Welcome to Physical Science B
Mr. Ricchezza's Summer Class - Georgia Virtual School
Welcome and Getting Started
Most people don't want to take summer school classes, but it doesn't matter to me why you're here. My job is to make sure you get a fair chance to finish the class right. Summer is different from other semesters at Georgia Virtual School. It's shorter, for one thing - instead of 12-18 weeks, you get 5 or 6 weeks to complete the class. Also, instead of due dates every couple of weeks, work during summer is due every single school day!
Summer school tends to be pretty intense, but I've found that most summer school students mean business and want to get done with a good grade.
This welcome flyer is intended to cover some of what you'll need to do to succeed in this course.
Summer school tends to be pretty intense, but I've found that most summer school students mean business and want to get done with a good grade.
This welcome flyer is intended to cover some of what you'll need to do to succeed in this course.
News And Notes
Here are some tips for success:
- Log in to school every school day. There is something due every day!
- Read your school email (your username at gavirtualschool.org) and read the school news announcements every day. These two are the primary ways I will try to contact you and let you know what's going on in class. I will not contact you at your outside email, and any email sent from your outside email will be referred to your school account. This is for your privacy protection and education records.
- It doesn't take long to fall behind in summer, so start right and stay on task!
- Download your schedule from the class information widget. If you started work on June 2, you're on the 6 Week schedule; if you started on the 9th you're on the 5 Week.
- Items in bold type are due on the day they appear. There is a penalty for being late - 25% on the first day late, and 50% for the second day late. No work is accepted more than two days late - we are very serious about this! Saturday and Sunday are not considered school days but instead count as part of Monday for the purposes of determining how late an assignment is considered to be.
- If you miss school due to illness or other reasons you believe should be excused, send me documentation as soon as possible. I have no authority to personally grant extensions but will forward them to the administration. If they do grant an extension for any reason it will specify how long is granted.
- You may work ahead and are encouraged to do so. However, that does not mean to try and complete all the quizzes and tests in the first week. Working ahead is not useful if you do not score well. If I think you are moving too quick I will let you know.
- Students who rush to try and get everything done as soon as possible usually do not do well because they don't understand what they're doing. Make sure you're on time with your work, but don't rush too far ahead.
- I will hold two online class sessions every week - Tuesday at 11am and Thursday at 10am. The Tuesday session will be a quick run-through of the topics you are expected to complete before the next week's session. Keep in mind that this will include topics for the OTHER schedule at times. I will record these sessions and post the links so you can watch them. The Thursday session is for help, and may include students from the other course I teach (8th Grade Science - but that's a lot of similar material). The link to attend is above and below by my name and is also on the course information widget.
- The first session on Tuesday, June 3 (at 10 am) will be a welcome session that shows you around and explains how things work. As with all sessions, you may attend or not attend, but turning away free help is not usually a good idea. Those who cannot attend but are interested should watch recordings of the sessions, which will be posted.
- I will grade your work and give feedback within one school day. I will also answer email and phone calls within that time.
- Regarding the phone, the number I have provided is a forwarding number that sends to my cell phone at set hours of the weekday 10am to 8pm. Any calls outside of that time are automatically sent to voicemail.
- A good grade depends on many factors, including understanding the material, but the two biggest keys to success are attendance and communication. Do understand - just being here and talking to me are not enough alone, but without them, you're going to have a tough time!
- If your grade goes below 70 I am required to contact your parents immediately and to do so at least once a week. I would prefer that you avoid making me do this by doing a good job!
- Lastly, this course covers an entire semester worth of material in 5 or 6 weeks. There is no way I can possibly cover every topic in depth in that time. This is treated as remedial - meaning that you have a foundation in it, you've heard of most of these concepts, and you just need some details and hard effort. If you need more information for a particular topic, that's fine, let me know. But expect me to move quickly, because I don't have time to stop!
Contact Mr. Ricchezza
Don't keep questions or confusion secret!
Email: vic.ricchezza@gavirtualschool.org
Website: http://gavirtualschool.adobeconnect.com/ricchezzaoffice/
Phone: 678-856-7961