Math 516 General Course Information

Mr. Rooney Office: 460D Phone: 617-559-6400 extension 454539 Email: charles_rooney@newton.k12.ma.us Website: www.rooneymath.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------------Welcome to Math 516! In this course you will study a mix of topics from algebra, geometry, and statistics. You will have a midterm and a final exam that will be common to all sections of the course. What you need for this class A notebook in which to take notes on a daily basis. Something with which to write each day. A folder or binder in which to keep handouts and worksheets. (There will be MANY!) A TI 30XS scientific calculator ($12 to $15 but contact me if there are financial hardships that prevent you from getting this calculator). Attendance Attendance is required in this course. I will strictly adhere to the schools attendance policy concerning unexcused absences/tardies and grades of N. All excused absences and tardies must come through the house office. Please remind your parents that they MUST contact your house office by 10:00 am in order to notify the school if you are ill. 3 unexcused absences = N Failure due to attendance 3 unexcused lates = 1 unexcused absence. Behavior Rules: 1. Never interfere with another students opportunity to learn. 2. All other rules follow logically from rule #1. It is rude and distracting when students get up from their seats during lectures or presentations. If you need to throw something out, wait until the end of class. Do not get up to go to the restroom unless it is a true emergency. Plan ahead and use the facilities before class begins or wait until class is over. Extra Help Extra help is available during most X-Blocks. Help is given on a first come first serve basis. DO NOT wait until the last minute for assistance. To use X-Block

most efficiently come prepared with specific questions (problems from the text or past quizzes are a great start). You may also use X-Block as an opportunity to complete your homework assignments. If problems arise, then you can receive timely assistance. You can also seek help in the mathematics lab on some days during school hours. How your Grade is determined Each term there will be 2-3 tests, a number of quizzes, some graded classwork assignments and/or labs and homework. I add up all the points you earned and divide by the total number of points you could have earned. This gives me your term average. Homework (see separate sheet for more details) Homework is due on the date specified on your assignment sheet. Any changes to the schedule will be announced in class. If you are absent, it is a good idea to contact a classmate to check on changes before you do the assignment due the next day. You can also check the class website: http://www.rooneymath.org I will check homework to see that you have made a reasonable attempt at it. I am not looking to see if all of the answers are correct, but I will check to see how much you have completed and make a judgment about the quality of the work. If problems are left blank, only partially answered, copied from the back of the book or off the board when we go over them in class, you may not receive credit for the assignment. (In the case of copying answers from the back of the book, you will definitely not receive credit for the assignment because that's considered cheating!) I expect that you will spend 30 or so minutes on your math homework each night. Homework will be averaged into your term grade. There are usually about 10 collected assignments per term, and each one is worth 4 or 5 points. We usually have 2 or 3 tests per term as well as a number of quizzes. Homework counts approximately 20% of your term grade. No homework will be accepted after the unit test on that material. At the end of the term, I will count your homework average as a test grade on the term. If there is a snow day or school is unexpectedly cancelled for some other reason, I will update the website with special instructions if we are going to deviate from the printed assignment sheet. (Assuming we have power.) Making up missed work If you have an excused absence on the day of a test or quiz, you are responsible for making it up on the day you return to school unless you are out for an extended period of time due to illness or a death in the family. In that case, we will work out a reasonable schedule for you to make up your work. Note: If you

have an unexcused absence from class, you will not be allowed to earn credit for any work done in class on the day you missed. To be clear: you will not be allowed to make up tests or quizzes if you have an unexcused absence on the day they were given. Make-up tests/quizzes should be taken during your unscheduled ("free") blocks whenever possible, but may be given to you in-class. In general, J-blocks are not sufficiently long for making up full-length tests because they only last 30-40 minutes. If you can stay late after X-block, that may be an option. Note that it is YOUR responsibility to make up missed work. This is generally not an issue with tests, but sometimes people forget about quizzes and are surprised to see a 0% on their term report.