Pre-Algebra

GENERAL INFORMATION

Mrs. Alice Hinrichs

[email protected]

 

Algebra A—B Period

Click HERE for the Course Description

About me:

Last year was my first time back in the classroom since I moved into the Business Office 7 years ago.  But, I did spend the previous 30 years in the math classroom (including 5 here at LHS) working with students of all levels—General Math through Calculus, including dual credit courses through UCM.  It’s exciting for me to back in the classroom working with students, part of me will be playing catch up on technology while keeping you (students) on track for math.

 

UCM (formerly Central Missouri State University) is my alma mater—my Bachelor’s Degree included a double major in Math and Business Education while my Master’s Degree was in Math Education.  I actually stayed in Warrensburg 6 years teaching, running wrestling tournaments and coaching various cheerleading teams while earning my master’s degree before moving to Kansas City where I started at Park Hill High School.  

 

My husband, Kurt, and I met at church via one of our pastors and the director of youth!  Our children have kept us “on the road” for sports, choir and hand bells, as well as drama/musical productions.  On top of that they have volunteered/worked at Heit’s Point camp, participated in Youth Leadership events, and attended National Youth Gatherings.  Rebekah is our oldest (LHS 2016) and recently graduated from Concordia University Nebraska and married Carter in June 2020.  Next is Christian (LHS 2019) attending Iowa State University and a member of the Iowa Army National Guard.  He served in the Honor Guard last summer before being deployed to Kosovo for 10+ months!  Home for just a few weeks before moving back to Ames for fall semester.  And, Caroline (LHS 2021) is our youngest.  She is starting her college life at Concordia University, Irvine, CA, and will study Graphic Design with the hopes to eventually work in fashion design.  A special shout-out to Mrs. Hathhorn for covering my class this week while we drive Caroline out to California and get her settled for an exciting year!  See you Monday!

About class:

Supplies Needed:  Notebook paper (prefer no spiral notebooks as work will need to be turned in daily and then when returned stored in 3 ring binder—provided), pencils and eraser for all work (no pencil sharpener in the room so come with several that will get you through class), colored pens to grade/check work and noting correct answers, simple calculator—you will show majority of your work but feel free to use calculator to check your basic operations.  (All fractions will be worked out on paper so don’t depend on a calculator for those problems!)

Textbook:  We will be using a traditional Algebra I book, but do not have copies for each student.  I will be printing out the materials and providing for you to set up in a binder where you will add your notes and homework as we go.  I have the binders for you with the first chapter ready to go.  It will be your responsibility to save all your papers and keep organized…I will guide you along the way.  You will need these with you daily in class.   

Expectations:

I expect you to be prepared for each class. This means that you will have your assigned work completed before each class and will have all materials for all classes. I will expect you to participate in all class discussions.   

 

What you can expect in the classroom:  I will present material, facilitate class discussions, guide you through the steps expected, and encourage your classmates to help answer questions as well.  I do not expect to lecture every class nor for the entire class.  You can expect to be doing work up at the board, at your desk, and working independently on assignments.  You will be expected to speak up when you don’t understand, make corrections for understanding and allowing you to move forward with confidence.

 

Do the work!  Working together is a great learning tool.  However, copying someone else’s work never leads to greater learning.  Quizzes and tests are cumulative by nature of the course material.  By completing your work and making corrections as you go, you are setting yourself up for success!

 

Grading:  Students will be graded on daily work including work done in class and assignments that may need to be finished outside of the classroom.  Typically work is to be finished when you arrive in class the next day.  Repeatedly turning in late assignments will result in not receiving full credit on the work and missing work will be given a score of 0.  If you did really poorly on an assignment, you may be givne opportunity to re-do the entire assignment or make corrections on your weakest problems and resubmit the entire assignment for a new grade.  These must be done prior to tests over the material.  (Don’t wait until the end of a grading period and ask what you can make up or if you have any missing work that you can still turn in for credit!)  You should expect quizzes on a regular basis—usually fairly short and are not always announced in advance—expect 10-15 minutes class time to complete before we move on to the next set of problems.  You will be notified when tests are coming up (typically at the end of each chapter) and the types of problems you may expect, so you can prepare and be ready to do your best on test day!  Final exams are given at the end of each semester—see handbook for weighting grades (finals are 20% and each quarter grade is 40% of your semester grade).

 

Schedule:

B period is the only class I teach. The remainder of my day entails my duties as Business Manager for LHS.  Students should be able to find me in the office or the a la carte room during lunch.  Students may bring questions to me any time during their off time or a study hall—be sure to get a hall pass from your study hall teacher.  I arrive to school by 7:30 and leave 3:30 or later.  If a student lets me know in advance when the best time for them to come in outside of class time, we can typically work out a plan.  Monday mornings the teachers are in devotions 7:00 am and up to class time, so it is better to avoid putting off questions and thinking they can get help first thing on a Monday morning.

 

Supplies:

MASKS—we will follow safety guidelines and wear masks in the classroom when social distancing is not practical.  Please have yours on when you enter and adjust as directed.  (Note: we will adapt and adjust as the guidelines change!)

SANITIZER—there is hand sanitizer available in the classroom as well as spray bottles to clean your desk and chair as you see fit prior to class.  We will expect you to sanitize after class.  Feel free to bring your own if you’re not comfortable with what is provided.

Notebook paper (please no spiral notebooks)—we do not have an actual textbook to check out to you, so I will be making copies and creating your books as we go.  I have already set up your binder with the first chapter copied and inserted for you.  More later on organization and work to keep in the binder!

Pencil—we do not have a pencil sharpener, so plan accordingly (I take no assignments in pen)

color pen (not blue or black) to check work in class

basic 4 function calculator (other calculators won't be allowed on tests—nor are your phones) 

*** I plan to use Google Classroom and post assignments and handouts when not able to get them in person.  Grades will be posted in Plus Portals NOT in Google Classroom.  Be sure your parents have received information on logging in and can set it up for you to access as well.  If COVID prevents daily class attendance, look for communication from me via your school email address.  We will try to do some zoom meetings as well as other posted instructions for you to access.

All rules and guidelines set out in the student handbook will be adhered to the best we are able.  At this time, we will not be accessing our phones for classwork, so please leave them in your locker or have them off and put away if in the classroom.  If phones are a distraction, you may expect it to be taken and sent to the office where you will have to meet with Dr Stelmachowicz to retrieve it.