2015 – 2016
Advanced Placement Calculus BC
“BC Calculus isn’t a class…it’s a lifestyle!” (BC class of 2013)
Mrs. Schrick
You have homework every night until the advanced placement test. All homework and handouts (if someone
is absent) will be available on the web: www.redwood.org/jschrick
 All assignments are to be completed on graph paper. Out of graph paper? Try: http://graphpaper.us (You may
link through my web page or ask for some)
 You will need daily access to a TI-84 (or a TI-83 Plus, TI-83) calculator. There are links on the web page to turn
your computer or smart phone into the TI calculator!
 Bring your text to class daily, please. You will have two supplemental texts during the year.
 There are no holidays from homework during the year, but you will not be assigned extra work over three-day
weekends or vacations. This class has been honed into a “well oiled machine;” you will not be asked to do work
that isn’t related to understanding the specific and general BC calculus concepts.
 You have full access to all solutions in Mrs. Schrick’s homework binder at any time other than lesson time. Please
keep the binder on the red cart or the back table. “Check, don’t copy.” (You may not take photos of the work!)
 Homework from the previous Friday through a specific number on the block day assignment will be collected with
your Friday test. Incomplete homework packets will lower the current assessment by up to 4 points. (Test
corrections will also be part of the homework packet…see below) PLEASE NUMBER YOUR ASSIGNMENTS.
Use a highlighter and box the assignment number on your daily work.
 There will be unannounced homework collections for an assessment grade from time to time; do your homework
nightly since each day’s work builds on the previous night’s assignment. If homework completion becomes a
problem, you will be invited into Mrs. Schrick’s “homework club.”
 Homework is vital to your success! You need to be in the “habit of completion.” You should be doing calculus
homework at least five (5!) nights each week.
 In case of an excused absence, your work is due upon return.
Assessments will be given (almost) every Friday. Please do not miss them!
 Friday assessments receive one letter grade. The RHS testing schedule will be followed.
 Please honor the Redwood Honesty Policy.
 It is unethical to skip an assessment so that you may have more time to study or to find out from others what is on
the test. Do the right thing; take your assessments on time with the rest of the class. Remember that each
assessment is just a snapshot of your progress in the course.
 You will be allowed to make up two assessments per semester in the form of The Make-Up Test, unless
arrangements are made for taking a test early or on Monday morning. If you know you will miss an assessment,
let’s chat! No make-ups are given after Monday morning. If you are ill on a Friday, you may show up at 7:05 am
for the test on Monday morning, but as a courtesy, please email Mrs. Schrick to let her know you are coming.
 All students who earn a grade lower than an “A” on a weekly assessment must turn in test corrections with the next
week’s homework packet. Please do the corrections on graph paper and highlight the title if among your daily
assignments. Answer keys are posted in the classroom until 7:55 a.m. on the morning of the test. Remember to
“check, don’t copy.” Please do not copy or take photos of Mrs. Schrick’s work.
 All topics are fair game all year!
Need help? Don’t be shy about asking.
 If you need help at night, try emailing me at jschrick@redwood.org before 8 PM. Join the email help group for
regular hints when students ask questions...just send an email to the above address to get signed up.
 Request a “Show Me” video for help on a specific problem or a general concept. You may request one via email; it
will be emailed to you and the email help group and then posted on the webpage.
 Come in for help any morning after 7:15, lunch Mondays and Tuesdays, Thursday’s Smart period, and almostevery-week “study center” (5 – 6:30 PM). (Usually on Thursdays until the beginning of May)
Smart period passes are given out until 7:45 a.m. on Thursday mornings. You may request one via email up
until 7:45 a.m. on Thursday mornings…it will be on Mrs. Schrick’s back table when you stop by. I do not limit
the number of attendees, but will note if there are no seats left with “on the floor” on your pass.
This class does not stop or pause because you are not here.
 Please pick up the daily assignment and all handouts on the website before you return from your absence:
www.redwood.org/jschrick
 Schedule your vacations, appointments, and visits to colleges during non-school time, or after this class.
 It is your responsibility to get all notes and assignments before you return to class in the event that you are absent.
Do not expect the teacher to do this for you. Please read the textbook for the lesson(s) covered while you were
away.
Please be in your seat when the first bell begins to ring.
 You are considered “tardy” if you are not in your seat at that time.
 In order to promote promptness, students with ZERO (0) tardies will drop two letter grades per semester. This will
be done after the final weekly test and before the final exam.
 With ONE tardy, students will be able to drop one letter grade over the course of the semester.
 THREE tardies receive a reminder that for every subsequent tardy one half-hour with the teacher (or school
service) is assigned.
 All of this is nullified by unexcused absences or suspensions; students with double-digit absences jeopardize this
privilege so please come to class daily.
A cumulative final completes the fall semester. Depending on the course and our progress, we may or may
not have a final exam in the spring.
 You are expected to take the Advanced Placement test in May. We have 100% participation every year!
 The first three grading periods will weigh 80% of the semester grade and the final exam, 20%. Each marking
period will be a cumulative grade from the beginning of the semester; letter grades will be dropped before figuring
the final grade of the portion weighing 80%.
 We will have a class discussion about our time after the advanced placement test after the test has been taken; we
will explore some topics further in depth and learn topics not on our syllabus from the parallel college course.
In order to maintain complete focus on calculus, it is required that you have all electronics turned off and put away in
your backpack as you enter the classroom. You will have to retrieve your cell phone (or ipod, ipad, etc) in room 107 if
your phone goes off during class or if you are caught using it in any manner during your time in room 252.
Your teacher is very old-fashioned and does not use a computer to calculate grades. The system is very simple, and I
expect that you will be able to calculate your grade whenever you or your family wants to know what it is. I will only
calculate grades at the end of each reporting period. I will give you a form so that you may keep track of your grade.
All graded items will receive a letter grade. Use this scale to calculate your grade: A’s are worth 4 points, B’s are 3
points, C’s are 2 points, D’s are 1 point, and F’s are 0 points. Convert each grade you have earned, add them up, and
divide by the number of grades. Check the number on this grading scale to find out your grade:
3.75 – 4.00
A
1.75 – 2.24
C
3.50 – 3.74
A1.50 – 1.74
C3.25 – 3.49
B+
1.25 – 1.49
D+
2.75 - 3.24
B
0.75 – 1.24
D
2.50 – 2.74
B0.50 – 0.74
D2.25 – 2.49
C+
below .50
F
Once again, your teacher is very old-fashioned. There is no wasted time nor are there wasted activities. You should
come dressed to learn (please cover up if you are in violation of the dress code). Please remove all head-coverings
(hats, hoods, bandannas, scarves, caps, snow hats, etc) and ear pieces as you enter the classroom and be prepared
to stay in room 252 from bell to bell. (Please use the restroom before class begins—you are expected to be here for
the entire period)
BC Calculus is a fast-paced course; you will be using the material learned in the first week during the last week of the
course. You have never had a class that moves at the pace this one does while requiring you to know all that has
come previously. Get in the habit of working with other students, coming in to check your work, chatting with Mrs.
Schrick, and coming to study center. By October or November, the pace will seem normal and the topics that you
found difficult early on in the semester will come naturally. If you don’t understand a concept when it is first introduced,
you have the opportunity to practice it, apply it, and see it approximately fifty times again. (This may be an
understatement)
Imagine our class taking off in a rocket ship. Strap on your seatbelt! Gravity pins you
to the seat as we blast from the launch pad; some of you will fight to perform your
duties due to gravity’s effects while others will be able to operate with grace and
efficiency immediately. Eventually, though, all of us will look back upon the Earth and
watch the scenery float by, unaware that the speed at which we are moving is far
greater than that of any other vehicle, as we head to the distant calculus destination.
Remember to radio “mission control” when you need to and to enjoy the trip along the
way!
You will be amazed at how much you learn this year; do not hesitate to ask for help when you need it. When you are
challenged or you tell yourself that something is difficult, believe your teacher when she tells you: “You can do hard
things.”