Dear parents/guardians,
I just wanted to send a quick note home saying ‘hello’ and announcing that I will be
your child’s grade 9 mathematics teacher for this semester. As part of the grade 9
math teaching team, I am following the same unit progression/marking scheme as
was set out in the course outline that was sent home Thursday January 30th, 2014.
The only change will be the addition of my contact information.
 I may be reached by email at: ashley.farnsworth@nbed.nb.ca
 For homework/class notes/important dates (assignments, tests, etc.) please
see my wikispace- that will hopefully be up and running by next Monday,
February 9th- at: msfarnsworth@wikispaces.com
I will do my best to respond to any communication as soon as I am able but please
note that I teach back-to-back classes in the mornings and therefore will not likely
be able to see or respond to any emails between 8:30am and 12:20pm. If there is an
emergency please contact the office at 506-453-5435 (Margaret Munn is now the
main receptionist as Jackie has retired) and they will be able to reach me if needed
during instructional time.
I look forward to working with your son/daughter!
Sincerely,
Ashley Farnsworth
Additional note on calculators:
As was mentioned in the course outline, students are required to bring their own
calculators to class each day. One of the most frequent questions I’ve been asked by
both students and parents is if I could recommend a good calculator. I have three I
can specifically recommend because I’ve used them and have worked with students
using them, all under $21 (as per Staples.ca and Walmart.ca).
My general recommendations for scientific calculators are:
 Needs to display two lines of numbers/symbols: the top line shows the
calculation/equation (that you can go back and edit if you made a mistake)
and the bottom line shows the answer
 Needs to have an ‘ans’ button. This button when pushed simply displays the
answer from your last calculation. I cannot stress how useful this button is,
especially in the grade 10 (and 11) financial math units. For some calculators
it has to be accessed via 2nd/alpha function and this is OK.
My three favorites:
1) TI-30X-IIS: (TI = Texas Instrument) I’ve had this calculator since I was in grade
11 and used it throughout my university math and science courses. I’ve had a couple
of expensive calculators but this one is still my favorite because it’s extremely easy
to use and has all the functions I’ve ever needed. For calculator enthusiasts only: this
one has the best ‘button feel’ of the three as well as the most ergonomic shape.
2) Casio Scientific Calculator FX991MSPLUS: This is the only one of the three that
has a direct access ‘answer’ button- that is you don’t have to press 2nd function or
alpha first – and thus this might be the easiest to use/user friendly of the three.
3) SHARP EL520XBWH Scientific Calculator: Like the other two it has what I
consider the ‘must have’ features and the overall button layout is straightforward.
Compared to the Casio I find SHARP’s display easier to read- the numbers (at least in
the answer line) are more bold.