Mrs. Rizzo's Home Page

Mrs. Jean

nette Rizzo has been teaching 8th grade math at Kennedy Junior High School since 2002. Throughout the years, she has coached JV softball at Naperville North High School and 7th grade volleyball at Kennedy Junior High School. However, she now chooses to spend her time at home with her daughter, Kodi, who is 13months old. She has a Bachelors' of Science degree from Southern Illinois University and a Master's of Education Degree from Olivet Nazarene University. During the school year, Mrs. Rizzo holds tutoring sessions in the morning for her math classes. Look for more information about those sessions on Blackboard. Mrs. Rizzo is looking forward to having a successful year with the students.

Mrs. Rizzo can be reached at jrizzo@naperville203.org or 630-848-5617. The direct line to the NEWS office is 630-420-4061. The best times to reach her are from 8:00-8:50 and 1:24-2:05.

Eighth grade is a challenging year in terms of the math content. In regular math, the students are being introduced to new Algebra concepts that can be rather hard to grasp… at first. Through persistence and determination, students will be able to understand and apply these different concepts to real life situations. Second trimester is traditionally the more stressful part of the year, because the content is completely new to the students. Each year students panic about the content throughout this trimester, and by the end of the year, they are able to apply the concepts with greater ease. The hard work this year will enhance the success of the students next year in Algebra I. The Honors math curriculum takes the students' prior knowledge of Algebraic concepts and delves into more abstract applications of those concepts.

Math is not always the students' favorite subject, but through hard work and determination the students will have a successful move into high-school. I encourage students to ASK QUESTIONS and not dwell on mistakes. One of my expectations is to have students correct their mistakes by establishing personal goals and improvement plans. This approach should promote confidence in all students, no matter what their outlook or prior experiences in math have been. The overall goal of eighth grade is to make the transition into high-school as successful as possible.

There will be morning sessions available for extra help. I will send home information during the first week of school.

Quizzes and tests must be finished within the period. No time extension will be given. When you finish, you must have other things to do and remain quiet.