Dear Parents and Guardians,

This course is an introductory course in Earth and Space Science.  It is normally the entry level high school science course and a pre-requisite to all upper level courses.

Students receive three handouts for each chapter.  They are [1], a Reading Study Guide, which is a series of questions and short written statements that highlight each section of the chapter; [2], a Graphing Skills Lab Sheet, which gives students practice in using some of the many types of graphs and tables used in science; and [3], a Math Review Sheet that provides practice of previously learned math skills.

The most crucial handout for students to complete is the Reading Study Guide.  It forces students to read the book and answer important questions.  It follows the book paragraph by paragraph.  The Reading Study Guide is turned in as a required assignment and graded as homework.  In addition, I allow students to use their Study Guides on the chapter quizes.  Thus the importance of the Study Guide is that it systematically sequences a student through each section of the chapter, counts as a homework grade, and can be used on the quiz.

You as parents and guardians are the final supervisors and determining forces over the academic success of your child.  At the 9th grade level the maturities and motivation of students varies widely.  Some work well with little or no supervision and with a minimum amount of guidance from me.  All I need to do is to point them in the right direction and provide an instructional track for them to run on, and they get the job done.  The other extreme are the organizational disasters.  Step #1 seldom comes before step #2, and the order of events does not matter to them.  Furthermore, they will not read directions and only want to rush to completion giving little or no thought as to what they are doing. These students just as often do not finish their work.  This is the child who demonstrates little or no responsibility and gets things done only because someone stands over them and provides constant supervision. 

Few parents have that much time, but I have a deal for you.  Ask your student to show you the last question answered on the Study Guide.  You date and sign this question.  Require your student to show me your signature the next day, and I will initial after you.  You can maintain a day-by-day accounting of what gets done.  If my initial is not there, I did not see it.  In this way you can maintain some visibility of what happens each day.  It places the accountability and responsibility on the student to perform and account to you daily.  

At the end of each Chapter, I print out a Grade Report for each student with a parent/guardian signature line.  This is a graded assignment with extra credit available.  The purpose is to reconcile what I have as scores and what each student thinks they should have.  It also informs students and keeps them up to date with their grades so as to eliminate any surprises at the end of the marking period.  This is an opportunity for you as parents to monitor and follow up your child's progress, as we complete each chapter.  In this way there will not be any surprises for you either.  I encourage you to monitor your child's progress by asking to see this grade report about once each 5-8 days.

Ample time exists for students to complete all of their work in class.  If they use their time efficiently, they will not have any homework.  However, when students get severely behind, they never get caught up and the course is usually lost.  Poor attendance results in not handing in all of the work.  It is the primary reason students fail.  Remember that receiving In-School-Suspension [ICE] due to unacceptable behavior in other classes greatly contributes to falling behind.  Successful students practice successful behavior. 

Please feel free to contact me at any time.  E-mail is the best: OrtmayerW@flaglerschools.com.  My office number is 386-437-7540, x1155.