Course Letter

WELCOME & CLASS INTRODUCTION

I am looking forward to working with you and having both a fun and productive year together.

CLASSROOM EXPECTATIONS

Students are to be seated and ready for instruction when the bell rings. Food and drinks are not allowed near the computers. Electronic devices are allowed when doing independent student work only. Absolutely, no texting or phone calls without approval from the teacher. Be respectful to your teacher and show regard to others as well as the equipment in our classroom. All students are expected to follow the RRISD Student Handbook policies.

To have a fun and productive year, I expect that each student will conduct him or herself in a manner appropriate to the classroom environment. A good attitude is vital. We cannot get the work done that we need to get done if you do not have a good attitude. In addition, respect for the classroom is critical. We will be working with computers, so we will need to take care of our equipment. Furthermore, I expect that each student will come to class prepared to learn. Students must take care of personal matters (e.g. restroom breaks, talking to friends) before class starts.

HOMEWORK VS. CLASSWORK

Almost all of the work that you will do will be completed in class. This is both good and bad for you. What it means is that you will have an extremely minimal amount of homework from this class. However, because of this, the time that you spend in class absolutely MUST be spent wisely. If you get behind on a set of lessons, you may end up spending homework time getting caught up.

Class work can be done before school, after school, advisory time, lunch time, class time and home! If a student falls behind in his or her classwork for whatever reason, the assignments can be accessed via Google Classroom (where internet capabilities exist). If you do not have access to the internet at home, always remember there is the library. Your local library has several computers available (all having access to the internet).

ABSENCES & MAKE-UP WORK

Students have advanced notice of upcoming class assignments and projects.

• Assignments are due by midnight unless stated otherwise.
• As a friendly reminder, all assignments are available through on-line computer applications 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year where Internet connectivity is available.
• Students are responsible for attaining, completing and returning make-up work, missed assignments or missed quizzes or tests due to a class absence. If he or she is in the middle of an assignment or project, an appropriate amount of time will be given to finish.
• Any assignment due on the day you were absent is due the day you return. You have two days to complete any make-up work due for each absence. Work turned in past the allotted (or agreed) due date will receive a grade not to exceed 70%.
• Any assignment that is not turned in by the end of the current six-week period will receive a zero (0).
• Assignments must be turned in before a unit is complete in order to receive credit.

GRADING & LATE WORK POLICIES

The student’s grades are broken down into two categories as follows:

• Major assignments (50%)
• Minor assignments (50%)

The student’s major grades will consist of projects that demonstrate the ability to perform learned skills. The daily assignment grades will resemble projects but are smaller in scale and will also include keyboarding exercises.

Late work will follow the CeVMS guidelines found in the student handbook.