Algebra 1

All class notes, assignments, videos are on Google Classroom

Algebra 1

Mrs. Cindy Zahl (Per. 3/8)   czahl@blindbrook.org  937-3600 ext. 4317                                                                                 

Ms. Liz Campbell (Per. 8)     ecampbell@blindbrook.org    937-3600 ext. 4330                                                                                    

I.                Course Topics: 

Unit 1 – Building Blocks of Algebra

Unit 2 – Linear Equations and Inequalities

Unit 3 – Functions

Unit 4 – Linear Functions

Unit 5 – Linear Systems

Unit 6 – Exponential Algebra and Functions

Unit 7 – Polynomials

Unit 8 – Quadratic Functions

Unit 9 – Roots and Irrational Numbers

Unit 10 – Functions and Their Transformations

Unit 11 – Statistics

II.  Our Class’s Grading Policy

Each student’s quarterly grade will be based upon homework, participation, quizzes, and tests.  The grade for each marking period will come from quizzes/tests (85%) and participation/homework (15%).

   Homework will be assigned daily and will be graded upon a 2-point scale for completion and effort.  Homework is an extremely important component of our class.  It serves to reinforce and review skills as well as give additional practice for new material introduced in class.  

No late homework will be accepted unless a student is legally absent from class.  It is the student’s responsibility to make sure that any missed assignments from an absence are shown to me within a predetermined time frame.    

   Participation also will be tracked daily on a 2-point scale.  Students are expected to arrive to class on time, ready to work, and prepared with their calculator and school-assigned iPad.  Students must show respect for all members of the class, talk in turn during class discussions, be cooperative when working in groups, and stay focused on the task at hand.

   Quizzes may be unannounced.  Tests will be given at the end of each unit and will always be announced at least two days before.

The New York State Regents Exam will be given in June.  Each quarter will make up 22.5% of the overall grade with the remaining 12% coming from the Regents Exam.

III.  School-issued iPad

         The school will be issuing all high school students an iPad.  Notes and homework will be completed on the iPads.  If a student forgets to bring in their iPad or the battery is low/dead, then the student is responsible for printing out the notes and homework before class. 

IV.  Supplies

         Make sure you bring your graphing calculator and iPad to class each day.  There is no need for a 3-ring binder as we will be paperless this year!

V.  Grade Postings

I have created a live gradebook using Google Sheets and shared each student’s personal sheet with them.  These sheets will also be shared with parents.  The live gradebook will allow students and parents to check and see the students’ progress throughout the year.  With this resource available, there should be no surprises when report cards come out.

VI.  Extra Help

I am available for extra help every day in H104 during the first 20 minutes of lunch as well as during activity period.

VII.  Google Classroom

         Our weekly schedule will be posted on Classroom along with PDFs and answer KEYS of our work. 

VIII.  Classkick

         This is where all your classwork and homework will be done and checked.         

IX. Cell Phones

Upon arrival to class each day, students will silence their phones and put them in the classroom cell phone organizer or in their school bag.  If a cell phone is seen or heard during class, then it will be confiscated and brought to Mr. Greenwald’s office.  The student may retrieve the phone from the office at the end of the school day.  Additionally, the student’s participation grade for that day will be a zero.

X. Missed Exams

If a student has a legal absence, then the following formula is used:   The student is given as many days to make up the exam as s/he was absent during that unit prior to the exam.  Make-ups will be done during lunch, free periods, or our class period.  It is the student’s responsibility to seek out the teacher to make up any assessment.

Examples:

A student absent only on the day of the exam must make up the exam on the next day.

A student absent for 3 consecutive days – the exam was given on the third day – has 3 days to make up the exam.

A student absent for 3 consecutive days – the exam was given on the first day and new material was taught on the next 2 days – must make up the exam on the next day.

If a student has an illegal absence, there will be no opportunity to make up the exam.  Instead, a grade of 0 will be recorded.

X. Academic Integrity Policy

Please familiarize yourself with our school’s Academic Integrity Policy which follows below.  Be aware that sharing any information about an assessment would be a violation.  

ACADEMIC STUDENT BEHAVIORAL EXPECTATIONS AND CONSEQUENCES

A. Philosophy
Academic integrity is a standard which all students are expected to maintain and will be held accountable. An ethic against cheating, like all values, may be formed primarily at home; still, the school clearly has an interest in students’ becoming honest, and honestly devoted to doing their own best work. The health of the school community and the integrity of each student’s sense of self and accomplishment depend upon this ethic. 

In school, cheating is wrong for several reasons. Cheating... 

⮚ Distorts educational priorities. 

⮚ Cheating is based upon the idea that competing for a grade, not mastering material or skills, is what really matters; nonetheless, cheating at the same time destroys the basis and meaning of competition, giving the cheater an unfair advantage over those who are honest about their achievements. 

⮚ Interferes with assessment and instruction.
Cheating makes it harder for a teacher to identify students’ real strengths and weaknesses, their real depth of knowledge and understanding; as a result, teachers are also less able to identify when and how to help their students master information and develop skills. 

⮚ Destroys educational experience.
Cheating helps a student avoid real challenges – real learning and growth – thus defeating the whole purpose of schooling. 

⮚ Threatens an atmosphere of trust.
Cheating undercuts the trust and openness that underlie the thoughtful collaboration and sincere debate, which are the bases of true education. 

While Blind Brook recognizes that cultural forces and academic pressures tempt or even encourage students to cheat, it is our goal to develop students who earnestly embrace an academic ethic. As we strive to reinforce ethical value and practices, the Blind Brook faculty will not tolerate cheating, and to this end will minimize opportunities for students to cheat and will enforce serious consequences on students who are caught cheating or assist others in the act of cheating. 

B. What is Cheating?
Cheating includes but is not limited to, among other things: copying homework, having parents write papers, plagiarizing, copying answers on a test, using crib notes for a test, using illegal information stored on calculators/computers during a test, passing information during a test, forging notes from parents, having parents lie in excuse notes, re-using past papers for a new course, lying to teachers, including substitutes, leaving a test paper exposed to others’ view, doing others’ assignments for them.
“Forms of plagiarism include the failure to give appropriate acknowledgement when repeating another’s working or particularly apt phrase, paraphrasing another’s argument, and presenting another’s line of thinking. You may certainly use another person’s words and thoughts, but the borrowed material must not appear to be your creation.” Joseph Gibaldi MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (New York: The Modern Language Association of America) 151. Teachers may adapt this operational definition with specific directions that fit a particular assignment and grade level. 

C. Preventing Cheating
The faculty commits itself to the following measures to reduce or eliminate the opportunity to cheat: 

⮚ Students will be provided education about all forms of cheating, especially plagiarism. 

⮚ Testing environments will be secure, with minimum opportunities to cheat. 

⮚ Proctors will be diligent in providing test supervision. 

⮚ No tests or quizzes will be administered by substitute teachers except with prior permission of the Principal.

⮚ Finals and Regents will be administered in large group settings with uniform procedures and adequate supervision. 

⮚ Multiple versions of the same test may be available if the same test is to be given at different times during the day. 

⮚ Tests may be revised and modified yearly. 

⮚ Programmable calculators may be used on tests and quizzes only with the permission of the      teacher, and may never be shared with other students. 

D. Consequences
In grades three through eight the first instance of plagiarism will result in a requirement that the piece by rewritten and receive a reduced grade. A second instance of plagiarism will result in a “0” grade. All other instances of cheating will result in a “0” grade for the test, quiz, or assignment. 

In grades nine and ten, all instances of cheating and plagiarism will result in a “0” grade for the test, quiz, assignment or paper. In grades eleven and twelve, in addition to a “0” grade, any instance of egregious cheating will also be recorded on the student’s permanent record and college transcript. If a pattern of cheating or plagiarism develops or if there is a particularly egregious* instance, more serious consequences, such as suspension, will occur. In such instances, the student may also be referred for special counseling either in or out of school. 

*Egregious cheating is premeditated cheating. Examples of such cheating include, among other things... 

⮚ Copying of other’s work.
⮚ Buying papers written by others.
⮚ Bringing crib notes to a quiz or test.
⮚ Taking test material from a teacher’s files.
⮚ Using papers or tests kept on file by students who already completed the course.
⮚ Using calculators with stored information on an exam without permission of teachers. 

In every instance in which the teacher ascertains that cheating or plagiarism has occurred or believes that there was intent to cheat or plagiarize, a discipline referral must be completed by the teacher and forwarded to the administration and guidance offices. The student’s parents will be informed immediately of the incident and the consequences. 

E. Procedures for Investigation
If a teacher believes but cannot prove that cheating or plagiarism has occurred, the teacher will inform the school administration in writing and the administration will conduct an appropriate investigation. The suspect student’s parents will be immediately informed and may be present during any interrogation. Other students may be interrogated about the incident as well but can always, upon request, have a parent present during their interrogation. Should cheating be proved, the student and his/her parents will be informed immediately of the consequences.
In some instances where it appears to the teacher reasonable but unprovable that several students may have cheated, the teacher may exercise the option of retesting a whole class. 

F. Appeals
A student has the right to appeal any disciplinary action taken regarding cheating or plagiarism to the Principal, or in the case where the Principal has made the original determination that cheating took place, to the Superintendent of Schools, who will hear and investigate the appeal and render a decision affirming or altering the action taken. In conducting such an investigation, the Principal or the Superintendent of Schools may call witnesses and review all relevant records.