10 Very Important Things About Ms. Miller's Computer Science Courses
- Tutoring: Tutoring is offered for APCSA (Java) during Bulldog time in person or in the evenings via TEAMS (or Google Classroom). APCSA tutoring sessions are announced in class and in Remind. The Class Remind code is announced in class. You should come to tutoring when you have questions, are unsure if you are "doing it right," have "I don't understand this big concept and I feel like I should by now," or are stuck on an exercise. Our tutoring sessions are interactive. We may put you in a break out room with similarly situated students. We will not allow students just "watch" and not talk. If you are in tutoring, you will be asked questions, share your screen, talk through your logic.
--Office hours are for talking about grades and are available for students during Bulldog time and by appointment with Ms. Miller.
--TSA and CS Honors Society meetings are after school and are generally not considered APCSA tutoring.
--CSHS Java tutors are students who have taken Java and are approved tutors. They may meet after school for tutoring or study groups or virtually, but must be pre-approved by Ms. Miller and the Industry Experts or Microsoft TEALS volunteers. - Name Tags, Tardies & Assigned Seats: All computer science students are required to display their Issued Name Tags on the monitor of their assigned seat. Ms. Miller will assign seats, and change those assigned seats at her sole discretion, while complying with IEP and 504 plans. There are two sections of the room - the computer lap and the work tables. There will be different assigned seats, depending on the assignments of the day. Displaying your name tag demonstrates professionalism and responsibility. Displaying your name tag will earn you between 0 and 10 points per week after the first two weeks of each semester. The NT checks are random, unannounced, and appear more frequently at the begining of the semesters. Random name tag checks may be worth 2 points up to 15 points per day and week. In the first two weeks of each semester, name tags are worth up to 5 points per day. These points go into the WarmUp grade category. Students may lose 5 or 10 points, per week in school, each time their name tag is not displayed before the tardy bell. Ms. Miller suggests students keep their name tag in their 3-ring binder pocket. Students have tried to "get sneaky" and leave their name tags in the classroom by leaving them on the monitors, dropping them on the floor, hiding them in the room, stashing nametags in the blinds, taping them under the desks, etc.). This could be a costly mistake because students will lose 10 points each time Ms. Miller catches this unprofessional behavior. Replaced name tags may cost 25 points multiplied by the number of times Ms. Miller must make a replacement. Employees cannot make their own employee ID badges in the working world, therefore, students may not make their own replacement name tags either. Ms. Miller's Engineering Students have a different name tag and sign in process.
- Notebooks, #2 Pencil, and a Pen: All classes are required to keep a 3-Ring notebook, subject to regular unannounced inspection & grading. All notes, homework, written classwork, and blank paper are kept in the appropriate section. Students failing to have their course notebook, up to date and in good order, during notebook checks will earn zero points for that check. There are no "late" checks, even for absences. For late check zeros, Ms. Miller will exempt up to 4 zeros for excused absences, and unexecused absences will not be exempted. It is the student's responsibility to get thier absences marked in IC. These exemptions will occur at Ms. Miller's convenience, on the double-class period days, and at the end of the 9-week and 18-week grading period. You may carry the zero scores, until then.
- Course Schedule, Assignments, Grades, and Professionalism & Employabilty: The Course Schedule and daily assignments are located on our class management site, this website, on the white board in class, and announced verbally in class. AP Classes should use collegiality when a peer is absent. The Weekly Agenda is subject to change. We often move assignments based on the needs of the class. If you know you are going to be absent for more than 3 days, you should be contact Ms. Miller via email to get a list of assignments that were announced in class. Grades are found in Infinite Campus. Generally, missing assignments are marked missing. The "missing" score remains, and is calculated as a 0, until the student has BOTH the absence marked excused AND completed the assignment AND Ms. Miller grades it. Ms. Miller may adjust this for known, extended absences. Professionalism & Employability are standards in all CTAE courses in Georgia. In Ms. Miller's courses, students should think of themselves as employees of the Chamblee High School Computer Science Company. Then a whole lot of the employability and professionalism requirements make more sense. These courses are designed to teach you content AND SOFT SKILLS required in employment.
- AP Exam: Information is available at the College Board's AP Classroom website. By enrolling in AP courses, you are expected to practice for and take the corresponding AP Exam. CSP students may take the APCSP Exam. Some students take the AP course for the sole purpose of the 1/2 point grade bump, with no intention of taking the AP Exams. This is short-sighted because those students typically do not do as well as students who take the course intending on taking the corresponding AP Exam, negating the grade bump. Also, for many reasons, more colleges accept APCSP for non-CS majors than accept APCSA for CS majors. APCSP is a very doable exam and can be a very fun class if students take it as seriously as they do APUSH or AP Calc.
- Extra Credit: Ms. Miller announces several Extra Credit assignment/opportunities DURING THE SCHOOL YEAR. Pay attention! Recurring offerings include DCSD Tech Fair, Rubber Duck Decoding participation, TSA State Competition, TSA Fall Competition, GaETC Tech Competition, Congressional App Challenge, #HouseOfCode, DCSD Science and Engineering Fair, Lockheed CodeQuest, CTAE Career Day Presentations, Community Council Presentations, some TSA events and some CSHS events, and other competitions. These are THE ONLY extra credit assignments. Ms. Miller does not offer extra credit at the ends of first or second semester. Please do not ask. Asking for extra credit in the last two weeks of school may result in a deduction on your weekly professionalism and employability grade.
- Technology Student Association (TSA): Students in all of Ms. Miller's courses are highly encouraged to join TSA as a member. We will spend at least one Friday a month, in class, working on TSA projects or activities. Non-members will still be required to work on the projects or project alternatives. TSA or alternative activies assigned in class are not extra credit. Some extra credit options are available through TSA.
- CS Honors Society: Active members of the Computer Science Honors Society may also have in-class opportunities to work on extra credit opportunities. Cords: CS Honors Society Cords are light blue. Seniors, who have demonstrated adequate CSHS behavior in their time at Chamblee HS are eligible to wear their light blue cord at graduation. Ms. Miller hands these cords out during Seniors' Clearance week in May.
- Final Exam Exemptions: Seniors may ask for final exam exemptions each semester. Ms. Miller reserves the right to refuse these exemption requests based on an individual's demonstrated professionalism over the semester based on name card, notebook, tardies, group projects, and teamwork. The final exam grade may be all or part project-programming-based.
- Letters of Recommendation (LOR): As a computer science teacher, Ms. Miller is eligible to write letters of recommendation for college applications. All requests should be made in person, face-to-face, during Bulldog time or after school, AND at least two weeks in advance of the deadline. Once Ms. Miller agrees, students should send the request FROM Naviance account, and have already listed their colleges. Students should follow up with an email including their brag sheet and resume.
-- NOTE 1: When considering your deadline requests, know that Ms. Miller only writes LORs on Saturdays and Sundays.
-- NOTE 2: When considering your deadline requests, know that if Ms. Miller has "too many pending requests," she WILL NOT agree to writing more LORs until she has cleared her schedule. Early admit deadlines and regular admit deadlines are very real.
-- NOTE 3: Ms. Miller will not write a LOR for a student who has been caught cheating.