As you read or participate in class, pay particular attention to the meaning of each new term and symbol. It is crucial to your success at just about everything that we will do this year. Having a calculator does not mean that you don't need to know any mathematics. Don't hesitate to go back to review or seek help on algebra, geometry, and trigonometry skills that you may not have mastered sufficiently in earlier courses. The majority of the errors that students make on tests and quizzes are not calculus mistakes - they are algebra, geometry, and trigonometry mistakes.
Good notes are essential for success in any technical field.
Many former students have told me that their class notes made a valuable reference for them even three or four years later in college. Use the time at the beginning of class to get ready for calculus - get out your books, assignments, notebooks, pencils, etc. Socializing may be more pleasant than math, but the goal is to make math more pleasant, and socializing gets in the way. We only spend valuable class time on important topics, so take good notes constantly during class. If your notes and assignments are scattered about, folded inside the covers of your book, papering the bottom of your locker or the floor of your car, you're sunk.