ACADEMY FOR ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE Lewis Center For Educational Research 17500 Mana Road Apple Valley, CA. 92307 Rick Piercy, CEO/Principal

Dear Co-Workers in the home,

Welcome to the Academy For Academic Excellence! I would like to extend a warm welcome to you and your student. I intend to do my best to make this school year as productive and successful as possible for your child during their involvement in my Strategies for Solving Math Problem class. I hope we can get to know each other better during the year. I feel it is crucial to your student's success that we work as a team.

Let's start with me telling you about myself. I was born in Syosset, New York, but was raised in Highland, CA. I have lived in the Victor Valley since 1992, the year I taught at HJHS until this year. This is my 14 year in the classroom; 11 years at the middle school level, and 3 at the high school level. This year will be my first year at AAE/LCER. I've been married for almost 18 years. I have three children, ages 15, 11 and 3 years. My oldest son, entering 10th grade will join my daughter, starting 6th grade and my youngest son, starting preschool, all at the same school where my wife will be teaching 4th grade.

RESPONSIBILITY is a big word in my class. By high school, each student should understand the importance of being and taking responsibility for themselves. Therefore I will expect that at each class meeting your student will arrive prepared with the following supplies: Student Success hard-cover 3-ring binder (containing their Interactive Student Notebook , Student Planner and lined paper), their text book, and a pencil (a few more in a pouch tucked away in their hard-cover 3-ring binder helps). Lined paper will also be needed to be brought each class meeting. If your student learns to organize him/herself at an early age, life often becomes a little easier. I do however, sell pencils in class. Each meeting, students will record the days activities in their student planner.

The Problem Solving Strategies course has been designed to compliment your child's home learning in an effort to support you and help your student to meet and exceed California's academic and performance standards for mathematics. The course will emphasize solving problem by using learning and using a variety of methods, mastering the basic math skills of measurement, unit conversion, the use of formulas to solve for an unknown quantity, making objective observations of the world around them, committing to memory basic formulas, reading and constructing graphs, charts, and tables.

If you would like to contact me about your students's progress in the course please feel free to make an appointment with me on day that the class does not meet. If you wish to contact me at school or just leave a message, call me at 946-5414 or leave a message for me at ext. 238.

ATTACHMENTS: {Please keep these posted in your home to be used FYI when needed in the future.}

The first attachment is a copy of my Discipline Plan. Understanding this plan will be beneficial to your student's growth in the course.The objective of this plan is to guarantee your child and all the students the excellent educational climate they deserve. The rules, rewards, and consequences have been and will be clearly communicated to your child. For a comprehensive statement of school rules and policy, please refer to AAE's Student Handbook. Please keep this attachment for yourself. When you sign the last page, please feel free to add your thoughts concerning classroom discipline and your student's individual needs in the space provided.

The second attachment is a description of the Goals and Objectives that I have set for your child to attain while enrolled in the Problem Solving Strategies course.

At work, serving you and your child's best interest

M.D. Huffine

"2000-2001 Problem Solving Coach"

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