February 3, 2006 Newsletter

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Dear Carmody Middle School 7th Grade Computer Class Parents and Their Children:

Check Those Grades!!!

1. Check those grades because... we have suddenly gone from a relaxed, no test environment to daily assignments and/or typing tests on a daily basis! And grades may totally be different now. It pays to access the Carmody Middle School Parent Portal on a regular basis now because Dr. Data posts daily grades every afternoon before leaving school! Note: this grading period will be over in two weeks. So it pays to be aware of grades. Your child will bring home mid-term progress reports on Wednesday; February 8, 2006. 100 Attitude test points will be added your child's grades when returned with a parent signature.

   Any assignments/tests in the Carmody Parent Portal with a *M means one of four things.

   • Student was absent and consequently did not complete and submit the assignment to Dr. Data. Note: all third grading period assignments/tests need to be made up with a deadline of Wednesday, February 15, 2006.
   • Never completed the assignment or did not do it such as being absent from class when due.
   • Student forgot to put their name on the printed assignment. Believe me, this happens nearly every day.
   • Completed the assignment and probably printed it out but never picked up the assignment at the printer and therefore did not submit it to Dr. Data.

   Solution(s) for missing assignments? Since the Carmody Parent Portal (Infinite Campus) does not have an instant undo feature, it is possible that grades can get lost in their actual entry into the grade book. Two essentials things can help in immediately restoring any missing grades as identified below:

   • Students are to put all returned assignments into their notebooks as permanent records so that they can easily validate that they did the assignment or
   • Students whenever possible need to save their work on their server folder so that their saved work can
     be validated by printing it again or viewing it whenever needed.
   • Student could use a floating "A" for any missing assignment and turn it into an "A" grade. Note: floating "A" can not be used for tests since they can be retaken without penalty. The procedure is simple for using floating "A's", any day a student submits an assignment in class, they can use one floating "A". If two assignments are submitted, they can submit two floating "A" that day. Students can never "take the day off" and use a floating "A" instead of working in class.
   • When the daily assignment has been completed at home, please print out the worksheet with the formulas being displayed as that is the only way assignments can be accepted and graded and then sign and date the assignment along with your child's name when your child submits it to me for grading. All daily assignments and their links for printing them out can be found at: http://www.kuzmich.com/carmody/spreadsheet_syllabus.html. Note: there is also a companion clue sheet for every assignment providing insight where formulas need to be used and what kind of formula is required. Both the daily assignment and its companion clue sheet with formulas can be printed out at the above URL.

2. Typing tests now every Friday. I believe it may be important for your child to have access to my 7th grade class’s 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. You will receive a flyer on Monday via your child concerning this special pricing, but I have also enclosed the introduction letter and form for you to complete. In order to participate, you need to fill out the attached Student Bulk Order Form and returning it to me accompanied by a check in the amount of $21.00 (per program) by February 17, 2006.. 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:
   • A hybrid CD-ROM that works on nearly every PC and Macintosh computer from all Macintosh’s from system 8.6 and higher to OS 10 and PC’s from Windows 95, 98, 2000 and XP.
   • A manual and a warranty card.
   • All shipping charges from Vancouver, Canada to Carmody.
   • All taxes.

   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 only the second 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.

   A cover letter and an order form will be given to your child either today or on Monday.

3. If you don't Adobe's Acrobat Reader (free product), you will need to download it at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html and learn more about it at: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/adobepdf.html since most daily assignments will be saved in .PDF file format (Adobe Acrobat) and the free reader allows you to read and print it.
   

What Else Is New!

4. Word processing instruction will be taking place for the next four weeks beginning on Tuesday, January 31, 2006. For specific references to this curriculum and daily assignments, please go to: http://www.kuzmich.com/carmody/claris_syllabus.html for the schedule and descriptions.
   We will be using ClarisWorks and Appleworks in class with an option of Microsoft Word, but at home, you can use any word processor that you already have to makeup assignments such as: Microsoft Word, Microsoft Works, WordPerfect. Note: students can complete most word processing assignments at home when not finished in class. Just have the parent write a short note with a signature and date of completion and submit it to Dr. Data. Or students can finish the assignments on another day in class.

5. Note: every unit of instruction in Dr. Data's classes has a final project to validate content mastery.

6. The four-week unit of word processing instruction will conclude with a two-page Korean Pen Pal letter that will be in CSAP standards and mailed to Seoul, Korea to Mr. Young-Hun SHIN, English Chairperson in Kwangju district in Seoul, Korea. Their Korean students have studied English since 1st grade and basically read and write as well as our Carmody students. Deadline for submitting the preliminary draft to me is Friday, February 24, 21006 and the final copy along with pictures and other memorabilia is Friday, Marach 3, 2006. For specific details about this final project, please go to: http://www.kuzmich.com/carmody/penpal_908.html

7. If your child doesn't presently have an A or higher in the 7th Grade Elective Computer Class, please to http://www.kuzmich.com/carmody/Success.html and review the 14 points posted on how this can be realistically accomplished. Beginning this week or the fourth week of the semester, daily classroom assignment kick in which can have drastic changes to ones academic standing if daily assignments are not completed and submitted to Dr. Data in an orderly manner But students can also easily complete daily assignments at home for the word processing unit if there is a computer or typewriter at home. For those students who don't have access to computers/typewriters at home, they can make arrangements to stay after school till 3:15 p.m. and use the PC lab on Mondays, Wednesdays (if there is no faculty meeting) and Fridays with advanced notice with Dr. Data. In addition on Tuesdays and Thursdays are available to 3 p.m. via the Carmody Middle Open Lab program in which school buses are provided at no charge to parents/students. So be aware that your child's grades the next two weeks will probably be a good indicator on how well your child is going to do in this class for the rest of this grading period. Please remember to sign your child's web-based progress report each week along with your child's name printed so 25 extra-credit points can be earned each week. For parents without Internet access, have your child print out a weekly progress report every Monday and returned that same week to Dr. Data.

8. Unique Extra-Credit Opportunities! If you should ever not be pleased with your child's grades, there is unlimited makeup on all assignments and tests before the end of the present grading period on Friday, February 16, 2006..

• In addition, there are floating A's that can cashed in plus unlimited extra-credit that can be earned at home or after school. Have your child see Dr. Data for more details.
• And if that wasn't enough, students will earn two extra-credit points for every page that they type for a teacher at Carmody that is graded by that teacher and one point per every page for non-school typing assignments (just print them out and submit to Dr. Data).
• Another alternative is to have your child type ten minutes in a typing program and one extra-credit will be awarded for every ten minutes. Parent must write a short note verifying this.
• Other alternatives could be e-mail and letter typed, but Dr. Data will need to see the finished product along with verification by the parent of how much time was required.

Closing Comments

Hope this installment of Dr. Data's 7th grade elective computer class newsletter is helpful in keeping you up-to-date with your child's activities.

If you have any questions about your child's work or class procedures, please don't hesitate to contact Dr. Data at either his e-mail address at: jkuzmich@earthlink.net or his voice mail system at: 303-982-8883. For pressing issues, the fastest way to contact Dr. Data is to call the Carmody main office phone at 303-982-8930 and the receptionist will post a "love note" in his mail box for his prompt attention.

Don't forget to visit Dr. Data's lesson plans on his weekly voice message system about the week's instruction. This could be particularly valuable whenever your child is absent from school or on a school field trip. Again, do so, please call 303-982-8883 24/7. The message is usually updated by Friday for the upcoming week's instruction.

Hope this information is helpful. Have a great weekend and look forward to using computers on Monday.

Till next time,

Mr. John Kuzmich, Jr.
(alias Dr. Data )