What is My MYP Grade?

MYP Grade: 26/36 = 5/7.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Al Thani,

In this year in Grade eight so far I have had a pleasure getting to know Wadha and have seen her abilities and difficulties in science. I would like to help Wadha improve in science this term and try even harder to show the best of her abilities. I am looking forward to getting to know both you and Wadha more this term. In grade eight students will achieve much this term in terms of academic growth, greater self-confidence, and improved social skills. Good communication between parent, teacher, and student is very important for your child’s academic growth. Students this term will learn about Body Energy: The study of Digestion and, Circulation, and Respiration and how they work together and Power to the People: The study of electricity, how is it made and how it travels through circuits and powers electronic devices.

I would like to briefly discuss homework. While we do have regular homework in Grade Eight I do not give a great deal of homework. On most nights, it should average between 30-60 minutes. Occasionally there will be no homework, and sometimes Wadha will have an opportunity to finish her homework in class. On rare occasions, your child may have more than one hour of homework. Each Day you can expect to find any homework assignments on my wiki: http://rhodesscience.qataracademy.wikispaces.net/, under grade 8 and the unit that we they will be learning. Wadha has completed 11 out of thee 16 homeworks assigned this term and by completing all or most of them next term she can achieve a higher effort grade. The purpose of homework is to reinforce what we have learned in class, and to teach responsibility. When Wadha has done her homework she is prepared in class to hear explanations of what she has had trouble with at home. I have noticed when Wadha doesn't have her homework done she loses both in learning through reinforcement, and in listening to explanations in class. I am also trying, in grade eight, to help students develop good work habits for future years.

Wadha has achieved a good grade this term: 5/7 although she can improve by following very simple steps. Wadha has a major difficulty in her criteria A, D, E and F grade. In criterion A: One world Wadha can improve by describing in detail how science is applied to the issue and describing in detail some of the benefits or limitations rather than describing both briefly. Also, by discussing in detail how science and its applications interact with one of these interactions: social, economic, political, environmental, cultural or ethical factors her criterion A grade can improve incredibly. For criterion D: Scientific Inquiry in Labs Wadha can try to identify both / all the main variables in the RQ and state a valid hypothesis in response to the RQ and using correct scientific language and explain it scientifically. Also, for the Apparatus and method she can try to suggest a complete list of relevant apparatus and procedures which would allow for the collection of the provided data, to allow a fair test of the hypothesis and for her evaluation based on her conclusion, she can reflect on the limitations of the method she has suggested, suggesting improvements and possible extensions which would provide a better test of their hypothesis. This can help boost her Criteria A and D grades dramatically.

For Wadha's criterion E Grade trying to be able to carry out all relevant calculations accurately and to be able to plot a relevant graph accurately is very important to show great data tables and presentations/graphs. Wadha has excellent writing skills and she does use them in her conclusion, but she doesn't follow instructions for an excellent conclusion. For and excellent conclusion she has to form a valid conclusion based on the scientific evidence (referring to patterns and trends in the data with an attempt at explaining these) and which describes to what extent the evidence supports the hypothesis. This way Wadha will have boosted her Criteria A, D and E grades. Although for Wadha's criterion F grade: Lab and Group achievement she needs to try harder with group efforts by discussing in her group during labs and try to come up with great experiments where she can use scientific terminology and try to find out interesting answers and facts. This Wadha can achieve a great effort grade and improve brilliantly with her academic grades.

I hope by following simple strategies and techniques I gave Wadha can achieve a much higher grade and hopefully this can help her in future years in science and maybe other subjects too. If you have any questions or would like to contact me for parents who use e-mail, I normally check my e-mail daily, and this is often the quickest and most efficient way to get in touch with me, or to discuss any of your concerns. I will respond promptly. Please feel free to e-mail me at any time, at: strhodes@qf.org.qa. If you have any special questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to come in any time; or send me a note with your child in the morning, or by e-mail; or set up a conference.

Sincerely,
Stephen Rhodes