB or send via the Remind app. Note: Tests will be returned and reviewed after the test is graded.? Graded tests will be kept in the classroom for the students to review during power lunch period and tutorial period. Students are not allowed to take tests/exams from classroom or take pictures of tests/exams; it is considered an act of cheating and school policies apply here.Progress Reports: Progress reports will be given to all students during the beginning of the 4th week of each 6 weeks. Students who have several missing assignments (2 or more) or have an average below 75 are required to turn in the report by next class period with their parent signature. If a signed progress report is not returned, parents will receive a phone call or email from Mrs. Tapia.Calculator:I will let students know when we will start using calculators in class. Everyone will be assigned a specific calculator, so they will be responsible for the assigned calculator. I do encourage for students to buy a TI 30XIIS scientific or TI-Nspire since they will need this calculator as they move to some upper level math classes. If you have a TI-84 calculator, we will not use them in any Debakey math classes, however if students would like to know how to use them as it goes with the content they learn they may come in during lunch or after school on my tutorial day. Restroom UseI highly encourage you to avoid restroom use during the instructional time because you will fall behind on content. Students will be allowed to go to the restroom and will need to sign in and out with the time they are going/returning. Although there is not limit on the number of times a student may go to the restroom during class, I will call/email home if restroom breaks are excessive. Cell Phone/Smart watches/Electronic Devices:Cell phones and other electronic devices are not allowed for use during tests, quizzes or during instruction for any reason. If a device (cell phone, iWatch, etc.) goes off (rings/vibrates) during class or is out (taking pictures/videos, texting, etc.) the device will be confiscated and turned into the front office. Laptop computers are allowed in class for certain assignments at the discretion of Mrs. Tapia. If a laptop is being used without permission, the student’s laptop will be taken up. Students are not allowed to take pictures of any exam/test.Cheating/Collaborating: Students are not allowed to copy homework/assignments. Any student found doing so will receive an automatic ZERO (on assessments, additional penalty:? without eligibility for retake or dropping a 0 quiz grade) for the assignment and will be issued a disciplinary referral. Students are not allowed to collaborate on tests, quizzes and other forms of assessment. This includes, but is not limited to, electronic devices and/or discussing test and quiz questions with peers outside of class. Cheating of any kind will result in a zero and disciplinary action described in the Student Handbook.Interventions:(1) Warning, (2) Student/Teacher conference, (3) Parent notification, (4) Referral to Assistant Principal and conduct cut.Cheating of any kind will result in a zero and disciplinary action described in the Student Handbook.The above consequences are for a violation of classroom rules or Level I rules. All violations of other levels will result in consequences as specified in the Student Code of Conduct (if students would like a copy of the Student Code of Conduct, please contact the front office)Classroom Behavior/Expectations: Be respectful to all teachers and students in Mrs. Tapia’s class Be responsible and on time – students will be expected to bring all materials and assignments to class everydayBe open minded, positive and try your best – come to class ready to learn! If you are going to be absent, be proactive and ask for the content you will miss, request make up times for exams and quizzes and turn in homework as soon as possible. RemindUsing Remind for my class is required for all students. Students will need to sign up through their cell phone or email address (can be personal email or school email). Students who fail to do so will have to commit to checking the HUB on a regular basis to receive the announcements they missed. Parents are welcome to join the Remind service. Parents are encouraged to use email to communicate with Mrs. Tapia, remind should not be used to discuss grades/behavior/etc. I have carefully read and understand the rules, guidelines and procedures for this class. I understand if I have any questions/concerns I should contact Mrs. Tapia before signing and returning this syllabus. Student Signature _______________________Print________________________________ Date _________Parent Signature _________________________Print________________________________ Date _________Email(print): _______________________________________________Phone___________________________You will need this Spiral Notebook for Mrs. Tapia’s Class!!!Your Spiral Notebook MUST have all of the following specifications:Hard plastic front coverPockets in the frontGraph Ruled (4 squares per inch)100 sheetsSize of notebook: 11”x 8.5” or largerBelow are two acceptable Spiral Notebooks: 66738545085003810000698500Here are the links if you would like to place an order for the spiral notebook online. You may also go to stores like Target and Walmart!Office Depot: (FIVE STAR Brand) ?Staples: (ACCEL Brand) Amazon: (FIVE STAR Brand) Office Depot: (STELLAR Brand) ................
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