Greg Alspach
Hi. I'm Greg Alspach and I've taught in Holland Public Schools for 14 years, mostly at East when it was a middle school, then at Holland High School, and now Holland's New Tech High School. Prior to joining Holland Public Schools in 1998, I was West House Coordinator at West Ottawa Middle School, principal at Allendale Junior High School, and co-founder of Holland's first brew-pub, Black River Bistro and Brewing Company, which I left in 1998 to return to teaching. During this 2011-12 school year I will be teaching algebra and geometry to the same students I had last year, and algebra to a special section of 8th graders.
Here are our plans for early in 2012.
Geometry - moves on from relationships among triangles to relationships within triangles; midsegments, bisectors, medians, altitudes, and such. By mid-February the class focus will shift to the geometry of quadrilaterals.
Algebra - finishes linear equations with a mini-project using a marble rolling up a ramp with a negative slope or Barbie and Ken Go Bungee Jumping in 8th grade. This leads into systems of equations toward the end of February.
The second trimester ends with assessments on February 29, March 1 and 2. galspach@hollandpublicschools.org.
