Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2026 15:45
Subject: Welcome announcement 6/11/26: STAT451 ...

Hello STAT 451 Students,

Welcome to the course. I am John Gillett, your teacher. Our TA is
Baiheng Chen, an excellent TA who knows the course well.

For our first class day on Monday, June 15, please visit
our Canvas page and do these things:

- Click on "Q00: background" to take a survey. (Please do it by 6/16,
  even though it is due 6/23 to accommodate the 6/19 add deadline.)

- Click on "Syllabus" and read at least its "Instructional Mode" and
  "Grades" sections.

- Click on "Schedule" near the top of the syllabus. Then click each
  link in its Day # "1: Mo 6/15/26" row:

  - Click "Anaconda" to download and install a free Python
    distribution for data analysis.

  - Glance through the machine learning notes linked as "01
    Introduction" and the Python notes linked (in green) as "01 Python
    as a Calculator". They guide my lecture and are reference sheets.

  - Click "video" and watch the lecture-capture video from a previous
    semester.

  - Click on "Q01: calculator" (in the Day 2 row) to start the first
    Python quiz. Click "Submit answers" at the bottom. Notice, near
    the bottom, you earned 0/7. Click "Try again (same data)". Submit
    this quiz, repeatedly if you wish, until you earn full credit. It
    is due Tu 6/16. (Well, it is extended to 6/23 to accommodate the
    add deadline, but please finish by 6/16 to keep up.)

  - Read the "Note" at the bottom of the Schedule.

  - I recommend bookmarking the Schedule.

- To attend (optional) Zoom Q&A, click on the "Zoom" tab in Canvas. We
  will feel free to end a session if no students are present, so please
  attend the start of a session to ensure you get help.

- Click on "Piazza" if you wish to ask a question and wait for an
  answer within about one class day. Please do not post code solutions
  on Piazza. (You may include code in a private post. Use public posts
  for most things.) If you figure out your own question, add to your
  post saying so to prevent unnecessary replies. Please also answer
  your peers' questions on piazza.

When class starts, please use our Zoom Q&A sessions and piazza (rather
than email) for almost all questions.

I look forward to working with you in 451.

All the best,

John