August 19, 2008

Dear 7th & 8th Dr. Data Computer Class Parents:

Welcome to the world of Dr. Kuizmich (alias Dr. Data and/or Dr. Fix-It). His classes are off to a good start in the PC lab. There will be weekly newsletters about what is taking placing in both the 7th and 8th grade computer classes of Dr. Data. The purpose is to provide insight about the curriculum and what kind of activities the students are engaged in. As you know from the student contract that you signed last week for your child, Dr. Data guarantees that every student will pass their computer class provided the parents and student follow the guidelines posted at: http://www.kuzmich.com/carmody/Success.html. The success of this class is not only measured by the innovative curriculums offered but also by the involvement of both parents and students together along with Dr. Data leadership. Good luck in meeting those expectations. Below are some thoughts about how to get off to a good start this semester.

Here are some tips for your perusal.

  1. Grades are posted daily before Dr. Data leaves school by 4 p.m. So parents and students can have an intelligent dinner conversation about what the child did in class on a daily basis. Strongly suggest that you use your Carmody's Parent Portal at https://campus.jeffco.k12.co.us/campus/portal/jeffco_IC.jsp If parents don't have a log in for Carmody Parent Portal, you need to to go to the school office in person to obtain because of security.
  2. If you ever need to contact Dr. Data, please e-mail him at: jkuzmich@earthlink.net as his primary e-mail address. Don't get discouraged if you can spam messenger error. He will change the spam blocker to accept your e-mails.
  3. Looking forward to meeting each and every one of you at the Carmody Back To School Night this Thursday from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. All parents who attend Dr. Data's presentation in his classroom will have 10 bonus points awarded to their child as part of his Floating 'A' program.
  4. Students can do makeup work after school on Monday, Tuesdsay and Thursday and most Fridays as well. Just make arrangements with Dr. Data to make sure he is available that day and not in a faculty meeting along with open-lab buses available to transport your children home after 3:15 p.m..
  5. Important Special Offer: I believe it may be important for your child to have access to my 7th grade classes keyboarding software application for home use. Why? I'd like my students to double and/or triple the speed of their present typing speed of words per minute by the end of the semester. If so, your child be a super typist forever. Unfortunately, some students will not practice beyond class time and consequently, their speeds do not change much. But I know it is possible to accomplish this double or triple speed improvement, especially if coordinate with typing practice at home between now and the end of school. It would also be possible for others in your family to benefit from this instructional CD-ROM. Especially if you have younger children who could also be exposed to it. Carmody Middle School has a site license for the software application, All the Right Type, for use in our school PC computer lab. This is a highly effective ‘learn to keyboard” program. Ingenuity Works, the publisher of All the Right Type, has a special arrangement that enables students and parents to purchase a home version of this program for a very reasonable reduced price. In order to participate, you need to download the forms yourself at http://www.kuzmich.com/carmody/ATRT_Letter.html and return to Dr. Data ASAP.

    Please fill out the attached Student Bulk Order Form and returning it to me accompanied by a check in the amount of $23.00 (per program) by Friday, September 5, 2008.. Be sure to include your child's name on the check. The check should be addressed to: Carmody Middle School. No cash please. These charges include:

    Important: the order will be cancelled unless a minimum of 10 orders are placed.

    If you would like to investigate more about this product, ask your child about this software application as there are using it class daily as well as visit the product's web site for more details at: http://www.ingenuityworks.com/iworks/main/products/all_the_right_type_3/

    Hope this information is helpful. This is the third year that we have offered this product to Carmody parents through our site license relationship and the results are amazing for students who practice daily at home. For example for one student who had a lot of difficulty in learning how to type, that child in one semester went from one word per minute to 18 words a minute. Usually, students who practice at home daily will easily double or triple their present typing speed by the end of the semester. And having the same program at home that we use in school is very helpful. An order form was given to your child last week. You can also download the forms yourself, please go to: http://www.kuzmich.com/carmody/ATRT_Letter.html and return to Dr. Data ASAP.

  6. Must see to believe it! Creativity in the Carmody Computer Program. Dr. Data is now sponsoring many extra-credit opportunities for both 7th and 8th grades to do on computers for Carmody faculty members. When they have finished their daily and/or weekly work, these students can be assigned to undertake special assignments for Carmody staff and to be rewarded extra-credit . Most of the seventeen projects deal with multimedia applications including graphics and layout, such as newsletters, banners, flyers, PowerPoint slideshows, web pages, and much more. For more details, go to http://www.kuzmich.com/carmody/Projects.html for actual samples of work done by our students for Carmody's faculty. Not only a great way to provide valuable services to our faculty, but talented students who participate in these extra-credit projects can also apply to be a student assistants next semester specializing in creative computer generated projects for Carmody. With practice, my 8th grade computer students will gain confidence and real-work experience using computers as they contribute to the Carmody environment. And I already have some qualified 7th grader students who will be doing award certificates for our faculty for Carmody staff as well for extra-credit. If your 7th or 8th grade child would benefit from such experiences , please e-mail Dr. Data about this matter as several faculty members already have projects to be done ASAP! Already several award certificates designed by 7th graders are now posted at: http://www.kuzmich.com/carmody/Projects.html for your perusal.

  7. Eight grade class will began Week 2 instruction at:  http://www.kuzmich.com/carmody/business/Week2.html .  Students are learning to make their business logos this week.

Hope this helps and looking forward to a successful semester.

Till next time,

Dr. Data