I have to admit all my hopes and dreams for this school is coming into fruition. I used to imagine what deady would be like if all students go to their classes on time and turn in their homework on time. Amazingly, i don't have to do that anymore! what i used to dream is happening before me. what a great first week here at deady! I especially would like to do a shout out to my homeroom. i would like to commend and honor them for just turning in their stuff on time. The DEAR time has been tremendous. Thanks to Edwin for really making sure everyone is productive. I can't ask for any other homeroom. shout out to 2B! - i don't know why but there's something in that class that really makes me enjoy my job. 4B period has been excellent in their own way as well. with 40 students in the classroom, i think everyone understands the gravity of having to deal with that many students. All has been very respectful and polite. shout out to 1A and 2A! - i have to say those two periods are head to head in terms of motivating themselves to learn. i had a student last wednesday clap after the lesson. sounds like someone enjoyed the class so much that an applause was rather thought appropropriate. It was a good feeling after all. i have a feeling this week is going to be as outstanding as the first one. Take care ya'll : ) _MRV_

a little crazy but not too bad this week. 20 students got added to my algebra class. it was quite interesting having all these changes - especially with the seating arrangements and gradings. the good thing is we are now ready for lift off. i could sense both excitement and anxiousness. changes will be for the better. i am ready for all of you 3B and 3A. the question is are you? there will be no crying this year! : ) (inside joke)

both my 1A and 2A students have been very supoortive amidst all the changes. they were actually doing pretty well. i understand some hardships with rational numbers but i think it's about time to step up the game. if you are having a difficult time you have to let you teacher know before any assessment. you know all your tests are graded!

Open House! i have met about 25 wonderful parents this week. i was excited and honored to meet those that came. For the parents, you can always come by and visit. a little rusty in math ? in fact you can come and sit in one of my classes if you want. : )

so there you go kids, this week we will be starting ratios, rates, proportions, scientific notation, and irrational numbers! good luck and have a great week!

_MRV_

mr v got injured this week. : ) i apologize to my 2A for seeing the whole thing in action. even my students at ms mcclain's classroom heard the big bang. it was quite a site. i found a new friend- the big lcd screen in my room. and guess what? after lunch i have stepped on a gum and i was dragging it across the floor. i gave two detentions for missing 3 homeworks in a row. you know who you are! what a day what a day. good news is after every storm comes a bright new tomorrow.

irrational numbers(square and square root lesson) and scientific notation(powers of ten lesson) this week. i sure hope everyone understands the fact that irrational numbers do not have a pattern and that the square root of the "non perfect squares" are irrational. for scientific notation negative exponents denotes small number(less than one) and positive exponents are large numbers greater than one.

 

for my algebra: i need everyone to know that when solving equations, you must always simplify it first (distributive property and combining like terms) and then collect variable on one side of the equation. then fianlly solve equation using two step or one step equations.

thanks for all my students last year who came by to visit! deisy, jose, francisco, maria, and the other maria and all those i forgot!... : )

C

week 5. mrv was out tuesday due to training but students stayed focused. good job to my B day periods.

The Pythagorean Theorem aka the right triangle love story. it's all coming together and i know some are still struggling with it. it's all about which side you are looking for and which forumula to use. remember if you are looking for the longest side c, you need to use the formula that goes with it. if you're looking for one of the shorter sides remembers it's subtract.
NEVER forget the steps! 1. write the formula 2. plug in the values that goes in with the variable 3. do the squares 4. add or subtract 5. take the square root. simple!
Algebra: solving for the variable by rearranging the equations needs to be practiced but i can tell most of you guys are getting good at it. i am extrememly proud of you all.

no injury this week. it was all good. : ) for those that are trying really hard, trust me i know who you are. for the rest i still encourage you to come see me after school for tutorials.

take care.

week 6! mrv out again half day thursday. this week has been crazy and a little out control due to schedule changes.

i think it's still important to know the reason why we're here in the first place- investment. despite of all the craziness, i need my students to stay grounded on the fact that their only duty at this time of their lives is to stay focused. what could be more important than training this marvelous brains and achieving it's fullest potential. you wid me???

The beginning of Ratios and Proportions this week. Remember the diagram we drew? It's amazing how "a line, an equal sign and a line" can do wonders. Remember unit rates and unit price. Remember which is the best buy? Remember we have 2 more weeks to finish and master Ratio and Proportions(including percents).

My algebra is getting their act together. We are still at the very top level of FUNCTIONS. Trust me on this one.. we will all be FUNCTION MASTERS. If you would like to do some advance study, look at linear and quadratic equations- coming soon to a classroom near you.

Don't forget room 205 is da bomb. : ) This is where actual learning takes place. Don't take away this greatest opportunity for you and for others.

Thanks to mindy for making my day today. she said, "something really scary happened to me today..... i am starting to really enjoy math." THANKS MINDY!

Also, thanks to monica and everardo for the awesome essay about math(extra credit). kudos. you guys got points!

 

be careful out there.

_MRV_

week 7! hmmm... i wonder what's new this week. the highlight i believe was the distric test for everyone!

Here's our lseson review. Grade 8 math once again has been a delight to teach. 1A and 2A are marvelous with their line equal sign and line - AKA proprtion set up.

Algebra has started and finished inequalties with a bang - both abstract and non abstract.

We got a few serious drama this week. Maybe if people put forth this drama energy and channel it to their learning energy maybe we'll have less frustrations and better grades. I remember having this same drama when i was at this age but somehow i was never involved in it directly. it has always been my friends. i somehow managed to just look from the outside and enjoy the show. It's all coming back to me again.

We got a few honor rolls this 1st six weeks. I will create a video just for these students.

be careful out there.

_MRV_

week 8! i am starting to notice the really rare talented students. first of all congratulations to Rodney Y. for making it to First Honor Roll. I must say he is the only one on the A list. I couldn't be any prouder. One amazing lad indeed. We had a few more in the honor roll list like Armando, Evelyn, and Sarahi. Am very proud of them too.

Now, Percents is coming along fine. Most of my students either get it or not. A few really got it down good. Some are amazingly working hard to get to a better level. My 4B brought their "ZINE" on thursday. Only one person lost it and that person obviously received detention from me that day. So as a friendly warning, do not lose my stuff! Another warning, if you were absent it's your responsibilty to come by and see me or talk to someone about the lesson you missed!

1A and 2A always up to par. these guys Never cease to amaze me. They tend to always finish their work.

I don't know why but it's so much fun to teach a class where everyone is eager to learn. That's where my 3A and 3B come in. I know how hard some of them really works in there. The moment one person slacks of we all notice. Totally immense BRAIN POWER in those classes! Shout out to rodney for doing everything so super fast in 3A and Helen gets that same award for 3B. Evelyn and Armando has been tremendously consistent with everything they do. It's quite scary having all these brain power in one classroom. : )

So keep Up the good work homies.

room 205 RULES!!!

WEEK 9. This week went by so fast i can't even remember the big highlights but the haunted house event - which by the way was extra fun and scary. : )

So we finally finished PERCENTS this week. It has been one quite ride wasn't it? Our line equal sign and line is actually called setting up a proportion. And a lot of you have been doing it correctly. i am so proud.

Pet peeve this week is still having a few students losing my materials. Some people still forget their pencils. i have one with no matrials at all.

Linear FUNCTIONS! That was my whole lesson for my Algebra class. All forms of writing linear equations must be remembered. Point slope is used when given a point and a slope. slope intercept form is used when y-intercept and slope is known. On the test this coming week you should know how to make a slope intercept equation given two points.

Over all i think this week went pretty well. only a few detentions. My students are really getting better in their academics. I couldn't be any more prouder.

Have a good week homies!

WEEK 10. I apologize to my 2B for not seeing them this week. despite the missed lectures they kept on learning what they can.

so my algebra took a major test for my class. i think some of them are just starting to realize how important it is to study. i hope they all learned their lesson. We finally finished linear equations and functions. WE get to move on to systems of linear equations this week and next. 3 weeks from now we will have another major test. They should be studying hard this time. : )

my 8th grade classes will be studying equations and what i call my function machin. somehow they remember the word machine more than the word function. but that's ok. we will get in depth about it this week.

once again, i encourage everyone who has internet access to start watching the tutorial videos online. I know i gave a lot of ou CDs to study at home as well. Please do some advance study. it really does help you a lot!

Have a good week homies!

-MRV-

ntent 10

week 11! another CBA test week. i don't have the score yet but i'll definitely post the high scores here. : )

it's been a tremendous week. We have started learning how math is really an abstract language and we learned how to translate real life situation to mathematical sentences called equations! pretty neat stuff indeed. I am pretty sure my 8th grade class will always remember the jet ski lesson. we saw some jet ski pictures as well as abstract paintings! what an awesome week to learn something new!

Algebra is still representing well. we have started solving systems of linear equations. don't forget we have 3 ways to solve systems: by graphing, by substitution, and by elimination. and we must not forget the special cases as well. We should be finishing this month with systems of linear inequalities. Don't forget the big unit test first week of December.

i believe it has been one crazy but pleasant ride this year. I seem to not have any attitude problems with my students. i love the fact that we all enjoy each other's uniqueness and personalities. Everyone's got their own little thing going but i have noticed everyone seems to be serious about passing all their classes and really working hard to get good grades.

I am one proud and happy teacher. : )

Take care.

-MRV-

HAPPY GOBBLE WEEK TO EVERYONE

as a friendly reminder: all students from our cluster received a holiday packet that counts as a major grade. So eat, sleep, and do a little bit of work : ) don't forget my packet only requires you a few hours - 4 at most. It should serve as a pretty good review with rational numbers.

Algebra packet obviously is just a review of the last 3 lessons we have covered.

Once again i have been impressed with my students remarkable work week after week. i couldn't be any prouder.

Take care homies.

It has been an amazing first half of the school year! Thank you guys for making it an awesome experience for me and for the other teachers. Have a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Celebrate this holiday with food, love, and laughter! Then be back to school ready to do what is expected of you - excellence. Have a great 2 weeks everyone! See you all on the 6th!