Frequently asked Questions and Answer
That may be the case, but we are at one of the premier schools in the city, and perhaps the nation, with many exceptional students. The transition from middle school to high school is often a large one—and often students find that the laid-back, minimal effort study strategy that they employed in middle school simply does not cut it at Bronx Science. Good grades demand good work and good study habits.
Students should schedule a meeting with me during Small Group Instruction (SGI), which is on Wednesdays and Thursdays during Periods 10 in Room 111. During these meetings, they can review the material with me, prepare for upcoming exams, complete practice problems, review old exams and mistakes made, go over or complete homework assignments, review successful study habits, etc. They must come prepared with questions and the work they’ve already done on their own.
Students should complete many practice problems on their own. For example, they can re-do their homework assignments to prepare for exams.
Students must be completing all homework assignments and must consistently participate in class. Participation includes taking sufficient notes, asking or answering questions during the lesson, working on class problems with their assigned partners, and presenting their work to the class.
Students can request an ARISTA tutor. ARISTA tutors are upperclassmen who are willing to work with others to help them with the more difficult material of the course.
Help your student discover the study habits that best suit them. For example, they may benefit from studying the material incrementally, say, 45 minutes a night over the span of a week as opposed to several hours at once on the night before the exam.
All announcements, assignments, grades, and comments are posted on PupilPath. Please e-mail me if you have any questions about your PupilPath account or your student’s PupilPath account.
Ensure that they are putting effort into the homework. I do not check homework assignments for accuracy, merely for completion. However, a list of answers is insufficient—that does not show that your child actually did the problems and understands the concepts.
Check your child’s notes – I will often have many important things written on the board, so it is imperative that he or she has a detailed, written record of the material. In addition, many of the practice problems that we do in class mirror the material tested – make sure that they have a detailed record of ‘the problem and its solution (especially if they were unable to solve the problem.)
Encourage your child to come to see me at any time that they are unsure about the material. Whether it is a particular homework problem, a theorem in class, or an exam problem, it is best to ask before we move on to a new topic. As geometry builds on what came before, it’s best to understand what is necessary first before understanding the new material is.
Encourage your child to speak up in class. I base the class participation grade on the frequency and quality of the comments the students make, so it is important that every student try to answer at least one question I pose close to every day. In addition, students need to make sure that they are active and engaged in the lesson. If I note students distracted or not taking notes, this will be reflected in the participation grade for the class (as well as eventually on exam grades).
You may wish to have your child sign up for an NHS tutor – they are upperclassmen who will be willing to work with your child and help them along with the more difficult material. In addition, some of my previous students often return to my SGI and offer their services to current students.
Help them discover the study habits that best suit them. There are a few people who can do well when studying in a big block, but most people are best studying incrementally – say, 15 minutes a night over a span of a week as opposed to a 2-hour block the night before an exam.
Students must complete all homework assignments and must submit them on time. They will receive half credit for each assignment that is submitted late.
We do two things: compete in various contests and discuss and develop new problem-solving techniques useful for more advanced mathematics classes as well as other exams like the SAT.
Much of the class is problem-solving: as a result, students are expected to tackle difficult problems that they may not necessarily know how to do and grapple with them for extended periods of time.
Some students may be selected or volunteer to take the various team and individual contests outside of the school building: such opportunities will be officially announced.