Welcome Back Letter

1. Mathematics Department
Baldwin Senior High School
Dear Math Student: Welcome Back – Day One!!!
Congratulations, you are about to enter an amazing new world of discovery! I
have been privileged to teach STEAM to the students of Baldwin SHS for over 33 years
now! In fact, here's a little history, I've been teaching:
Coding & BASIC since 1975,
High School Math, AP Computer Science & Pascal since 1984,
College Math, Graphing Calculators, Linux, AP Calculus & C++ since 1993,
Linux Clusters, Super Computing & Java with HTML since 2002
SAGE, Computer Algebra Systems & Python since 2011!
I also make liberal use of Cloud Computing, YouTube and BlogSpot as needed!
One thing you should know about me is that my primary aim every day, in
addition to teaching you some new Math and CompSci, is to:
make you feel welcome,
empower you and
give you choices!
For instance, I like to welcome each and every one of you every day at my door
and I like to decorate my room to make it comfortable and conducive to learning. Also, I
teach in a PC Lab Classroom so I can empower you by showing you how to use the
latest technology and software for doing Math and Science. Finally, I give homework
most nights, but it's your choice how you complete it and how much you can do.
Whenever we have a new topic, you should spend no more than 30 minutes reading the
text, 30 minutes watching my ScreenCast and 30 minutes doing the exercises. Other
nights, you should spend no more than 60 minutes doing the exercises.
Finally, I hope you find learning Mathematics and CompSci with me to be a fun
and valuable experience. So don't be surprised when we have SAGE, Socrative or MCQ
Mondays, TakeHome Tuesdays, YouTube Wednesdays, ThinkPairShare Thursdays and
FRQ Fridays! Let's have a great year in class together!
Sincerely,
A. Jorge García
calcpage@aol.com
Applied Math & CompSci
Baldwin SHS & Nassau CC
http://shadowfaxrant.blogspot.com
http://www.youtube.com/calcpage2009