Padres (Parents)

Contact:

If you ever need to contact me, please email me at vlincoln@lowvilleacademy.org or you can call me by way of the high school office, 315-376-9015, and I will return your call as soon as I am available.

During this current crazy year of 2020-2021, routines in my classroom are different than normal, but I still try my best to keep students interested and engaged, and bring the fun when I am able.

Class Google Meets:

If your child is having trouble connecting to a Google meet for class, they can call and listen to class by telephone. This is a much better choice than not joining at all. The numbers to access class by phone are on Google Classroom on the main banner for Spanish class, and they also will have a paper copy of the numbers needed.

Vocabulary:

This website contains vocabulary necessary for class, including from previous levels of Spanish. I will include handouts explaining grammar points, and verb structures. All of these should also be in their possession in paper form.

Grading/ Assignments:

• Viewing SchoolTool will give you the best idea of how your child is doing in Spanish class.
• Late assignments are better than no assignments. If you see zeros on SchoolTool, please have your child check that assignment on Google Classroom to turn it in. I am very lenient on giving credit for late assignments, and even when something is turned in weeks late, they are still given a 75 for credit, which is much better than 0.
• Because there is no way on Google Classroom to separate assignments by marking period, they cannot view an accurate number for their average there. SchoolTool will be most accurate for grading.
• QUIZ CORRECTIONS- IN SPANISH 1 AND SPANISH 2, students can 'correct' quizzes for a higher grade. For anything that was marked wrong, they must write repetitions 5 times in English and 5 times in Spanish of the correct answers. If they do this for all errors on the quiz, I will give them 1/3 of their points back. Corrections must be hand-written on paper and turned in to me with the quiz, or submitted with photos of the corrections and quiz. IN SPANISH 3, quiz corrections are available for ONLY Pop Quizzes. At this grade level of Spanish, my expectation is that students are prepared for all quizzes that have been announced ahead of time, so this is not offered for announced quizzes.
• YOU SHOULD KNOW: Most students do not do this, but I have frequently seen homework submitted on Google Classroom with nothing done, so that when parents check, on their screen it appears that everything has been completed. If you have your child click on the "Classwork" page in any given class, then click "View your work", it will show the list of their assignments. In my class, anything that has a zero should be completed and resubmitted. Anything that is submitted but not graded you should check to make sure they completed it. Please remember that in Google Classroom I am not able to archive assignments from the previous marking period, and I do not dare delete them (in case of any unforeseen issues). This means that for Marking Period 2, only items from November 6 to the third week in January (I will put a more specific date) are assignments that count.

How can parents help their children with Spanish?

1 The number one most important thing that you can do is to take the time to check if they owe assignments, and are attending classes, whether in school or online. If you see a zero on SchoolTool, ask them to show you that assignment. I know how difficult it is for everyone right now to keep up with what our children are doing in school. Even just a few minutes spent on this can make a huge difference.

2 The second biggest need that the students have is clarifying instructions, which does not normally require any language skills. If they don't understand what they need to do, sometimes it's just a matter of you reading the directions aloud to them for them to understand, because maybe they missed a detail when they read it.

2 If you child can't figure out what vocabulary is needed for an assignment, in most cases we are practicing the current or newest vocabulary. If they cannot locate their paper copies of this year's vocabulary, it can be found on this website. I also have provided past years' vocabulary, and they are allowed to use anything in their textbook's glossary, which they have at home. Please avoid at all costs using an online translator. I have told the students repeatedly that they may not utilize vocabulary from translators, or family members. I am teaching them to communicate simply using what they know and are able to do, and I am not able to assess how they are doing if they are being given vocabulary or language structures beyond their level. Everything I have them do is within their capabilities given the vocabulary provided and skills taught.

2 If your child doesn't understand something and needs specific help, have them email me, and I will help as soon as I make contact with them. If it means that an assignment is late (as long as it is not at the last minute of a project that is due), I will not penalize their grade.