TL;DR: You can find the most relevant, up-to-date Freshman English course information (what we do every day) on my weekly agenda. I am excited and grateful to meet students where they are at and help them grow their ELA and interpersonal skills. If you are interested, you can share some information about your child here to help me get to know them and what they are hailing from on this worksheet.

Hello!

I am excited to start this new year with students. Working with these new high schoolers (and, by extension, their guardians and caregivers) will be greatly informative and inventive. Honing praxis to the students at hand is essential, and I feel fortunate to get to know young people’s experiences, passions, and skill sets as they enter room 108.

Over the past several years, the Freshman ELA Team has spent a great deal of time planning and revising the Freshman English curriculum. This course provides supported challenge, as well as clear standards for students as they embark on their first year of high school. This is an excellent opportunity to hone fundamental literacy skills that are central to the high school experience and beyond.

Academically, the keys to success in this class are consistent effort and honest communication. Students will occasionally have homework (as needed, per class time), typically ongoing readings and related assignments. Students are expected to complete this work as it is assigned. Of course, should disruptions arise, extensions and modifications are allowed. I will post instructional activities and homework assignments on our class' Schoology page and on my weekly agenda (for the sake of less links, both are available on this website) to help students and guardians keep up to date with course requirements. Freshmen use Schoology to access content, submit assignments, and to monitor current progress. I encourage you to ask your student regularly about how class is going and assignment completion, and to check PowerSchool for work completion.

Students are stepping into new expectations, part of which includes completing and submitting work in a timely fashion. You’ll see names for different types of classwork; “Prep and Practice” (P&P) (e.g. in-class essay drafts, skill-building activities, completed with care and turned in on time) and “Body of Evidence” (BOE) assessments (e.g. essays, projects, etc.) that constitute an average grade. Learning is continual and perfection is a farce, so, students can use a Late Work Submission Form and “Try Again” on BOE, as long as all P&P has been completed. Students can meet with me anytime my door is open. Learning the content and practicing the skills of Freshman English is as essential as practicing communication and responsibility; I expect and welcome students practicing (not perfecting) self-awareness, appreciation, and expression. Acceptance and respect of, and open-mindedness to, peers’ contiguous doing-so is fundamental to a safe, exploratory learning environment. 

How to check grades: Your score for this class will be based on our standards.  Each standard will be calculated as a specific percentage of your grade as listed below:

Reading - 40% Writing - 40% Speaking & Listening - 10% Language - 10%

Overall course grades will only be posted during the last week of each marking period.  However, you may always check the “Mastery” tab to see your current average score for each standard and then calculate your overall grade.  For example, 

Standard

Percentage of total grade

Average

Total points toward final grade

1

30%

2.67

2.67 x .3 = .8

2

40%

3.14

3.14 x .4 = 1.26

3

30%

3.27

3.27 x .3 = .98

Total course grade is a 3.04. Towards the end of each marking period, I will review all of the evidence and then use my professional judgment to determine the final score for each standard. The score that you see for “Body of Evidence” when you look at grades is not the current course grade.  However, this gives a ballpark average for each assignment, but does not calculate towards the final course grade.

Student success is directly related to their ability to be a responsible and respectful member of class as well as their ability to persevere when faced with challenges.  For this reason, we want to communicate what we see as their level of proficiency for Habits of Work as it pertains to respect, responsibility, and perseverance. While this will be represented using our standard 1-4 scale, this score will not calculate into your course grade.

We will follow the school policy concerning cell phones, which should be turned off and in students’ bags during class time. Students should not take them to the bathroom or remove them from their bags at any point during class. Phones that are out during class time will be held by me until the end of class. A second offense will result in the student’s phone being sent to Mr. Braun until the end of the day. Repeat offenses will be treated with disciplinary action. Students may not have earbuds or headphones on during class (unless learning accommodations allow them to do so).

 Finally, the transition to high school is dysregulating and exciting. I strive to not overburden students nor you with overcommunication, but will always reach out via email with unit-by-unit updates on our coursework. Please do not hesitate to reach out with curiosities or questions. As one final plug, most consistent and detailed course information is available on my website (Click here again to access it).

Be happy and healthy!

Miranda Snyder

miranda.snyder@mdirss.org 

288­-5011 ext. 3108