CLASS POLICIES

STUDENT EXPECTATIONS:

1.   Be Kind and Respectful

We are in this together. And everyone deserves respect and kindness. Education requires community and collaboration. Respect yourself, others and the environment. Show kindness through your language as well as your behavior. 

2.  Be on Time

Please be seated and ready to work when class starts.  

3.    Come to Class Prepared 

Have all the necessary materials at your work site when class starts. 

4.    Listen and Stay Seated When Someone is Talking

Whether the teacher or a classmate is speaking to the class, please give them your full attention. Wait until speaking has ended to take care of sharpening pencils, putting materials away, etc. Please raise your hand if you wish to speak. 

5.    Try to Have a Good Attitude

These are difficult times to be sure. I know we will all have hard days ahead. However, I know we both want you to succeed and be the best person that you can be. To that end, let's try to have a good attitude. It will go a long way in making a difficult situation more bearable. 

REQUIRED SUPPLIES:

• Binder Reminder

• Loose leaf lined paper

• Black or blue pen

• Writer’s Journal for daily in class writing warm-ups ( a dedicated journal, composition book, or spiral bound notebook)

AMPLIFY:

Amplify is the digital curriculum SPMS uses to make sure students are successful.  

CORE NOVELS:

Our core novels for this year are:

1. Gris Grimly’s Frankenstein, a graphic novel adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic, and

2. Fahrenheit 451, the classic 1957 sci-fi dystopian novel by local legend Ray Bradbury

3. The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, the biographical account of a famous American. 

4. The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros

AERIES:

Students and parents are encouraged to check the Aeries Portal on a regular basis: http://my.spusd.net. Please communicate with me if there is a question about a grade or assignment.  Grades in Aeries will be more up to date than Google Classroom, as not all assignments will be graded through Google Classroom. Please note that due to the number of students I teach, and the volume of assignments being graded, it may take some time for assignments to be entered in Aeries. Your patience is appreciated.

ESSAYS:

Every quarter, we will write a 5-paragraph essay that goes through the entire drafting and revision process. These essays are the culmination of the quarter. For formal essays:

• All final drafts must be typed and printed BEFORE class starts. The classroom does not have a student printer.

• Please use a legible font in size 12 and double space the document.

• All parts of the writing process, including brainstorms, outlines, and rough drafts must be stapled together and included with the final draft so that the writing process is well-documented.

• Students should refer to the District Writing Rubric when writing.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS:

Though many assignments will be turned in digitally onto Amplify and Google classroom, we most often will be doing paper and pen writing. For these assignments:

• In the upper right-hand corner include your full first and last name, under that write the date and period.

• Assignments without a name will receive no credit.

• Title your assignment on the top line

• All assignments should be neat and legible

• Unless otherwise stated, students are expected to use complete sentences when answering questions and expressing their thoughts.

• Students should restate the question in their answer.

• When writing about a text, students should state the author and title in proper format.

• Unless otherwise stated, assignments (when typed) must be printed out before class and turned in person. They may not be emailed to me.

NOVELS:

• Unless otherwise noted, students are expected to bring their assigned copy of the current novel to and from class. Students will be charged for novels that are lost/ruined. Citizenship will be affected if students fail to turn in their novels on time.

LATE WORK:

• When submitting late work to Google Classroom, please email me to let me know that you turned it in. Otherwise I will not know.

• Up to one-week late: 70% credit

• After one-week: 50% credit

• For Large Projects: 10% off for each day it is late, with cap at 50% off

• Work due before Progress Reports must be turned in by the Progress Report. 

• No late work will be accepted the last week of each quarter. 

• If a problem comes up with an assignment (e.g. a computer crashing or a family emergency) students should let me know via email right away and cc their guardians; please do not wait until the assignment is due, if possible.

PLAGIARISM:

• Plagiarism is a serious academic offense and will not be tolerated. A student caught copying any amount of the assignment from another source (other students, reference materials, tests) will receive no credit and will not be able to redo the assignment. Parents and administration will be notified.

BIO BREAKS:

• You will likely need a bio break from time to time in order to use the restroom, get a drink of water, etc. I will make space for this halfway through the period every day. However, if your need to take a quick 5 minute bio break at another time, please let me know in the chat box that you are leaving your work station. It's important that you listen to your body and take care of yourself. 

TARDIES:

• You must seated in at the time class begins or you will be marked tardy.

ABSENCES:

• Students are responsible for finding out  and completing work that was missed during an absence. 

• For every day that a student is absent he/she will have that amount of time to complete missed work to receive full credit. For example: If a student is out three days, that student will have three days once they return to school to complete and turn in their work.

 TECHNOLOGY USE:

Students are expected to use technology and their Google accounts appropriately, as per the SPMS Technology Agreement.  If you experience difficulty with your computer or WiFi, let me know immediately. 

SPUSD “Netiquette”:

• Use Appropriate language

• No Recording/ScreenShots

• Be Present, Not Distracted

• No Creating Memes

• Avoid all CAPS