English with Mr. Phillips at LRHS: Meet Your Teacher


Biographical: Mr. Phillips

High School and Undergraduate Experiences


I am a native North Carolinian and was born in the small town of Sanford in 1974. By the age of six, my family relocated to Wilson, NC where we lived until I was ready to begin middle school. When we moved to Wake Forest, NC in the fall of 1985, I attended public school there until I graduated from Wake Forest-Rolesville High School in 1992.

I received my BA in English Education from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke in 1997, and I attended UNCP on a combination of athletic and academic scholarships. While at UNCP, I played for the varsity basketball team, served as a resident assistant, and was an active member of Sigma Tau Delta (an International English Honor Society).

Graduate and Professional Experiences

After completing my BA, I finished one year of Master's work in English at Appalachian State University during the 1998-1999 school year. At ASU I worked in the university writing center, helped publish an edition of the Cold Mountain Review, taught freshman composition and remedial composition while taking a full course load both semesters. In the summer of 1999, I also presented my research on Cormac McCarthy at ASU's regional conference devoted to the Appalachian literature of McCarthy

After attending ASU, I decided to give teaching a try full time, so I helped open Green Hope High School in the fall of 1999 and continued teaching there until the spring of 2006. While teaching at Green Hope, I was responsible for the instruction of 9th and 11th grade English, 9th and 11th grade Paideia, and AP Language and Composition. In the fall of 2006, I joined the LRHS staff and decided to complete my graduate work at North Carolina State University in English and Film Studies. While in the graduate program at NCSU, I presented my research in film at James Madison University's 2007 Conference "Twenty-First Century Literature: Now through History" and at UNC-Charlotte's 2008 GSA conference.

It was also my good fortune to participate in the student symposium at the 34th Annual Telluride Film Festival in 2007 and to be selected to represent NCSU as a graduate fellow at the 2008 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. If you are so inclined you may read my review of the Telluride Film Festival, which is published in the online film magazine, Senses of Cinema. I completed my degree at NCSU in December of 2008, after completing my capstone project, an original feature-length screenplay.

Personal Note and Closure

In August of 2008, my wife and I welcomed two new members to our family, our twins Jack and Maddie. As you might imagine, our son and daughter keep us quite busy when we aren't at work. This year is my thirteenth year as a teacher in Wake County, my sixth at LRHS, and I am very excited about this new semester.

Courses Offered & Site Navigation

The courses I currently teach or will teach are listed on the right at the bottom of the page.  Use the links to navigate from this page to pages designed to serve the specific needs of my students in the course.

*Homework, classwork, handouts, and links to support our study of

language and writing can be located on the syllabus pages for each course.

Questions or comments about this page?


Because this page is designed to be a resource for my students and the parents/guardians of my students, I hope visitors will let me know if links are broken, if parts of the page do not function properly, or if you see any typos!

Please forward all of your questions, comments, & criticisms about this page to rphillips@wcpss.net
Introduction to English with Mr. Phillips

This web page is designed to be a resource for my students and the parents or guardians of my students. With this page, I will offer the various modes of communication I use with students and parents/guardians, a copy of my schedule and where I can be located during the school day, a variety of documents students and parent/guardians may access, a brief biographical sketch, and important links to other pages.

Course Descriptions

At the beginning of the semester, each student received a course description outlining his or her English course of study. Students also received a list of materials to purchase for the course. This course description provides guidelines relative to student behavior and classroom policies. Parents/guardians and students were asked to sign and return a verification form indicating that the course description was thoroughly reviewed and discussed by both the parent/guardian and the student. If this did not occur, please contact me at rphillips@wcpss.net. If you would like to see a copy of the course description, please, select the appropriate current syllabus link at the bottom of this page. At the bottom of the syllabus page for each course, there is a filing cabinet filled with printable Word documents that you may download and print. Please, print and sign the verification form as necessary.

Grades & Progress Reports 

Beginning September 15th, SPAN will be updated on or before the 1st and the 15th of each month. Students are encouraged to make up any missing tasks before the interim or the end of the quarter. Interim reports (hard copies) should be signed and returned and will be distributed on the following dates: 9/26, 12/5, 2/27, and 5/7.

Student Behavior and Teacher Expectations

The following is the most important rule for students to follow in my class: be respectful.  Be respectful to each other and to me.  If this simple rule is followed, very few problems or misunderstandings are likely to occur.  However, in the unlikely event that a student misbehaves in a way that limits his or her ability to participate in the learning environment or limits the ability of other students to participate in class, there are uniform consequences for misbehavior that students, teachers, and parents will need to read and understand.  These expectations are provided on page 21 of the LRHS Student Handbook.

My Schedule

Teaching Schedule: Fall Semester 2011
1st Pd  

1st Pd/Pride Period

2nd Pd

A Lunch

3rd Pd

4th Pd
7:25 - 8:48

8:51- 9:11

9:17- 10:40

10:46- 11:21

11:26- 12:49

12:55- 2:18
Planning

Pride Period

English III

Lunch


English III

AP Language & Composition
 
Teaching Schedule: Spring Semester 2012
1st Pd  

1st Pd/Pride Period

2nd Pd

3rd Pd

B Lunch

3rd Pd

4th Pd
7:25 - 8:48

8:51- 9:11

9:17- 10:40

10:46 - 11:28

11:28- 12:03

12:08- 12:49

12:55- 2:18
Planning

Pride Period

English III (Honors)

Cultural Media Literacy

Lunch
 
Cultural Media Literacy
 
Cultural Media Literacy
 

Missed Work, Extra Help & Student-Parent Conferences

First of all, make certain you are aware of the WCPSS rules for making up missed work (p. 35-36), which can be located in the Student/Parent Handbook. In Spanish - Manual para Estudiantes y Padres.

I am unavailable for make-up work or extra help during the following times: before school, after school on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday, and after 4:00.

The schedule below offers my availability at school for students to make up assignments and receive extra help, but students requesting these services must schedule an appointment with me in advance.


Appointment Schedule
 
All make-up and help sessions are by appointment only.
 
Monday Afternoon: No Appointments (Faculty and Department Meetings)

Tuesday Afternoon: 2:30 - 4:00 (Student must provide his or her own transportation or ride the activity bus)
 
Wednesday Afternoon: No Appointments (Teacher Meetings)

Thursday Afternoon
: 2:30 - 4:00 (Student must provide his or her own transportation or ride the activity bus)

Friday Afternoon
: No Appointments


To Request A Conference - A Note For Parents


In the event that parents or guardians wish to meet, please follow the following procedures:

1. Contact me with your conference request. If you wish to have all of your child's teachers present at the conference, you should arrange the meeting with your child's guidance counselor. I feel it is quite important for the student to be present at the conference, so every effort should be made to include the student in our discussion.

2. Please, identify and explain your purpose for requesting the meeting and provide the times you have available to meet. Before making your conference request, please, refer to my appointment schedule on this page.

3. I will notify your child's guidance counselor, unless you have already made contact, and invite that person to attend. If the counselor is unavailable, I may request the presence of an administrator or another faculty member. When all interested parties have agreed upon a time and place, we will meet.

 Cultural Media Literacy

 
All content and media are subject to change.
 
Cinéaste A LRHS Club for Film Enthusiasts

We meet once a month to screen films of cultural or artistic merit.

Workshop for Film Study in the Classroom

A workshop for staff development, 16 September 2011

Workshop for Art in the Classroom

A workshop for staff development, 17 February 2012