The Five Agreements (Borrowed from Don Miguel Ruiz)
Rather than having a lot of "rules" for class, I have chosen to establish Five Agreements based on the book by Don Miguel Ruiz. These Agreements are not only great guidelines for how I try to run a classroom but also good guidelines for life in general. While the Agreements are numbered in Ruiz's book, I have purposely chosen to not number them because I feel like they are all of equal importance.
👍 Don’t Make Assumptions
👍 Don’t Take Anything Personally
👍 Be Impeccable With Your Word
👍 Always Do Your Best
👍 Be Skeptical, But Learn to Listen
Key Responsibilities
My Responsibilities as your Teacher:
🔑 Treat you with respect as an individual
🔑 Provide an orderly classroom environment
🔑 Provide necessary discipline
🔑 Provide appropriate motivation
🔑 Give quality instruction and guidance
Your Responsibilities as my Students:
🔑 Show respect for me, yourself, and your peers
🔑 Attend class regularly with a positive attitude
🔑 Be cooperative and not disruptive
🔑 Study and do your work (Success = effort!)
🔑 Make the most of the educational opportunities afforded to you.
🔑 Ask questions, stay focused, and demand the best performance of yourself.
Classroom Management
Note: While I will typically follow this order, there are some situations which may necessitate a more severe consequence than others.
Warning 🠊 Student Conference 🠊 Parent Contact 🠊 Detention (Lunch) 🠊 Office Referral
Beginning of Class
Enter class calmly
Make sure you have the things you need for class (notebook, book, pen/pencil, etc.)
If you were absent the day before, check the missing work drawer for your assignments
Go to the restroom if you need
Read over the agenda (displayed on the board AND posted in Google Classroom) so that you’ll know what we’re doing during the class period
Be in your assigned seat and ready to start when the bell rings
Place your phone in the bag corresponding to your desk number. I will collect them in the first few minutes of class.
During Class
Remain in your seat unless otherwise directed. (I do understand the need to stand occasionally).
Stay on task.
Follow the Device Policy
Follow the Restroom Policy
Listen carefully to all directions
Follow GROUP norms when working with a partner or in a group
There are supplies available to you in the front of the room; feel free to use them, but please make sure to put them away in the proper place when you are finished.
End of Class
I will provide time at the end of class for you to pack up your things; please don’t do so beforehand
I will return phones during the last five minutes of class.
DO NOT line up at the door at the end of class. Stand next to your desk.
DO NOT leave your notebooks under your desk. There is a space for each class period to leave their things.
On your way out the door, place any assignments in the appropriate bin for your class period
Dispose of any trash or recycling
Learning works best when you are in class, but of course there are times when you might need to leave the room for various reasons. For the most part, we will observe the following policies (except for in extenuating circumstances) when leaving the room:
You may not leave the room during the first 5 minutes or last 5 minutes of class
To ask to use the restroom, simply hold up your hand with your pointer and middle fingers crossed 🤞
Only one student may leave the room at a time. When the person in front of you returns, then you may go.
You DO NOT have to sign out/in to go to the water fountain; simply go and come right back
Note: abuse of this privilege / excess time out of class will result in restrictions from leaving the room.
At no time should you claim to be on your phone because you are “done.” If you have completed all tasks / assignments for the day, you should work on one of the following:
Make sure you have followed ALL assignment directions, put your name on it, and turned it in. (If there are multiple pages, please make sure to staple them together!)
Check your grades. Do you have any missing Formative or Summative assignments that you could be work on? (Including Commonlit passages or Exam Prep assignments)
Do you have any missing assignments for another class?
Work toward your mastery of concepts in Quill. (Let me know if you need anything unlocked!)
Play Free Rice (www.freerice.com)
Read a book
In July 2025, the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 959, which was signed into law by Governor Stein. The law addresses the need for media literacy as well as students' use of cell phones in schools during instructional time. There are some caveats in the law that provide for phone use at teacher discretion for instructional purposes.
We will observe the following expectations when it comes to devices in the classroom:
ALL phones should be placed in the cell phone pouch (ziplock bag) corresponding to your desk number. I will collect pouches and place them in a bin within the first five minutes of class; I will return them during the last five minutes of class.
Airpods / Earbuds / Headphones should be removed during class unless otherwise directed. Even if you are not listening to anything, it looks like you are. Please place them in your pocket or bag, or you may also place them in the cell phone pouch (ziplock bag) with your phone.
If I catch you on your phone or with airpods/earbuds/headphones, you will receive a warning. If it continues to be an issue, you will receive an office referral.
Being “done” is NOT an excuse for you to be on your phone. (See the Are You REALLY “Finished”? Section of the Policies and Procedures)
Surge protectors are reserved for Chromebook / laptop charging. You should not use any other outlet for charging your device. DO NOT unplug anything from any of the outlets around the room.
Exceptions to this policy:
A family emergency that you let me know about before class begins. Work is NOT considered an emergency
If there are no cell phone issues throughout the week, then on Fridays you will have the opportunity to choose your own seat and listen to music (in one ear only).
Don’t let your phone distract you from doing your work, or the privilege will be taken away.
Should there be no issues with following this policy Monday-Thursday, we will have Flex Friday where you choose your seat.
Should there be no major issues with behavior and/or devices during the week, on Fridays you will be permitted to choose your own seat and keep your phone to listen to music while you work.
Expectations for Flex Friday:
Select your own seat, but make a wise decision (don't set yourself up for distraction!)
Phones should be face down or out of sight.
You may listen to music with earbuds in one ear. Choose your playlist and let it play. Employ a 90/10 rule - no more than 10% of the time should be spent on the phone, and the other 90% should be spent actively working.
Stay on task. Be actively working on something and be productive.
Learning works best when you are present.
You are tardy if you do not arrive to class before the bell. If you are tardy to class, you will have to either bring a note from a teacher/coach/counselor/admin, or you will have to get a tardy slip from the ISS Room (B16).
You must be present for at least ½ of the class period in order to be counted present for the day.
For each early checkout, it will count as ⅓ of an absence. (So, 3 early checkouts will add an additional absence).
If you obtain more than 6 absences (excused and unexcused combined), you will have to make up any instructional time (for absences 7-9). If you are absent 10 or more days, you will have to appeal for course credit. (Appeals are not guaranteed, and they factor not only your attendance but also your grades, behavior, etc.).
Exceptions: Field Trips, MEPS (military), College Days (for Seniors), quarantine, etc.
Attendance can be made up in the school’s Attendance Recovery program, or we can make other arrangements on an individual basis.
There are 5 Remote Learning Days built into the school calendar, with the possibility of additional Remote Learning Days being added for inclement weather.
We will observe the following procedures for Remote Learning Days unless otherwise noted:
All assignments will be posted in Google Classroom. You are expected to login to Google Classroom and complete the assignments.
Assignments will not cover new material; they will be related to our current topic of study or skill enhancing assignments.
Assignments will remain open for one week (unless otherwise notified) to account for access issues and any obligations you may have.
We will not have a Google Meet unless otherwise notified.
Please make sure all email communication has all of the following elements!
Email Address: email is sent from an easily identifiable email address (student/work email or a personal email that clearly identifies the sender)
Subject Line is concise (doesn’t include the whole message in the subject line) while being informative (clearly identifies the intent of the contact)
Address (Dear ___, To Whom it May Concern, etc.)
Body of the email fully addresses subject and communicates the goals of the message
Salutation (Sincerely, Kind Regards, Thank You, etc.)
Signature
Make sure that any drama stays in the hallways.
In regards to grooming, any hair brushing or makeup applicaiton should be taken care of before you come to class
PLEASE don't spray any body sprays or apply lotions in the classroom; so many have issues breaathing around such strong fragrances