Baruch College Campus High School
Alicia Perez-Katz, Principal
Gisele Nassif-Hanna, Assistant Principal
2010-2011, 10th grade Mathematics
Ruth Cogan, Mathematics Teacher
Email: rcogan@bcchsnyc.org
School website: www.bcchsnyc.org
Personal site: http://mscogan.wordpress.com
“To Thales the primary question was not what do we know, but how do we know it.”
-Aristotle
Dear 10th grade Mathematicians,
Welcome back! I hope your summer was both relaxing and fun! I am excited to be your teacher in this new
year as we learn together new mathematical concepts that are not only exciting and interesting, but apply to
our lives as well. You will be challenged as a student to go beyond the question, “Is this the right answer?”
to “How do I solve this problem?” and “How do I know this is the answer?”
Thus, the essential question for this year is:
“How do we know what we know?”
It’s an important questionone in which we will have a great time exploring!
In every unit, we will have the opportunity to grow and become more effective problem solvers that will
enable us to delve into the world of right triangles and use trigonometry to find missing angles and
measurements. We will learn why the sum of the angles in a triangle is 180 and look at the special
properties of parallel lines and circles. Geometry, we will see, is an important and practical branch of
mathematics.
The first test of every quarter will serve as your DYO, which specifically divides your test grades into three
areas: procedural, conceptual, and multiple choice. As the year progresses, we hope to see the scores in
these three areas improve. Your parents will not only see the results for your DYO, they will also see and
sign each test you take in this class.
For my class, the following general policies apply:
• You may not chew gum, eat, or drink in class. Our school has a no hats, ipods or cell phones policy. If
found with any of these objects, they will either be discarded or held on by the office and your participation
grade may also be affected.
• Each student is required to bring the following materials:
 a TI83 or TI84 (Plus or Silver Edition) graphing calculator
 one 1-inch binder, loose-leaf notebook paper and five dividers. You may not use your binder for
another class.
 compass
 protractor
 graph paper
 BCCHS planner
• Respectful and appropriate (no swearing nor derogatory words) language must be used at all times.
• You are expected to dress appropriately, following school guidelines.
• Permission must be given to use the bathroom.
The grading policy is as follows:
Tests/Quizzes: 40% of total grade
• Every Friday there will be weekly quiz (unless stated otherwise).
 If you score below 90% on your quiz, you must retake the quiz in afterschool. Your final quiz score
will be the higher of the two grades.
 Old quizzes from the year before will be posted on my blog for your use. In order to retake a quiz,
you must print off an old quiz and bring it to afterschool and work on it before you retake your quiz.
 If you do not retake the quiz by the end of the quarter, your score will be averaged with a zero.
• Expect a test after each unit.
Homework: 20% of total grade
• All homework should be done individually and on time. This means your homework is ready to be
handed in as soon as you enter the classroom.
• Textbook work should be done in pencil and must include diagrams (if applicable) with all work shown to
receive full credit.
• Homework is graded on a 5 point scale with a possible 0, 3 or 5 rewarded.
 Score of 0: No work (or very little work) was done or you forgot to bring the assignment.
 Score of 3: Homework is incomplete (at least one problem or more were not attempted).
 Score of 5: All problems were attempted with appropriate work shown (including diagrams).
Participation: 20% of total grade
• Being on time
• Prepared for class
• contributing to class discussions and group work
• listening and asking questions when you don’t understand material
• taking part in class activities.
• Being respectful of myself and your peers
Projects: 20% of total grade
• Expect at least one project per quarter.
• All written work must be typed: double spaced, 12 pt font using Times New Roman
• Some projects will be completed using VoiceThread, an online website in which all of you will receive a
personal account and password to create and upload your projects to. More information will follow.
• If a project or paper is turned in late, you will lose 10 points for each day it is late. This is a school-wide
policy.
*** You will be taking the Geometry Regents in June, which covers topics from this year. As part of our
preparation, you will be taking a practice Regents exam in January, which will consist of only Regents
questions, all of which you will know how to answer.
Please frequently visit the class website, which has important handouts, announcements, and a discussion
forum for you to post and respond to questions. We will communicate often through this website:
http://mscogan.wordpress.com/ . I am looking forward to working with each of you and exploring what
lies ahead of us in our mathematical discoveries.
Sincerely yours,
Ruth Cogan,
10th Grade Mathematics Teacher
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