November 11
Veterans Day
November 18
Early Release
November 25-27
Thanksgiving Holiday
After spending the first 18 years of my life in Colorado, I left home for college in Iowa, where I earned my B.A. in Biology and Mathematics from Grinnell College. Graduate school brought me to The Ohio State University, where I first earned a Master's of Science in Entomology and later my Master's of Education and my teaching license. Upon deciding that we wanted a change of scenery, my wife and I moved to Durham in the summer of 2005, and I began to teach here at Brogden. Now that I've entered my fifth year here, I am adjusting to the culture and climate of North Carolina, although I still miss snow during the winter and am much better versed in hockey than college basketball.
Welcome to the start of what I hope will be an interesting, exciting, fun, and challenging year here at Brogden Middle School. Unlike most teachers, I will be teaching three different classes this year: 8th grade Science, 8th grade Geometry, and 7th grade Algebra. I am not a member of a team; instead, my students are drawn from four different teams (the Lions and the Panthers for Algebra and the Navigators and the Aviators for Science and Geometry). I hope that both parents and students are as excited about this school year as I am!
This website is designed to help both parents and students learn about me, my classroom, and the courses I teach. I will update the site daily with homework and important school events.
Grades will be based on homework (30%), class work (30%) and tests (40%). There will be no penalty for make-up work, as long as the student's absence is considered excused by the school. Tests will be announced at least one week in advance, and there will always be a review. Students will take notes in class and will be responsible for keeping, managing, and organizing those notes.
My courses are not designed to be easy, though I believe that every student can be successful with some effort and hard work. With that in mind, I ask that the parents talk to their students daily about class work, homework, tests and anything else on the students' minds. A supportive and involved parent can go a long way toward helping a student succeed in the classroom.
Brogden's policy for grading is as follows:
| A = 93-100 | Excellent |
| B = 85-92 | Above Average |
| C = 77-84 | Average |
| D = 70-76 | Passing |
| F = 0-69 | No Credit |
It is the eight-grade policy that late work will not be accepted.
This year Algebra students will focus on understanding, manipulating, and using algebraic expressions and equations in order to solve mathematical problems. We will also work together to learn how to gather, organize, and interpret data. Toward the end of the year, the focus will shift to algebraic functions and how they can be used to solve problems.
Geometry students will focus on understanding how much the concept of geometry is a part of their everyday world. Students will expand the knowledge gained previously in Algebra in a number of ways. I will work with students to help them understand how to perform operations involving real numbers for problem solving, as well as proof writing. Finally, we will examine geometric figures and how they can be manipulated in the coordinate plane.
My two sections of Science will explore many aspects of the world around us. We will examine biological aspects, including cells and infectious diseases; chemical aspects, including how atoms interact and are classified; and geological aspects, including Earth's oceans and landmasses. The purpose of this class is to give students a chance to examine many branches of science deeper than they have previously had the opportunity to do.
| 2nd Period | Science | 8:00-9:05 |
| 3rd Period | Geometry | 9:09-10:10 |
| 4th Period | Elective | 10:14-10:56 |
| 5th Period | Elective | 11:00-11:42 |
| 6th Period | Science | 11:46-1:15 |
| Lunch | 12:10-12:35 | |
| 7th Period | Algebra | 1:19-2:20 |
If you wish to donate something to my classroom, the following items are always needed:
If you ever have any questions, concerns, or problems you can call me at school (919-560-3906 ext. 86403) or email me at david.rosenthal@dpsnc.net. I check both my voicemail and email daily, and I will return you message within 24 hours.