Spanish Common Policies and Procedures: 2025 / 2026 - Martin
A. General Procedures and Rules: Each day I expect students to show up to class on time, prepared, ready
to learn and to actively participate. This means you will need to bring a 3-ring binder with separator tabs and paper, pencil, a highlighter and be ready to learn. Passing periods are times for you to go to your locker and take care of others things that need to be addressed.
This is an academic environment: Profanity is not allowed.
B. Seating Assignments: Assigned seating/change per unit. If you are not in your seat when the bell rings you will be considered tardy. The target language will be spoken by the teacher and you as we progress in the year. You will be expected to stay on task, and complete all assignments.
C. Cell Phones are NOT allowed. It is essential to listen with intent to comprehend in a foreign language class to acquire the language; therefore:
§ Cell phones placed in the assigned caddy at the entrance.
§ Phone/Earbuds not allowed in halls during class time.
§ Ist/2nd offense: email to guardian/admin. and documented in IC.
§ 3+ Consequences: Disciplinary action, lunch detention, suspension.
If you have your phone or earbuds in the classroom, or if I see you taking them to the bathroom, not only will I contact home and the administration, but I will also take them. First time you'll get it back at the end of class, second and further offenses you won't get it back till the end of the day.
D. EHS dress code policy: The Board of Education and EHS recognize that responsibility for the dress and appearance of students generally rests with students and their parents, and that students may wish to express themselves by the manner of their dress. Students shall not, however, wear clothing or affect an appearance at school or school-sanctioned activities/events that is, or will be disruptive to the educational environment. Students also shall not wear clothing or affect an appearance that compromises a safe environment. Although dress is a matter of self-expression and is influenced by weather and fashion trends, certain items and styles are not acceptable for fostering a positive and professional learning environment.
Clothing that is overly revealing should not be worn at school. The open midriff, back, chest, or buttocks should not be exposed. Shirts/tops must have a strap over each shoulder. Also, not allowed are:
1. Visible undergarments (when in normal posture, sitting or standing)
2. Clothing that has a derogatory message
3. Clothing that promotes, suggests, or depicts violence
4. Clothing with lewd images or messages
5. Clothing that displays drugs, alcohol, or illegal activity
6. Any item that could be an endangerment or used as a weapon (i.e. spikes and chains)
7. Bare feet
8. No hats nor hoods covering heads during Spanish class.
Personal exceptions to these rules may be made based on students' needs or private situations.
Please come speak to me privately about any concerns or questions you have.
E. Assignments: ALL assignments/announcements are posted to Google Classroom daily: if absent, please check to get missed work/instruction/announcement(s).
F. Absences: Students are expected to follow the district’s policy on absences. If the student has an excused absence they have two days for every excused day to make up the work. After two days (example, if you are absent on a Monday, and something was due, it is due on Thursday). Weekly Goals, Agenda and assignments will be published in Google Classroom. If you miss class, some copies of the assignments are located there, others are in the classroom. Complete any missing work and turn it in within the districts allotted two days. Warm ups can only be made up for points on absences that are excused; warm ups- they are in the daily Google Classroom for your class, you need to make them up for credit. The student needs to come speak with me before/after class for any added materials or assignments, or questions pertaining to their missed days.
G. Unexcused Absence: If the absence is unexcused, the student will have two days to make up the work at most a 20% grade reduction as per district policy on the classwork. If you are unexcused, you may not make up the warm up for credit.
H. Attendance: Attendance Office Hours: 8:00AM - 4:00PM
Attendance Phone Line: 303-982-5041
Attendance is taken during the warm up activity. In order to be counted as present and on time, you will need to answer the warm up within the first five minutes of class. Three tardies will earn you lunch detention
I. Late work: Any late work that you wish to receive credit for must be turned in no later than two weeks from the assigned due date. Late work is an automatic grade reduction of 50%. After two weeks, no credit given for the missing assignment.
J. Academic Honesty: Evergreen High School takes this topic very seriously. Offenders are liable to the consequences mentioned above. Scholastic dishonesty includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism, copying a classmate's work (we can see/trace when you are sharing google docs), and use or evidence of an online translator such as google translate. Any students engaging in academic dishonesty will be subject to the steps mentioned below.
K. Concerns: We understand that the expectation is to learn in a new environment, and are very concerned about your grade and your success. We are too! However, it is very important that you do your own work. We want to see what you can do with the information that you have learned, not what Google, a friend or another person has told you. You may look up a word, but a whole sentence or phrase is not acceptable. Spanish doesn't translate correctly. You may use Wordreference.com; it is a dictionary site.
L. Academic Dishonesty:
First, if we suspect academic dishonesty, we will contact you and ask you about the work we are questioning. This includes in person and online work. Then we will proceed with the best course of action depending on the situation. However, teachers are required to follow the steps outlined in the student handbook.
1: First offense of cheating / copying no matter how or small student(s) earn a zero on the assignment, the teacher MUST write about it in the contact log of administrators conference in Infinite Campus with the headline of Academic Dishonesty #1, and the teacher must contact the parents or guardian about the incident.
2: On the second offense the teacher MUST do the same thing only put the heading Academic Dishonesty #2 and the teacher must contact the admin who will contact the parents/ guardians. The teacher will not contact the parents.
3: On the third offense the teacher will contact the administrator and write up the offense in the Admin Conference, and the student will be suspended and the offense will be communicated to the colleges if the student is a senior.
Things that might make us question your academic integrity:
1: Use of vocabulary words we haven’t learned, or are not part of the curriculum.
2: Use of grammatical structures we haven’t learned at your level.
3: When the work has a dark shade behind it, (we can see that it has been cut and pasted).
4: When you use the same verbiage as another classmate and you shouldn’t be, i.e. an opinion piece.
5: When you have words or phrases that are mistranslated.
(the above-mentioned infractions are some but not all of the ways you indicate to us you are using an outside source such as a translator).
When learning a foreign language, we need you to use what we give you and tell you, so you are learning everything in the correct order.
Each unit builds on each other. We like to chunk information by topic/grammar so your brain can connect the usage.
M. Grading Scale:
Homework: 10%
Homework is designed for short, frequent practice outside of class, reinforcing vocabulary, grammar, and listening/reading skills introduced in lessons. Since homework is largely formative—meant for skill-building rather than final mastery—it is weighted lightly to encourage completion without creating high-stakes pressure.
Classwork / Projects: 30%
Classwork and projects are where students apply language in meaningful contexts—through dialogues, role-plays, group tasks, and creative presentations. This category is weighted heavily because consistent engagement and active participation are essential for skill acquisition in a foreign language. It also rewards collaborative and real-world application of language skills, aligning with communicative teaching approaches
Interpersonal / Speaking in the target language: 10%
Spoken communication is central to language proficiency, but it is also one of the most intimidating skills for learners. By dedicating 10% to daily interpersonal speaking (e.g., greetings, classroom interactions, partner conversations), students are motivated to consistently use the target language in authentic, low-pressure ways. This weight ensures oral production is valued without disproportionately penalizing students still building confidence
Quizzes / Unit Exams: 35%
Quizzes and unit exams assess mastery of discrete skills and content—vocabulary, grammar, listening, reading, and writing—at the end of short and extended learning cycles. The weight reflects their importance in measuring individual progress and readiness for more advanced concepts, while still keeping them balanced with performance-based and participatory assessments.
Final Exam: 15%
Final Exam includes a speaking and a reading comprehension assessment. It provides a cumulative measure of learning across all skills and units. Its moderate weight ensures that a single test cannot overshadow consistent performance throughout the term, but still emphasizes the importance of long-term retention and integration of language skills.
All tests and assessments are cumulative.
Fall finals include 1st three units. Spring finals include the six units taught during the year.