Be a kind person

Put forth your best effort at all times        

Always do your own best work.

Put learning ahead of getting good grades.

Put quality ahead of just getting it done.

Be prepared for class each day

Come prepared with all materials necessary:

An organized class binder containing all necessary materials and handouts.

Loose leaf paper, pens (blue or black), and pencil.

A red pen for grading in class or underlining important elements in note taking.

Highlighters for emphasizing important text.

A planner to help keep you organized - the most successful students are organized.      

Follow directions when given

When directions are given, do your best to follow them the first time.  If you are confused or have questions, ask.  I would rather have you stop class to clarify than be off task while everyone else is working.    

Pay attention, participate and ask questions         

Engage in what is going on in the classroom.  If you have a question, ask it!  Otherwise, I might not know until the test that you didn’t understand something.  There are no stupid questions, and chances are, if you are wondering about it, someone else in the class is to.  

Be proactive about your learning and don’t be afraid to ask for help.  If you feel most comfortable waiting until after class, that is okay, too, but do keep communication open between us.

Preserve a positive learning environment

Student actions that interfere with teaching or learning in the classroom will NOT be tolerated.

Use class time to learn History & Geography.  Please do not spend your time grooming, sleeping, talking, writing notes, playing cards, etc... or doing work for other classes.

Minimize classroom interruptions by arriving to class on time and not leaving the classroom during the hour.      

Take responsibility for your actions

If you are confronted about a rule infraction, own up to it.  Don’t deny it, lie about it, or blame someone else.

Take responsibility for missed assignments.

All handbook rules will be enforced.  Please read your handbook.  Students that choose to break these rules, choose to have points taken away from their  grade, and face the possibility of additional consequences.

 Rules

Turn off cell phones & electronic devices

Electronic devices (CD players, Ipods, handheld games, cell phones, pagers, etc.) are NOT permitted in my classroom.

Cell Phones WILL BE TURNED OFF OR SILENCED and invisible during the class period.  If I see or hear your phone it will be taken away and given to an administrator, according to cell phone policy outlined in the CMS handbook.  Refusal to turn over the cell phone will be treated as insubordinate behavior.

No food or drink, except water

You may drink bottled  water or water in a sealable container in the classroom. If a spill occurs, please clean it up immediately and inform the teacher.

No other food or beverage is permitted without a doctor’s note.

Arrive to class on time & ready to learn

When the bell rings, you need to be sitting in your assigned seat.

You should immediately begin on the warm up activity or journal entry.

Be “physically” and “mentally” present in the classroom

Never line up at the door before dismissal

Please remain in your seat until I have dismissed you.  Never line up at the door before dismissal.  Remember, I dismiss you, not the bell.

Do not cheat, plagiarize, or copy work

Cheating is completely unacceptable.  If I see you cheating on any assignment… even for another class… I will give you a zero and report the incident to the other teacher as well as your assistant principal and parents. 

Plagiarism (copying work from another source without giving proper credit) is completely unacceptable.  If you plagiarize on any assignment you will earn a “0” on that assignment with no opportunity to re-do the work for credit. 

Use polite and appropriate language

Offensive, derogatory, and profane terms are not tolerated.  In order to have a safe classroom environment where all students feel comfortable, no put downs, swear words, or slang words with demeaning connotations will be accepted.  Remember, if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say it at all!

Do your best work & turn it in on time

I do not accept late work unless an exigent circumstance has occurred or you are absent.  If you are absent you get one day extra per absent day to complete.  If there are multiple absences a plan to complete work must be made between Parents, Students and Teacher!

Remember that the work that you turn-in is a reflection of your effort on the assignment.  Think about the following expectations when you are preparing an assignment that I will review.

Write your full name, Class Period, date and title of assignment in upper right hand corner of your assigned work.

All work must be neatly done and legible in order to receive credit. If you print, capitalize properly (do not write using all capital letters).

Never turn any assignments in with the "fringes" from spiral notebooks on the paper.  Likewise, assignments that are bunched up, crinkled, illegible, sloppy, or contain stains or holes are unacceptable. 

ALL MAJOR ASSIGNMENTS, ESSAYS & PROJECTS MUST BE TYPED.  If you don't have a computer at home, the CMS library is a great place to work on essays!  Final draft format for typewritten work is as follows:  12-point font, double-spaced, 1” margins, and use a “normal font” such as Arial, Comic Sans, Times New Roman, etc. (nothing too difficult to read and a font that prints using capital and lower-case letters).

Procedures

 Turn in homework to the proper bin

Homework is due at the beginning of class or at the end of class, a display of when the assignment is due will always be displayed on the board.   Turn in your homework to your hour bin. 

It is your responsibility to get the assignments you have missed!

I will not hunt you down to give you work you missed.  

 If you are tardy, I follow the tardy policy outlined in your student handbook. 

·        ·         Excessive tardies will affect your learning readiness grade and have other consequences, such as detentions, etc

       Pick up after yourself before you leave

·         Take all of your belongings, pick up any scrap papers around you, and put your desk back in line before you leave each day.

     Get missed work from absent bin, talk to your study  buddy, then ask the teacher

·         Attendance is essential for optimal learning.  Being on time and present and class physically and mentally will be part of your overall grade.  You may not be excused form my class by another teacher without first seeking my permission.

·         If you are absent, it is your responsibility to obtain any missed classwork.  Begin by looking for missed handouts in the ABSENT bin pertaining to your class hour.  Then ask another student (your study buddy) what you missed.  Follow-up with the teacher if necessary. 

·         Make arrangements to take quizzes and tests immediately.  It is your responsibility to make these arrangements, I will not and cannot track you down.  If you do not make-up quizzes in a timely manner (before graded quizzes are returned to the students who were present), you will earn a “zero” on the quiz or test. 

·         UNEXCUSED absences on the day of an assignment, test, quiz, project, presentation, paper, etc. will result in a zero.

Follow protocol for study center use

·         If you have a resource room teacher and need to take test in another setting, please remind me the day prior to the test so that I can get your test to your resource room teacher ahead of time.

     CLASS CONSEQUENCES

1.      Verbal warning 

2.      Call home

 3.      Detention

 4.      Referral to assistant principal

* Serious offenses can, at the teacher’s discretion, result in more severe consequences regardless of previous steps taken.  Any infraction of the rules may affect your learning readiness and citizenship grade.  It can also be cause for further action at the teacher’s discretion.