Faculty Name / Mr. Ray Peaco
Term / School Year
Meetings / Room 329 M-F
Faculty’s Contact Information
Phone / 724-452-6041 ext. 1073Email Address /
General Course Information
Course Description from Program of Studies / Business and Personal Finance is a course designed to develop a class of financially literate students. Budgeting, saving, making investments, and handling credit are financial skills that all individuals need to know. Reinforcement of financial awareness helps to provide students with the opportunity to live within their means, improve their savings strategies, grow capital through investments, and promote a positive social change as they develop better financial skills. This course is recommended for any senior whether they are college bound or planning on entering the job market immediately upon graduation from high school.Standards/Anchors/Objectives / Calculate forms of pay, compute salaries, calculate different forms of commissions, compute total pay (2.8.11H. 2.8.11D, 6.5.12A, 11.1.12E);
Compute maturity value and interest rate of a single-payment loan; calculate down payment and amount financed on installment loans; calculate payment to interest, payment to principal, and new balance; compute final payments when paying off installment loans. (2.8.11H, 2.3.11A, 6.2.12C, 6.5.12H, 11.1.12F);
Understand and define different forms of taxation; calculate federal, state, and local taxes based on charts and rates; complete federal, state, and local tax forms.
Compute sticker prices and understand sticker vocabulary; calculate dealer costs and understand add-on vocabulary; understand insurance vocabulary and costs. (2.8.11A, 2.3.11A)
Compute a mortgage loan amount; use a table or formula to determine monthly payment and interest; understand and calculate closing costs; evaluate the allocation of monthly payment to principal and interest; calculate average monthly costs of renting and compare to the total costs of owning. (2.3.11A, 2.8.11H, 6.2.12C, 6.5.12H, 11.1.12C)
Compute health insurance premiums; calculate patient payments for healthcare; utilize tables to compute premiums. (11.1.12C)
Use tables or formulas to compute interest rates; determine annual percentage yields; calculate total cost of a stock investment; calculate profit or loss from sale of stock; compute annual dividend and annual yield of stock investments; understand mutual funds; compute interest and yield on bond investments; understand IRA’s and compute required minimum distribution and penalties for early withdrawals from IRA’s. (2.3.11A, 2.4.11C, 2.8.11H, 6.2.12D, 6.5.12D, 6.5.12G)
Calculate forms of pay, compute salaries, calculate different forms of commissions, compute total pay (2.8.11H. 2.8.11D, 6.5.12A, 11.1.12E)
Required Texts & Materials / Mathematics for Business & Personal Finance Students will not be assigned their own book. All reading material will be provided by the teacher.
Course Procedures
Grading (credit) Criteria / Grading scale follows the district guidelines; test, quizzes, and assignments are given a point value.Unless otherwise stated, late work earns ½ credit and more than two days late will earn zero credit.
You are responsible for checking your grades online on Classroll.com.
Late Work
Make-up Exams
Incomplete Grades / When students are legally absent from classes, it is his/her responsibility to arrange with his/her teachers to make up work missed in each class. The amount of time given to make up this work depends on the amount of time that the student was absent and the circumstances surrounding the absence. For instance, if the student is legally absent for two school days, the
(over)
Student shall receive two school days to make up the work, if necessary. If this work is not completed within the given time period, a student may receive an “incomplete” grade. At the end of the grading period, or at the interim report, the “incomplete” grade is changed to a failing grade for work that has not been completed. Students will not receive credit for any class work that takes place during unexcused class absences. Students are required to make up any missed assignments. If a student is missing due to a pre approved vacation/field trip they must follow district policy.
Make-up work procedures / It is your responsibility to check the board in the back of the room for work missed during an absence. Please ask for any handouts you may have missed during your absence; the teacher will not give them to you unless reminded.
If you are absent for a test, you will make it up the day you return.
Class Attendance / As per Seneca Valley School District Policy #204, a student shall not be granted credit for any semester course if absences from that course total more than ten (10) periods per semester or for any full year courses that total more than twenty (20) periods for the year. Class period absences may include but not be limited to illness, truancy, vacations, parent sponsored educational experiences, college visitations, and service related tests or physicals, and doctor appointments.
In addition, student(s) will not receive credit towards graduation for any class(es)from which the student(s) is illegally absent (confirmed truancy or class cut) more than three times during a semester class or more than 6 times during a full year course. The lack of sufficient credits in any particular school year could result in a student being denied promotion to the next grade level/building and/or graduation. If a student loses credit, he/she will remain in the class and the grade earned will impact the students GPA.
Field Trip Policies
Off-Campus Instruction & Course Activities / The Seneca Valley School District recognizes the value and encourages the opportunities for students to participate in pre-planned trips and educational experiences during the regular school year. Pre-approval forms are available from the building principal, to be completed by the school-approved adult supervisor of the trip.
If a proposed trip has been approved by the principal, written permission from a parent or guardian must be obtained. This permission must indicate understanding of the date, time, cost (if applicable), method of travel, and purpose of this trip. Pupil participants are subject to the supervision of the school-approved adults, who may require a dress code for the occasion. At all times the school code of conduct will be enforced.
Each month throughout the school year a list of those students who have been absent or tardy 15% of the days is generated. The principal or designee will determine individual student participation on the basis of prior attendance records, previous requests, frequency of such requests, academic progress to date, and the educational value of the requested experience.
Technical Support / If you experience any problems with your account you may send an email to: or call the SHS Technology Facilitator at 724-452-6041 X1088
Student Conduct, Discipline, and Behavior Management / Students are expected to conduct themselves in the classroom in a manner that is not disruptive to the teacher or other students. Most juniors and seniors in high school have self-control, but I have some guidelines in place for those who do not. You will be given 45 class management points at the beginning of each 9 weeks, and I will deduct two points each time you cannot follow my expectations. You will not be warned when you lose your points, and loss of majority of points will result in a call to parents and additional detention as necessary.
Be on time to class. (You must be in the door when the bell rings.) Two points per tardy are deducted, and detentions will be assigned after the loss of 25 points.
v Participate in the day’s lesson (no work from another class, head down, sleeping, talking, etc.).
v Insubordination (not following instructions given by the teacher) or disrespect to the teacher.
v Disrespecting others in the classroom.
v Using language that the teacher considers foul or insulting.
v Headphones with CD’s/MP3’s/ipods are not permitted; no card playing.
v Use of your cell phone is permitted with teacher approval. Two points will be deducted. Arguing about it will result in further discipline.
v You will not be allowed to leave the room to go talk to anyone (guidance, etc.) unless a pass from that person is given to the teacher.
v Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated and will result in a zero and a comment on Classroll.com.
v Missing class because you are working with another teacher will be considered a cut unless you come to class first and get my permission. A note from that other teacher after the missed class will not excuse you.
v Class cuts are turned in. Receiving more than six unexcused absences during the year will result in zero credit for this course. Each unexcused absence will result in loss of points.
v Excused absences after the first 5 each semester will result in a loss of two participation points per absence.
v After using all hall passes (see below) or losing the passes, only restroom passes will be given, resulting in loss of 2 points per trip.
v Please remain in your assigned seat until the end of the period.
v No one is permitted to stand at the door entrance to wait for the bell. We are usually busy all the time. Don’t clean up early. You are expected to stay in your seating area until the bell rings.
v IHS bound students are permitted to leave two minutes early. Times are provided by the clock for your convenience.
v At the beginning of each 9 weeks, you will receive 3 hall passes. Do not interrupt to ask to leave during lectures unless it is an emergency, and no one leaves during the last five minutes of class. Passes are only good for the 9 week period; extra passes at the end of the 9 weeks are bonus points. Lost passes will not be replaced.
Academic Dishonesty / Plagiarism is defined as taking or imitating the ideas, thoughts or language of another to represent them as one’s original work. It is imperative that all work submitted by a student be representative of his/her own ideas, thoughts and especially language capability. Therefore, plagiarism is strictly prohibited in all work pertaining to school. A grade of “F” or zero will be awarded for any submitted work which is found to be the work of another (student, author, encyclopedia, internet, etc.) and subsequent offenses will be dealt with accordingly.
If the ideas, thoughts or language from another source must be used in the work being done, it is the student’s responsibility to footnote or annotate the information appropriately. Plagiarism software will be used in various classes.
Technology Usage / There are computer labs in the building for student use. Students whose teachers use the lab in their curriculum use courseware specifically designed for that curriculum during scheduled class times. Students are also permitted to use the labs for class or research during study halls as space is available. In addition, there are computers in the library for research purposes plus a workstation in every classroom for teacher and/or student use. The labs are monitored at all times.
All enrolled students have an account on the networked system for file storage and software access. All student accounts are password protected. These passwords are to be kept confidential to protect unauthorized use.
The labs are a privilege provided for the students to enhance the academic curriculum. Games that are not specifically used in the curriculum are not allowed on the system. Individual files are not considered to be personal property. These files may be accessed at any time by teachers, administrators or the system manager. Students are not permitted access to other students’ files. Tampering with files, copying of copyrighted software, downloading or installing games, password tampering, accessing unauthorized directories or removing equipment or software will be considered theft. Tampering with any hardware or equipment or violating policies and/or guidelines governing the use of networks, Internet or software programs are also considered offenses and will be dealt with Per Seneca Valley policy #218. Violators may also be prosecuted under applicable local, state or federal civil or criminal law. Students must show their ID card to gain access to the computer lab.
See course overview: What is personal finance all about?
Prepared by and Date prepared / Mr. Peaco, 2015-2016