YVHS Mission
Ygnacio Valley High School provides a rigorous and culturally responsive learning environment, ensuring equitable opportunities for all students.
YVHS Vision
Ygnacio Valley High School empowers all students to pursue their college, career, and personal goals. Students will be prepared to think critically, communicate effectively, collaborate openly, and embrace creativity. Graduates will have a global perspective that cultivates self and community advocacy.
We will be working toward these goals in our class.
On a COMMUNITY level:
We are a community in this class. Communities respect one another and stand in solidarity with one another. In part, we do that by speaking and acting in ways that honor and uplift others in the room and in our broader communities.
When we hear or if we are told about language or behavior that is racist, sexist, ableist, anti-LGBTQ+, threatening, insensitive, discriminatory, or prejudiced, we take action and work toward accountability and healing. This kind of language or behavior, whether intended or not, is violent and can cause harm. If the goal of this class is to humanize ourselves and each other and work in solidarity with one another, then we have to agree to lovingly and consistently call out behaviors and language that dehumanize. If/when someone does make such a mistake, we will work toward accountability and healing through repairs like 1-1 meetings, restorative circles, or other follow up actions with those we have harmed.
Making our community better requires self-reflection, vulnerability, patience, accountability, love, and the willingness to step up, do right and dream big of something greater than ourselves. We are in this together.
On an PERSONAL level:
Being a person with integrity is valuable! It helps people know that we are people of our word, and it helps us be able to trust one another and form a real and effective community. We cannot learn the truth about the world and ourselves if we are not honest with one another. In this community, we value honesty about our work, our experiences, our feelings, and our actions. As your teachers, we will always appreciate and value your honesty and strive to be honest with you. Your input makes a difference. It is also important to us that you have academic integrity. That includes:
doing your own work
reaching out when you need help
being honest
Effort, no matter how it turns out at first, helps you and your teacher know how you’ve grown and how you can continue to grow. This helps us work together to help you grow from where you are -- and that’s the whole goal.
Students can receive grades of A+ (100%), A (95%), A- (90%), B+ (89%), B (85%), B- (80%), C+ (79%), C (75%), C- (70%), D+ (69%), D (65%), D- (60%) or F (55%).
Note that only A-C grades count toward A-G credits for college applications
No assignment will be given a grade of “0”.
Gradebooks will have a “grading floor” of 50% for missing assignments
The gradebook categories are:
20% (Practice): The work we do every day in class will be graded based upon completion and the quality of work produced - this includes class participation. These are the assignments that will give you and me an idea of where you are in the process of learning Public Speaking skills. They will not be as involved as your summative assessment and will definitely get you ready to do those final unit assessments to the best of your ability. I will take late work on homework and formative assessments, but only up until the due date of the final assessment.
70% (Summative Assessments): Your performance on assigned speeches.
10% (Semester Final Exam): The last week of each semester will be dedicated to final exams. Each exam will be worth 10% of that semester's total grade.
Your responsibility is to turn your work in on time. My responsibility is to grade your work and post your scores to AERIES and Google Classroom within 2 weeks.
I am human, just like you. If you see that I’ve made a grading mistake, please come see me during office hours and respectfully notify me of the error. We’ll work together to ensure your grades accurately reflect what you know and can do.
We work toward mastery of standards relating to your Speaking & Listening skills. This includes non-verbal and verbal communication, including paralanguage skills.
As the majority of our work will be completed during class-time, no late work will be accepted. However, if you are working diligently in class and need more time to complete a task, that's what office hours are for! Work completed in office hours during the same week will still count as being completed on time. If you're absent, same rules apply.
How do you check what you missed if you're absent? Check Google Classroom.
Major assessments in this class will be speech performances. If you have to miss a scheduled speech, it must be made-up within the same week to receive full credit. Make ups will either happen in class or in front a panel of teachers/ adults. Beyond that first week, late speeches will a 10% late penalty on the grade, for a maximum possible grade of 70%.
Electronic Policy: When you’re in class, it’s important to stay engaged and focus on learning. While electronics are important tools, it’s also important we all develop systems to use them responsibly and respectfully.
Chromebook
You WILL need your Chromebooks at all times. Make sure it is CHARGED and in your backpack every single day.
I honestly recommend you just get into the habit of it this year because you are going to have to use this for the rest of your high school career, not just in English class.
We will be using GoGuardian as well so just keep that in mind!
ALL Electronic devices (excluding Chromebooks) should NOT be out in class EVER.
This includes - Cell phones, AirPods or wireless headphones, smart watches, iPads, etc. ANYTIME these devices are out in class you WILL get a "Cell-Phone Violation."
The violations are as follows:
1st offense: Devices are confiscated until the end of the day. Parent is notified.
2nd offense: Devices are confiscated until the end of the day and ONLY parent can pick it up.
3rd offense: Device is confiscated at the start of school and stored in the office for 5 FULL DAYS! (that's an ENTIRE week btw).
4th offense: Administrator, Parent, and Student conference. Intervention plan developed for the student who will be REQUIRED to check in with the Admin on a DAILY basis.
Refusing to comply counts as an "offense!"
Damage to YONDR Pouches:
1st offense: Students family is charged $50.
2nd offense: Students family is charged $50. Parent call home. 3 days of storing phone at front office for the whole day.
3rd offense: Students family is charged $50. Parent call home. 5 days of storing phone at front office for the whole day.
4th offense: Students family is charged $50. Parent call home. INDEFINITE storing phone at front office for the whole day.
Inappropriate Use of Electronic Devices:
The inappropriate use of the District’s electronic network, as defined in the School Board’s Access to Electronic Networks Policy and its administrative procedures and implementing rules and regulations, may result in the loss of the privilege to use this resource or other disciplinary action. This responsibility includes the proper use of mobile devices and these devices’ capability of electronic recordings. No electronic recordings of any sort are allowed without the knowledge and consent of the classroom teacher. Remember that you are legally responsible for your actions.
Academic Dishonesty (also called "plagiarism")
Plagiarism is defined by Webster’s Dictionary as “to steal and pass off as one’s own the ideas or work of another, to commit literary theft.” To copy someone’s work without identifying the true author with or without the author’s permission or knowledge is a crime.
The use of cut/copy/paste from the internet or to buy someone’s work and pass it off as your own is also a crime.
Submitting work creating by CHAT GBT is also plagiarism.
All of the above actions will receive severe consequences from teachers. It is also recognized that this policy is in accordance with MNVA policy as well.
First time offense will result in a warning and a call to parents/ guardians. The student will have a chance to redo the assignment for half credit.
Second time offense will result in a zero on the assignment and a more extensive meeting with the teacher, Principal, and Guidance Counselor as well as having parents/guardians come in to discuss how to cease this behavior for the future.
Third time offense will result in failure from the course and discussion on what will need to be done to correct the behavior. (Handbook p. 23).