421 North Arcadia AvenueTucson, Arizona 85711

520.232.5900

Dear AP Psychology Parents/Guardians,

Welcome to the 2014-15 school year! We have been hard at work getting ready this summer, and are excited about the upcoming year. I hope this letter will provide you with some useful information about the AP Psychology class at UHS.

Introduction to the TeacherThis will be my eighth year as the AP Psychology teacher at UHS. I am originally from Boston (go Red

Sox!), but received my B.A. in Psychology from Washington University in St. Louis. I then moved to Tucson for graduate school in Social Psychology at the University of Arizona, and received my Master’s degree. While completing my M.A., I decided that I enjoyed teaching more than research, and was fortunate enough to stumble upon a job opening at UHS. The rest, as they say, is history…

When not working on my class, you are likely to find me playing my guitar, reading a good book, or playing sports. I also love to cook, and am always on the lookout for new and interesting things to toss in the oven or on the grill. Any good recipe suggestions out there?

Introduction to the ClassAP Psychology is designed to be the equivalent of an introductory psychology course at the college level.

We will explore a variety of psychological fields in this class, including (but not limited to) neuroscience, sensation & perception, consciousness, learning, cognition, emotions & motivation, development, personality, intelligence, psychological disorders and treatments, and social psychology.

This class also puts a heavy emphasis on understanding research. Psychology is a scientific field, and every unit of the class will be based on an in-depth exploration of the research that has been done on that topic. Students will learn how psychological research is designed, how to avoid pitfalls in research design, and how to interpret the resulting data. The process of science is an extremely important component of the course.

Expectations of StudentsAP Psychology is an elective, which means that no student is required to be in my class. As a result, my

working assumption is that each student is present because they actively want to learn about psychology and have chosen to do so. I expect students to walk through my door every day ready to learn about the human mind. If this is not the case for a given student, AP Psychology may not be the course for them, and I will help them explore other options.

I also expect that, at the end of the year, every student will take the AP exam and will earn a 4 or 5. In previous years, the huge majority of my students have taken the exam, and nearly all of them earned college credit. If your student is actively engaged with my course, I will have him/her ready to succeed on the AP exam. Please encourage your student to take the exam, and to sign up promptly when the time comes. If finances make AP exams difficult, please be aware that UHS has a fund designated to help pay for some students’ exams. Contact the front office or counseling office for more information about this fund.

Attendance and timeliness are important! Students who consistently miss class or come late will see their

23 Advanced Placement Course Offerings 58 Flinn Foundation Scholars658 National Merit Finalists 426 National Merit Scholars

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421 North Arcadia AvenueTucson, Arizona 85711

520.232.5900

class participation grade drop, and will also be referred to UHS Administration. Please make sure that your student is getting to school, on time, every day.

Grading PolicyStudents’ grades will be based on their performance in a variety of assessments (please see Course

Syllabus or class website for details). I try to be very prompt about updating TUSD Stats, and that will be your best source for up-to-the-minute grade information.

This class is not terribly heavy on written homework. Every two weeks (or so), each student will turn in a Connections Assignment, which is a short paper connecting psychological principles to “real life”. However, despite the relatively low written work load, reading the textbook is absolutely essential to supplement what we are doing in class. Students should be reading their text every night, keeping up with the pace we set in the classroom. Please help to reinforce this study habit. Psychological research strongly suggests that retention is improved significantly when studying is done in spaced, repeated sessions (as compared to a massive cram session the night before the exam).

A Few Miscellaneous Notes

All students should have a means of taking notes in class. I am fine with a laptop or tablet for these purposes, but will change that policy if these technologies become distracting or are used for non-class purposes during class time.

I do not change any student grades based on their performance on the AP exam. I am available for extra help before and after school on most days. Conference periods (Mondays & Tuesdays,

7:45 - 9:00 am) are also a great time for extra help. If you are looking to contribute something to the classroom, I am perpetually in need of tissues, hand sanitizer,

and copy paper. Thank you in advance!

Contact Information & ConclusionEmail Address: adam.lazarewicz@tusd1.org

Class Website: http://www.uhseport.net/published/A/La/ALazarewicz/home/1/UHS Main Office Phone: (520)232-5900

Classroom: LL6Please do not hesitate to contact me at any time with questions, concerns, ideas, etc. Email is my

preferred contact method, and is likely to get the quickest response. I am looking forward to another great year in AP Psychology, and am so excited to have your student on my roster. I wish you and yours a wonderful school year, and can’t wait to see you at Open House on August 5.

Best,

Adam Lazarewicz

23 Advanced Placement Course Offerings 58 Flinn Foundation Scholars658 National Merit Finalists 426 National Merit Scholars

21 Varsity-level Athletic Teams Student Clubs For All Interests