Week of 5/24/10

Two Weeks Notice!

I can't believe the end is so close.  It seems like the school year has really flown by.  The Algebra 1 students are pretty much done.  They have completed their final exam and exit exam.  There is virtually no more homework for the Algebra students.  Grades are finalized.  However, there are two things that I need:

• Textbooks
• Superlative nominations

Textbooks must be returned by this Wednesday (5/26).  I will be sending home notices and bills on Thursday for students who do not return their textbooks.

Superlative nominations must also be submitted by Wednesday.  I will be giving out awards on Thursday, so if you want your vote counted, please return the worksheet.

Exit Exam Results / Options
Of the approximately 350 students who took the Algebra 1 exit exam, John Muir had 6 students pass.  Congratulations to Brendan Nguyen for passing!  However, for the students who did not pass the exit exam, please understand that failing this test does NOT mean much.  In fact, last year there were 136 students who scored Proficient or Advanced on the Algebra 1 CST and of those students, only 50 passed the exit exam.  That's only 37%!  Even though you may not have passed the school district exit exam, you may still be considered Proficient or Advanced in Algebra 1 by the state of California.

For my 8th graders moving on to high school, you do have an option.  You can still move up to Geometry if you want.  The only problem is that you will NOT receive high school credit for Algebra 1 and will still have to take 3 years of math in high school.  The choice is yours.  If you want an easy math class next year, go ahead and retake Algebra 1.  You will be a rock star in your class.  If you feel like you will be bored re-learning the same material and want to push forward, take Geometry.

6th grade students have their final exam on Wednesday and Thursday this week.  This test counts twice as much as a normal test and should be taken seriously.  It is Benchmark 4 (a two-day test).  This Friday is the 6th grade field trip to the beach, which I will be chaperoning.

Because of the testing and field trip, I have pushed back the due date of the Survey Project to next Tuesday, June 1.  We will be doing presentations of the survey project on Tuesday (6/1) and giving out superlative awards on Wednesday (6/2).

Below are the important dates for the 6th graders:

Wednesday (5/26) - Textbooks Due! Superlative Nominations Due!  Part 1 of the Final Exam!
Thursday (5/27) - Part 2 of the Final Exam
Friday (5/28) - Field Trip to Seabright Beach
Monday (5/31) - Memorial Day (no school)
Tuesday (6/1) - Survey Project Due (presentations in class)
Wednesday (6/2) - Awards Day in class
Thursday (6/3) - Last Day of School (early release)

Week of 5/17/10

This week, Algebra 1 students will have their last test of the year.  However, it is the most important test, as it will determine which math class they will take next year.  On Wednesday and Thursday this week (5/19 and 5/20), all Algebra 1 students will take the Exit Exam.  The number of questions has not been released yet, but students must answer at least 70% correctly in order to move on to Geometry and Algebra 2.  Students who score below 70% will repeat Algebra 1 next year.  We have been reviewing for this test and the final two topics for review will be polynomials (adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing) and systems of equations.

6th grade students will continue reviewing for their two-day final exam, which will be held on Wednesday and Thursday of next week (5/26 and 5/27).  We will also continue working on our survey project.

A few notes and reminders:

• Students can begin bringing back their textbooks.
• Students should return their superlatives nominations.
• Field trip forms are due!  $40 for 8th graders is due tomorrow and $10 for 6th graders is due on Friday.
• 8th Grade field trip to Great America is on Wednesday, June 2.
• 6th Grade field trip to Seabright Beach is on Friday, May 28.
• This Friday is College/Career day, so we will have a modified schedule with shortened periods.
• Next Monday is Math Collaboration day, so all math teachers will be off-campus working together to create curriculum.

Homework for the week is as follows:

6th Grade HW
Mon (5/17) - Area/Volume Worksheet
Tue (5/18) - Survey Project Parts 5
Wed (5/19) - Expressions Worksheet
Thu (5/20) - Survey Project Parts 6

Fri (5/21) - Survey Project due (all)


8th Grade HW
Mon (5/17) - Exit Exam Practice Problems #14, 21, 26-28, 37, 39, 41, 42, 57
Tue (5/18) - Exit Exam Practice Problems #10, 22, 30, 36, 44, 59, 60, 64, 65
Wed (5/19) - No HW (Exit Exam today)
Thu (5/20) - No HW (Exit Exam today)
Fri (5/21) - No HW

Week of 5/10/10

The CST is over!  Woo-hoo!  Congratulations to all the students who stayed focused and worked hard all week long.  Special shout-out to the 8th graders who had twice as many tests as the 6th and 7th graders.  However, the fun doesn't stop there.

Algebra students have 2 more exams coming up.  Both are two-day tests.  The first is the Final Exam.  This exam should look pretty familiar - it's Benchmark 4!  The first time we took Benchmark 4 in April, it was just a guide to see how much the students had learned.  This time, it's going to count in the student's grade: twice as much as a regular unit test.  The final exam will be given on Tuesday, May 11 (Part 1) and Thursday, May 13 (Part 2).  The reason we are not testing on Wednesday is because the BMX bike show is on that day and many students will be participating in it.  The reason we are not testing on Friday is because we have the Jog-A-Thon in the afternoon and shortened periods in the morning.  And it just doesn't seem fair to start the test on Monday when the students tested all last week.

The second exam is the Exit Exam.  This exam does not count for a grade, but it will determine whether your child gets to move on to Geometry next year or must repeat Algebra 1.  It, too, is a two-day test to be held on Wednesday, May 19 (Part 1) and Thursday, May 20 (Part 2).

We will be spending the next two weeks preparing for and taking these two very important exams.  We will be reviewing material in class and completing practice problems and the students will be working from a packet for homework.  They will be using the same packet for the next two weeks, so they cannot lose it and will need it every day.  If your child loses it, send me an email and I'll send you an electronic copy.  Also, I have underlined the problems that we will do in class, so if your child does not know how to do the underlined problems for homework, have them go back to their notes and check.

6th grade students also have two more tests.  However, they are not as high stakes.  On Thursday this week, 6th graders will be taking the MDTP Pre-Algebra readiness exam.  This test is not for a grade or placement, but the results will tell each student the topics they should work on over the summer in order to be ready for 7th grade Pre-Algebra in the fall.

The 6th grade final exam is a two-day test (Benchmark 4) that will be given on Wednesday (5/26) and Thursday (5/27).

6th grade students will be reviewing for the final exam and will also be working on a survey project that will be due on Monday (5/24).  More details will come.



6th Grade HW
Mon (5/10) - Fraction Adventures Worksheet
Tue (5/11) - Survey Project Parts 1 and 2
Wed (5/12) - Proportions Worksheet
Thu (5/13) - Survey Project Parts 3 and 4Fri (5/14) - Survey Project Part 4


8th Grade HW
Mon (5/10) - Exit Exam Practice Problems #1, 2, ,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 29, 62
Tue (5/11) - Exit Exam Practice Problems #8, 12, 15, 23, 31, 43, 50, 52, 54 (Final Exam today)
Wed (5/12) - Exit Exam Practice Problems #16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 25, 32, 38, 53, 61
Thu (5/13) - Exit Exam Practice Problems #33, 40, 46, 48, 49, 51, 55, 58, 63 (Final Exam today)
Fri (5/14) - Exit Exam Practice Problems #9, 11, 13, 24, 34, 45, 47