Final Exams Approach

As we move into the end of the first semester, a couple of important reminders...

• US History AP- final grades for this course will also be the final grades for Saint Louis University. The students have their term papers due on December 16th. I have set up "mile marker" assignments to force the kids to complete parts of the paper as they go. There should be no need for a last minute cram session on the paper. The final draft will need to be uploaded to the Virtual School by 12:05AM on December 16th. Hard copies are due in class on that day. Since students can upload from home, no late papers will be accepted. The final exams are scheduled for December 18th. I encourage students to form study groups and start looking ahead at their plan for preparation. I will be grading the papers over the winter break so grades will be posted in January as soon as I am finished.

• US Government and Politics AP- all papers are graded and ready to be returned. The students need to finish thier online quizzes, complete the articles online, and take the final test (December 11 and 14 are the writing and the 15th is the forced choice). The final exam is designed to mirror a formal AP exam in content. A review sheet and list of all possible essay questions was given out Monday in class. Students should be looking these over and meeting to practice the essays this week. I will be grading the last essays over the winter break so final grades will be available in January.

Papers and Final Exams

Junior parents- The final payments for 1818 ACC tuition were due December 1st. Any student not paid in full will be dropped by SLU this week. Remember that the AP option still exists for students who wish to earn college credit.

Junior papers were returned this week. I will have these grades added to the Virtual School grabebook later in the week. Students were given a re-write opportunity, and those who took advantage of this did exceptionally well on the paper. The term paper was assigned two weeks ago, and students set their class deadlines this week. The final paper is due December 16th, right before the final exam. You will be asked to read their drafts and to sign a signature card to that effect. This forces them to proofread their writing.

Senior parents- The final papers have been turned in, and I will be grading these over the next few weeks. Aside from a few quizzes, the class has to concentrate on the upcoming final exam in the next few weeks. It is 50% of thier final grade, so the emphasis on studying is strong.

For all classes, the final exams are a significant part of the course grade. Students should start forming study groups NOW and reviewing material. Waiting until the last minute will not be productive for the semester long exams. For many students, this will be the first true semester exam that they experience. I will offer review sessions at school to help ease the stress. Please let me know of any concerns that you have.

Appraoching the Final Stretch...

US History AP/ACC:

• Remember that payments to Saint Louis University are due by December 1st or students will be dropped from the SLU course. This will not impact their enrollment at Belleville West. If you have questions about enrollment at SLU, please do not hesitate to e-mail me at bhentze@bths201.org.
• As with last triad, all the content quizzes are now open and can be taken by students at any time before December 14th. Make sure you encourage them to pace themselves and not wait until the last minute before taking the quizzes!
• Students have their term papers assigned so you should be seeing them working on their research. Papers will be due the week before final exams. You will be asked to sign a signature card showing the you have reviewed the first draft and final draft with your students.
  

United States Government and Politics AP

• The final test will be administered before seniors are released for the semester. The test will count as 50% of their grade- so encourage studying early and often.
  
• Term papers have been returned- there over 70% scored in the A-B range.
  
• Triad quizzes will be due on December 14th, make sure to remind your son or daughter not to procrastinate in getting these done!
  

Triad Grades and College Payments

The US Government and Politics class opted to bypass their midterm exam in lieu of a final exam for the semester. This means that there will only be a few incremental grades this triad as I finish grading their semester papers. The final exam will now weight 50% of their total grade. SO far I have seen a decline in daily homeowrk and online participation from the students. I would encourage you to talk wtih them frequently about keeping up their senior grades. Contrary to popular belief, the last two semesters DO count for college admissions. Schools will rescind admission and scholarship offers if final semester grades are lower than anticipated.

The United States History AP class should be fully registered at SLU by now. Payment should be mailed directly to the university. Any students who are not paid will simply be withdrawn from the course by SLU. Just a reminder that all students will be encouraged to take the Advacned Placement test in May as another opportunity for college credit. The juniors did complete the midterm exams, and I have one test left to administer for a student who was absent the day of the exam. Once this studnet makes her appointment, I can begin calculating the curve and transfer the grade over to the new online system.

College Application Day

I have heard from quite a few parents that their students are really procrasitnating on completing college applications. I thought it might help if I hold a "college applicaton day" on Sunday, October 25th starting at 2:00PM. I invited all of the kids to bring in their applications, and we will all sit down and get them completed together. Nothing like a little peer pressure to get the job done!

Midterms, Field Experiences, and Papers= Oh, my

It is misterm exam season already, and the parents of juniors have already noticed the frantic look that overtakes their children at this time of year. The junior midterm is complete as of today, and the kids have really impressed me with their preparation. I browsed through some of the writing and it is looking good from the initial glances. They should have this back in about 2 weeks. The forced choice portion of the exam is today, and those results are immediate so the kids should have an idea of how they scored. Each part of the exam counts as 50% of the exam grade.

Tomorrow the juniors go on their field experience. They are to wear "wedding clothes" , but I recommended jackets as well since the weather will be chilly in Alton. It should be an exciting day for them, and I look forward to hearing from you on what they think.

The seniors are voting now on their midterm. They did not have the sense of urgency that the juniors did about preparation, and I am very concerned about their readiness for the exam. I have given them two options in order to "shock" them into action. They can either move the midterm back one week so they have more time to prepare, or they can not take a midterm and just have a final exam that is 50% of their grade (as of now the midterm is 24% and the final is 25%). We will go with the majority vote using an online polling tool. They should know the results on Friday.

Midterm Exams

I apologize for the delay in posting to the blog. I got caught up studying for an exam that I had to take at SLU, and I lost track of my last post.

The Midterm Exams have been scheduled for the next few weeks. Students should begin studying now in order to prepare for the exams. I recommend that they form study groups to go through the content chapter by chapter. Of course, there are several online resources available to help as well.

The US History AP exam is scheduled for October 20, 21, and 22.

The US Government and Politics AP exam is scheduled for October 26 and 27.

The field experience for each class is the day immediately following the exam.

US History papers are due on Monday, October 19th.