Introduction Letter
Welcome to AP Calculus AB for 2018-2019
The most important date for our class is May 14, 2019. On this Tuesday
morning at 8 am, your student will be taking the AP test. All the work we do
from August 21rd till then will be preparing for the AP test. If it sounds like the test is important, there is a good reason…IT IS! For some majors, some colleges will give college credit for high scores on the test.
As I have been considering the pacing for this course, several important
aspects have come to mind. 1) 4 weeks of exam review/practice. One of the
resources we are using is a collection of past AP exams. 2) Spring Break. During
our 4 weeks of review we will be out of school for a week. 3) Fine Arts
competition. A couple of days in March and a few days in April many students
will be competing.
Working backwards from May 14, giving consideration to all factors, we
need to finish the curriculum in the end of March and start our review then.
What this means is we are going to have a very busy first 3 quarters.
Given that we are working at a rigorous pace to cover ALL the material in
time, on occasion some students may feel frustrated at times with their
individual mastery levels. To help relieve this, I am going to be available for
extra help mornings at 7 am and afternoons from 3 pm till about 4 pm ( or so ).
I will also be asking everybody to explore options on the internet that may be
able to offer assistance to students who need extra help. Study groups are
also encouraged.
Quarter grades will be based on 60% tests and projects, 25% quizzes and 15% homework. Quizzes will be weekly and may be unannounced. Tests will be announced and will cover an entire chapter ( in some cases 2 tests per chapter ). Homework will be assigned and discussed daily. Class time is precious but some time will be used for homework questions. Homework will be collected two days at a time. Extra time will be given to complete assignments before they are collected. I grade using a points system. Two days of homework may be worth 10 to 20 points. Quizzes will be from about 10 to 50 points. Tests will usually be about 100 points.
As this is essentially a college course, the students have a great deal
more responsibility. I will try to faithfully post grades every week and
assignments a week in advance. While absenteeism has never been a problem, on
the occasional absence, assignments will be
available.
Through constant prayer and hard work, I feel that all the class could
have college credit by the end of the school year. I promise to faithfully work
to this end.
Yours in Christ,
Dewey Bodley
The most important date for our class is May 14, 2019. On this Tuesday
morning at 8 am, your student will be taking the AP test. All the work we do
from August 21rd till then will be preparing for the AP test. If it sounds like the test is important, there is a good reason…IT IS! For some majors, some colleges will give college credit for high scores on the test.
As I have been considering the pacing for this course, several important
aspects have come to mind. 1) 4 weeks of exam review/practice. One of the
resources we are using is a collection of past AP exams. 2) Spring Break. During
our 4 weeks of review we will be out of school for a week. 3) Fine Arts
competition. A couple of days in March and a few days in April many students
will be competing.
Working backwards from May 14, giving consideration to all factors, we
need to finish the curriculum in the end of March and start our review then.
What this means is we are going to have a very busy first 3 quarters.
Given that we are working at a rigorous pace to cover ALL the material in
time, on occasion some students may feel frustrated at times with their
individual mastery levels. To help relieve this, I am going to be available for
extra help mornings at 7 am and afternoons from 3 pm till about 4 pm ( or so ).
I will also be asking everybody to explore options on the internet that may be
able to offer assistance to students who need extra help. Study groups are
also encouraged.
Quarter grades will be based on 60% tests and projects, 25% quizzes and 15% homework. Quizzes will be weekly and may be unannounced. Tests will be announced and will cover an entire chapter ( in some cases 2 tests per chapter ). Homework will be assigned and discussed daily. Class time is precious but some time will be used for homework questions. Homework will be collected two days at a time. Extra time will be given to complete assignments before they are collected. I grade using a points system. Two days of homework may be worth 10 to 20 points. Quizzes will be from about 10 to 50 points. Tests will usually be about 100 points.
As this is essentially a college course, the students have a great deal
more responsibility. I will try to faithfully post grades every week and
assignments a week in advance. While absenteeism has never been a problem, on
the occasional absence, assignments will be
available.
Through constant prayer and hard work, I feel that all the class could
have college credit by the end of the school year. I promise to faithfully work
to this end.
Yours in Christ,
Dewey Bodley