*This syllabus is subject to change depending on the needs of the students.
Tools for Daily Success
• Pencil/Blue or Black pen
• 3 different colored highlighters
• 1 ½ inch binder with 5 dividers and loose leaf paper
• One subject notebook
• Post-It Notes
• School appropriate book for Silent Sustained Reading in class
• Soft pencil case
All students must have the following items by the third day of class. *If you have a problem obtaining these items, please see me privately and we will arrange for you to get the supplies you need.
Binder Set-Up:
Your binder will be kept in the classroom. Please arrange your binder in the following manner:
1. Do-Nows
2. Silent Sustained Reading
3. Notes/Handouts
4. Vocabulary
5. Returned Assignments
*I will conduct periodic binder checks! For a grade!
CLASS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES There are three all-encompassing rules for my classroom:
1. Be prepared!
2. Be respectful!
3. Be responsible!
Please read below for specific classroom policies and procedures.
Absence from class: ABSENCE FROM CLASS DOES NOT EXCUSE YOU FROM CLASS ASSIGNMENTS. It is YOUR responsibility to ask for work you miss. To find out missed assignments, e-mail me at [email protected]. Per Flagler County Schools policy, work may only be made up for credit in the case of excused absences. Work made up after an unexcused absence will not earn credit. If you have an excused absence on the day of a test, quiz, or in-class timed essay, you must meet with me as soon as you return to school to schedule a time for a make-up. If you are given out-of-school suspension (OSS), I will provide work for you in the main office. It is your responsibility to pick up and complete the work before returning to school.
Entering Classroom/Tardies
• Read the overhead to check for Do-Nows/Announcements.
• Go directly to your seat.
• You must have all supplies out and be ready to work as soon as class begins.
• Any student not in the classroom when the bell rings will be counted as tardy.
• Students must go to the dean’s office to be issued a pass to enter the classroom.
Exiting Classroom
• In this class, we work from bell to bell!
• Please remember to work until I dismiss you.
• Remember, I dismiss you, not the bell!
Bathroom/Passes/Leaving class: Please use the restroom BEFORE entering the classroom. Unless there is an illness or an emergency, bathroom breaks will be during the break. Any student who wishes to leave the class MUST have their student planner in order to leave. Students are not permitted to leave class during the first and last 15 minutes of class. This is a school rule!
Food/Drink
• Food, drink, candy and gum are not allowed in the classroom.
• Water in a sealed container is allowed.
• Sometimes I will give you candy/snacks. If this is the case, you may eat it in class.
Phone Calls/Cell Phones You may bring your cell phone to school. However, you must turn it OFF during class. Do not place or accept calls or utilize text messaging in class. Cell phones will be confiscated in accordance with the Code of Student Conduct if you use them or they go off during class.
Treatment of Classroom /Materials: I expect you to be respectful of my property and the property of Matanzas High School. No acts of vandalism on desks, chairs, textbooks, or any other property will be tolerated. Please report any vandalism to me so that I may deal with it. Additionally, you are responsible for any mess you make in my classroom. If your area is not clean when the bell rings, I reserve the right to keep you after class to clean up.
Everything in the classroom, that is not locked down (including some of the furniture) I purchased out of my own pocket. I spend hundreds of dollars each year buying supplies, books, classroom furniture, rewards and incentives, posters, and other materials. Please keep this in mind! Do not take things from my desk without permission.
Procedures for Early Finishers:
• Catch up on make-up work
• Study vocabulary
• Write in your journal
• Read a book
• Talking, visiting with other students, leaving the classroom, or creating a disturbance is not permitted
Homework A huge part of becoming a successful reader is to READ! Therefore, homework in this class will include Home Fun Reading. Home Fun includes daily engagement with reading material of the student’s choice, completing the reading log, which will be returned every other week with a parent signature. Additional homework will be assigned on an as-needed basis. Otherwise, unfinished classwork will become homework in this class and will be collected the following day for a grade
Plagiarism: Turning in work that you have not written yourself is a violation of the Code of Student Conduct and could result in suspension from school. (Acts of plagiarism will be noted on your permanent record for potential colleges to see!) Do not submit work that you have copied from other sources –including from friends, classmates, upper classmen, siblings, books, magazines or online sources. Note your sources in a bibliography or footnotes. Never copy verbatim. Paraphrase and acknowledge all your sources, using your own words when you write. If you do use a direct quote, attribute it and use quotation marks.
Plagiarized papers receive a grade of ZERO; violators of this policy will receive a referral. Parents will be notified and a conference scheduled. Unless I specifically tell you that you are permitted to work in groups, copying worksheet answers is also considered plagiarism and you will receive a zero for that class assignment and a referral to the dean’s office. It is also considered cheating if you ‘check’ your answers on a test or quiz against the answers of the person next to you. Under no circumstances should you be using, checking, looking at, or referencing another student’s work in any way shape or form. All work you turn in must be your own.
Discipline Procedures: 3 strikes you’re out
Rules and procedures are explained and/or practiced on the first day of school. Depending on the severity of the violation, one or more of the following actions will be taken by the teacher in the event that a student behaves in an inappropriate manner.
• Verbal/non-verbal warning
• Seat Change
• Parent contact
• Referral to the Dean’s office
Please remember to think about your actions. Please pause and reflect about your behavior. Ask yourself, “Is it worth the consequences?” The ability to exercise self-control is a sign of wisdom and maturity.
Progress Reports/Grade Reports:
Keeping up with your grades is YOUR responsibility, and Skyward is available online 24/7 for you and your parents to monitor your grades. Please take advantage of this amazing resource! I provide grade printouts approximately every four weeks for you and your parents. I typically return graded student work within a week, and review it in class. Graded work that is not returned to you is kept in your student work portfolio in class.
Due Dates: Assignments are due on the due dates. No exceptions. You are allowed one day for each day of class you miss due to an EXCUSED absence only. By district policy, you will receive NO CREDIT for assignments submitted after an UNEXCUSED absence. If you are suspended, I will provide make-up work for you. Complete it during your suspension, and it will be due on the first day you return to my class. HOMEWORK MUST BE TURNED IN IMMEDIATELY WHEN I COLLECT IT to be considered “on time” or else it will NOT be considered ON TIME. You may turn in late work the following school day for half credit.
Tutoring/Extra Help If you are having trouble mastering the material in your class, it is your responsibility to let me know so I can arrange extra help. I am in my room most days by 7:00 a.m. and after school until 2:45.
After-school tutoring and homework help are also available on various days in the Media Center and after-school transportation is provided
Grades/Assignment Weights
Classwork 40%
Tests/Quizzes 30%
Writing 20%
Homework 10%
Student/Parent Statement of Understanding
**Please sign and return by August 23, 2011
Print Student Name Here: ____________________________________________Period: _________
Print Parent Name Here: _____________________________________________________________________________________
• I/We have read and understand this handout explaining class policies.
• I/We understand it is OUR responsibility to sign up in a timely fashion for the school’s online grade book so we can monitor student progress, grades and missing/incomplete work.
• I/We understand there is an independent reading homework component to the Intensive Reading class. I/We understand it is our responsibility to inform the teacher if I need to check out a book from the library. I/We understand it is our responsibility to read daily, complete the log and submit with parent signature on the due dates.
• I/We understand that students should sign up for and establish FREE online accounts on these websites to practice for the FCAT. All students MUST sign up for www.fcatexplorer.comwww.learningexpresslibrary.com (FCAT Prep)
I/We understand that students should sign up for and establish FREE online accounts on these websites to practice for the FCAT. All students MUST sign up for www.fcatexplorer.comwww.learningexpresslibrary.com (FCAT Prep)
Note: Donations of classroom supplies for use by all students are most graciously welcomed. We could especially use: boxes of tissues, packages ofloose leaf paper, bottles of hand sanitizer, Band-Aids, boxes/packets of pens and/or pencils and dry erase/white board markers. THANK YOU!