There are always those times in the school year where questions arise. "How can I help my child do better?" "Why did this assignment get a zero?" "Are there retakes? The items below give answers to frequently asked questions. Find the category that you are interested in and click it to scroll down. Both students and parents are encouraged to read through the information. If you have a question not covered on this page, feel free to get in touch with me (see CONTACT page).
CLASSWORK/
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STRUGGLING |
MISCELLANEOUS |
CLASSWORK/HOMEWORK
Monitoring grades and work - Student grades are a reflection of what they understand. Items that reflect that understanding (tests, quizzes, etc.) are put into PowerSchool. Items that reflect their hard work and effort (assignments, homework, etc.) are recorded in Google Classroom. To the right is a quick video if you want suggestions for keeping track of your child's work effort.
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Showing work - I sometimes get students asking, "How much work do I need to write down?" The rule of thumb for my classes is that if they get a problem wrong I should be able to easily see where they made a mistake. If their work is so sparse that I can't even tell where their mistake occurred, it's not enough.
Notes - In my class, students take notes on a regular basis. Notes are done both in class and online via video tutorials. These notes are important because they form the basis for our discussions in class. There will even be times where the notes can be used on tests.
STRUGGLING
Difficulty with assignments - From time to time, students have difficulty with completing homework. It is expected that students persevere and work through their difficulties, but not to the point that homework is taking an extraordinary amount of time. If a student is struggling, they should be taking advantage of everything that is offered (asking their group for help, using work time in class to the fullest, asking the teacher questions, coming in for tutoring, etc.).
Getting help - There are many opportunities that your child should be taking advantage of if they need help. Most every day we start the work in class. The students work in groups so that they can help each other. They need to consider their peers as a resource as well as the teacher. If the whole group is stuck they can call me over and I can help them all at once. If there are problems that the majority of the class is struggling with, I make time to address those concepts with the entire class. If students are still having difficulties they can schedule tutoring with me, but please encourage your child to get as much help in class as possible first. Often I get kids who come in for tutoring on questions that could have easily been addressed in class. Aside from tutoring, I also open my classroom up before school and during lunch if students need a place to work or to use the computers. Whether it's tutoring or worktime before school or lunch, the students need to schedule it with me so I know to be available.
Retakes - Students can retake tests and quizzes that are below 70%. Once they have prepared for the retake, students schedule a time with me to attempt the retake.
MISCELLANEOUS
Absences - Your child is responsible for catching up on missed work when they are absent. A good idea is to try to complete what he/she can when they are absent. Assignments are posted in Google Classroom. By checking online, students often can stay caught up even though they couldn't attend school. Of course, this is not always possible, so extra time is allowed to get absent work in. If he/she misses a lesson, they should watch the tutorials available in our Google Classroom or check with the teacher for a copy of the notes. He/she should also check to see if they missed a quiz or test and then schedule a time with me when they can make it up.
What is Canvas? - Canvas is a site that I use for just certain aspects of the class like administering tests or posting answer keys. Students will still go to Google Classroom to see day-to-day information and PowerSchool for grades.