Dear Parents/Guardians:
The school year is coming to a close, and I want to thank everyone for such a great year. I really enjoyed....well, for the most part, being here with your children everyday. I wish everyone the best of luck in 10th grade next year.
My gradebook has been updated and complete with your child's 6th six week grades. All the students have received a final exam review. I have also posted the final exam review under the "Notes and Handouts" tab. Class time was given to complete the review. For the final exam, it is 50 questions multiple choice. Students are allowed to use a notecard cheat sheet on the test IF they have completed their final exam review. Students must show me a completed review and a notecard; I will sign the notecard and students can fill it up to use during the exam. No signature=No notecard allowed.
We have calculated in class what the students need to make on the final exam to pass my class this spring semester with a 70.
This is the equation:
Sem Pts - 4th six weeks grade - 5 six weeks grade - 6th six weeks grade
Semester Pts need to make desired semester grade: 100 = 400 pts; 90 = 360 pts; 80 = 320 pts; 70 = 280 pts
Final Exam grades will be posted as they are completed (should be no later than Wednesday, June 3rd). If you have any other questions, please let me know.
Thanks,
Teresa
Dear Parents/Guardians:
It has been a while, I apologize. You probably missed my annoying emails and notes. Just a quick update and the year is almost over. I must say it has gone by fast and pretty soon, the kids will be 10th graders! Scary, some of the students have told me about their driving permits and have countdowns for their driver's license.
Right now, we are in the middle of our Unit over Bacteria/Viruses and Immunity. The important thing you need to know is that there is a Take Home Test. Your child has signed a contract understanding that there are no late tests accepted and are on the honor code (no cheating/copying). B Day tests are due on May 7th and A Day tests are due on May 12th. Sorry about the gaps in due dates, but A Day did not get their tests until today; B Days got theirs last Friday. Please remind them about the tests; any tests turned in earlier than the due dates will receive a 5 point bonus.
I will be sending out Video Consent Forms starting Tuesday/Wednesday. On Thursday/Friday, we will be watching a movie, "Outbreak." The movie details how the CDC goes around handling an epidemic. This is quite relevant as the looming swine flu floats around. "Outbreak" is rated R for language. Any students without a consent form will NOT watch the movie. Please ask your child if they have one; it is their responsibility to turn it in by Thursday, NO EXCEPTIONS.
Any other questions or concerns, please let me know.
Thanks,
Teresa Dang
Dear Parents/Guardians:
I hope all is well as we begin our final six weeks. The year is almost over...almost. Next week is a very important week for the students. The week of April 27-30, students will be on a modified bell schedule in preparation for the TAKS test. 9th Graders will be taking a Science Pre-TAKS test on Monday and a Math TAKS test on Thursday. Please be sure your child is well rested and ready to take on these tests.
For the Science Pre-TAKS Test, this will be an assessment used to see how the students would fair if they were to take the real TAKS this year. The data collected can be used to better prepare the students next year when they take the real exam. To help motivate the students to do well, depending on their personal scores, they will be able to use the Science Pre-TAKS test as a test grade replacement. In other words, if the Pre-TAKS grade is higher than any other tests taken during the six weeks, I will replace the low test grade with the grade made on the Science Pre-TAKS test.
In class, we have also started a new unit on Classification. The students have already covered Dichotomous Keys and will be doing a couple worksheets to help prepare them for their projects. The project will be an individual project. Students will make a poster that will cover all the six kingdoms and give information and representatives of each kingdom. I will post a grading rubric for this project.
Thanks again,
Teresa Dang
Dear Parents/Guardians:
The end of the 4th six weeks is next Friday, February 27th, which means all late work must be turned in by Wednesday, February 25th. All grades are up to date and updated daily. Some of you will be recieving phone calls from me too! Please check HAC to view your child's grades. I have been returning graded papers; please check to make sure the grades on the paper are the same grades in my gradebook.
I have started to return the Protein Synthesis test (B Days will get theirs Monday). Test Corrections (correct all missed questions, tell me where you found the answer and why it's correct) and retakes must be done by Wednesday, February 25th. I am allowing everyone an opportunity to retake, regardless of the grade. For missing work, everything is posted online, handouts and powerpoints; I will also accept anything turned in before Wednesday. Please encourage your child to turn in these assignments, a 50 is better than a 0.
Students are registering for classes next year. If you have questions as to which science class your child should take, I can send you a brochure or you can ask me! I'll try my best to make sure everyone gets in the right class. Anything else? Please contact me.
Thanks again!
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Progress report time is near! You should be receiving your child's progress reports next week, I believe Wednesday, February 11th. What that means is that grades have finally been updated! I have graded almost everything that I have, minus things turned in after today. Some students' grades will show a Msg for a test, that just means that the test has not been taken yet due to absences. I need those kiddos to come in and take the Cell Cycle Test!
Thursday, February 12 and Friday, February 13, there will be a test over DNA Structures and Replication. Today, I had stations set up and the students rotated around each station to do reviews for each component of the test. There were two review worksheets. I have posted all the worksheets and powerpoint notes under "Notes and Handouts." Also due this Thursday and Friday are the students' DNA Notes WS. I will try to get this grade and the test grades in so that it will show up for progress reports...I'll try very hard.
Lots of students have been out due to illness; please be careful and wash hands! If your child has been absent, he/she can continue to do the work in my class at home. All notes and handouts are ready to download under the tab "Notes and Handouts;" what we do everyday in class is posted under "Assignments and Reminders." Any other questions or concerns? Please contact me. (I'm behind on returning calls. Please be patient, I will try to get back to you before the end of week.)
Thanks again,
Teresa Dang
Dear Parents/Guardians:
I hope everyone is doing well; although I must admit, a 50 degree temperature turn around from waking up to coming home from work is throwing me off! The first semester is over; report cards are coming out today. Be on the lookout for your child's grades, they may forget they even got them today.
Right now, we are studying the Cell Cycle. We're wrapping up the unit on Monday with a short test. I know it's fast, but we did go over Mitosis (which is part of the Cell Cycle) already. My powerpoint notes and worksheets are all posted under Notes and Handouts tab. The test will cover the information found in the powerpoint and worksheets.
Our next unit, which we will start next week, will be DNA. We will go over the structures and functions of DNA as well as DNA Replication. Your students will be getting a "Unit Organizer" from me that will map out our DNA Unit. I'm hoping this will give you and your child a better perspective of what we will do in class as well as where we are going with it. There will also be a schedule as to what we do every day for the unit as well as vocabulary. My goal is to let the students know what we're doing as well as organize their thoughts. The Unit Organizer will also have essential questions (pretty much questions the test will cover). Hopefully, this will help in studying and the students will know exactly what they will be tested over!
Any questions or concerns? Please contact me! Grades for the six weeks, final exam, and first semester are finished.
Thanks,
Teresa Dang
P.S. Happy Lunar/Chinese New Year! It's on Monday, January 26th.
Dear Parents/Guardians:
Next week, January 12-15, students will be taking their midterms. The schedule for next week will be different than usual. Monday is a full day of school; lunch will be served. Tuesday - Thursday are half days; lunch will not be served. Please click here to download the schedule in excel format. Monday is on worksheet 2, Tuesday - Thursday is on worksheet 1.
Regarding exemptions:
For Monday, any student who has 2nd period exemptions do not need to come to school until 11am. However, students must go to the cafeteria to sign their name for attendance purposes. Students who have 3rd period exemptions must go to the cafeteria to sign their name for attendance purposes before they leave campus. If the student is not taking an exam and is not leaving campus, they are to go to the cafeteria, sign their name, and stay there until school releases.
For Tuesday-Wednesday, if the student is exempt for the entire day, then the student must sign their name for attendance purposes before 1pm; otherwise, the student will be counted absent. If the student is only exempting one class, the student must stop by the cafeteria to sign their name for that class period for attendance purposes.
If a student is leaving, a parent MUST pick the student up. Students are not allowed to walk home.
If you have any questions about this, please call the office and they will answer your questions: 512-424-8800. Also, please read the Newsflash below for information and important deadlines.
Cheers,
Teresa Dang
Dear Parents/Guardians:
I hope everyone had a restful and joyful holiday. I feel like it wasn't long enough! Hopefully our waistlines didn't suffer too much.
The fall semester is close to an end. This week, we will review for the final. Finals will be administered next week, January 12-15. Monday is a full school day; Tuesday-Thursday are half days. Students will be out of school Friday, January 16 and return on Tuesday, January 20.
All the students will receive a copy of the review. It is also posted under Notes and Handouts. My gradebook has been updated with everything that I has been turned in and graded. Please check the HAC and let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I will still accept late work until Friday, January 9; I will not accept anything after Friday. Everything that is missing at that time will be replaced with a zero.
I have afternoon tutorials on Wednesday and Thursday; morning tutorials on Tuesday and Thursday. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact me!
Thanks,
Teresa Dang
Dear Parents/Guardians:
I hope everyone is fairing well in the cold weather. I had ice on my car the other day, guess winter is here. Time is running out before the Winter Holidays.
Progress reports will be distributed December 18th. All my grades are updated and ready for your viewing eyes on the HAC. Please please please check them; sadly, I am prone to mistakes. Feel free to let me know when I have messed up; the students sure do.
I will return the Cell Unit Test next week. The students will have until Friday morning to retake the test. Test corrections must be done before students can take a retest. I will have morning tutorials next week on Monday and Friday. As of right now, I will also have tutorials Monday afternoons. I will probably have tutorials Thursday afternoons, but that's about all the time we have left!
I will take four more grades for this semester before the holidays. There will be two assignment grades on Cell Energy; a quiz on Cell Energy; and a Cell Energy lab. These will be picked up next week; please make sure your child has these completed. Everything is uploaded and ready to download under Notes and Handouts.
Next Tuesday and Wednesday, the students will be taking their Mid Year District Benchmarks. I will post what we are going to be doing next week under Assignments and Reminders.
Did I confuse anyone yet? Just give me a phone call or an email. I love getting messages, makes me feel loved.
Cheers,
Teresa Dang
Dear Parents/Guardians:
I hope everyone enjoyed a fulfilling Thanksgiving holiday. The middle of the six weeks is here, which means progress reports should be coming out next Wednesday! Keep an eye out for them.
The end of the 1st semester is coming extremely quickly. I apologize if I am making your child seem a little crazy. The district's science benchmark tests will be administered December 16-17th, so I am trying very hard to squeeze everything in.
Right now, we are finishing up our unit on Cell Structure and Functions. There will be a test on Tuesday/Wednesday next week! Please remind your child to study for the test; there are lots of vocabulary on the test. Also on Tuesday/Wednesday, the cell notes packet, cell study guide, and cell crossword puzzles are due. We have already finished the cell notes packet and the crossword puzzles are extra credit. Students will receive their study guides in the next couple days. After the Cell Structure and Functions test, we will briefly go over Cell Energy: Photosynthesis and Cellular Respiration. ALL notes and handouts for Cell Structures and Functions as well as Cell Energy have been posted online under Notes & Handouts.
Grades have been updated. Please check them out on HAC. I do make mistakes. Any problems, questions, or concerns? Please contact me!
Cheers,
Teresa Dang
