Oceanside Middle School
Math Department
September 6, 2011
Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome to Oceanside Middle School! I hope you had a wonderful summer vacation with your family and are looking forward to a successful 2011-2012 school year. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as well as give you some insight into my expectations for our class this year. My name is Daniel Art and I will be your child’s 7th grade math teacher. I have an undergraduate degree is in Mathematics with a certification in Secondary Education from SUNY Geneseo and a graduate degree in Computers in Education from C.W. Post. My special education counterpart will be Jennifer Pagano and we couldn't be more excited to welcome your child to OMS!
We are looking forward to an exciting and productive year with you and your child. At Oceanside we have an accelerated math curriculum. Instead of taking Integrated Algebra in 9th grade, our students take the first half in 7th grade and the second half in 8th grade. Your child will take the Integrated Algebra Regents Examination in June of 2013. In addition to preparing your child for the Integrated Algebra Regents, we also will be preparing our students for the Grade 7 New York State Assessment in April of 2012 and the Grade 8 New York State Assessment in April of 2013. Because of the nature of this curriculum, all work completed this year in 7th grade must be saved for 8th grade.
For this school year to be a successful one, we ask for your help and support. We are committed to the importance of parent involvement in a student’s education. We firmly believe that your child will receive the best education possible when you, your child and we work as a team. Specifically, we would like you to encourage your child to work hard daily. Show interest in your child’s mathematics work by asking what he/she did in class and what they have for homework.
I have a teacher web page (http://mrart.wikispaces.com/) which I update constantly. I encourage all of you to contact me of any questions or concerns, as I will do the same throughout the year. Email is the easiest and fastest way to reach me via or if you prefer the telephone you can leave a message for me with our amazing clerical staff at 516-678-8518. I will return your email/call as quickly as possible.
Thank you for your cooperation and we look forward to meeting you at Back-to- School Night.
Sincerely,
Daniel Art & Jennifer Pagano