Class Expectations
Class policies, grading, due dates, and more
Class policies, grading, due dates, and more
I don’t give grades: you earn them. Want to know how to raise your grade? Do the work.
Do not ask for extra credit at the end of the quarter: your grade is reflection of the skills you demonstrated over the course of the quarter.
Be prepared to think, work hard, and have fun. Expect the best from yourself…I do!
SUPPLIES: Bring these everyday
3-ring binder and 4 divider tabs to organize your handouts. You will have periodic binder checks, so keep it organized and bring it to class daily. Any size is fine, and please feel free to recycle an old binder or share a binder with another class.
Tab 1: Reference
Tab 2: Grammar/Vocabulary
Tab 3:Writing
Tab 4: Current Unit (we'll clear out the binder at the end of each quarter and add anything to "Reference" that we anticipate needing later)
Single subject notebook for daily warm ups--nothing huge or fancy. These can be purchased for under $1. Feel free to recycle an old one.
3. Earbuds (not airpods or headphones). You’ll need these for membean, Achieve 3000, and other listening activities like watching a TED talk or an edpuzzle. I also have headphones to borrow.
4. Some loose leaf paper--just a small chunk that you can replenish throughout the year as needed
5. Some post-its--just a small chunk you can cut into strips to mark passages in the texts we read
You don’t have to drag the binder home daily. Ideally, you’d use your locker to store it.
All handouts are hole-punched and labeled, so you can easily file them away. Lost handouts will result in a penalty in the preparedness/participation category.
Despite the informality of many modes of communication, I expect you to approach emails to instructors in a formal manner. Please include a greeting and a closing. Please be sure you write in complete sentences using capital letters where appropriate. Adding a specific subject to the subject line will help you get a quicker response, e.g. Othello Act 2 assignment or last week's membean.
Mrs. Voight:
Please include your message here.
Thank you,
Your name
The following email and those like it will not receive a reply other than a request for a rewrite:
Hey I dont know what the hw is tonite
In addition to using weighted grades (see below), the 10th grade team uses the following grading scale: mastery (100%), proficient (89%), developing (79%), not there yet (69%), and incomplete (59%). Click here for an explanation of this grading scale.
Weighted grades provide students and parents with more insight into why a student's grade is what it is. (See categories below.)
Keep in mind that access to Gradebook is both a blessing and a curse. When a category is not yet "full" of assignments, a student's grade could be artificially low or high.
The tenth grade team uses the following categories to weight different types of classwork and assessments.
*Participation includes preparedness, for example, having all required materials or turning in assignments in a timely manner.
READING COMPREHENSION: 34
WRITING/RESEARCH: 34
GRAMMAR: 10
VOCABULARY: 10
SPEAKING & LISTENING: 10
PARTICIPATION/PREPARATION: 2
TARDIES
It is essential that as a class we work to develop mutual respect for each other and our learning community; consistent tardiness negatively affects this community. We encourage you to arrive to school on time to ensure that you don’t feel overwhelmed by missing class or feeling disconnected from class activities or content due to excessive tardiness.
A student who accumulates four tardies to class will be given a detention. Continued tardiness will result in additional disciplinary action.
ABSENCES
If you are absent, please check the daily slides on Canvas so you can stay up to date and not fall behind. It is your responsibility to initiate conversation with your teacher about missed work. Being absent for part of the school day (e.g. dentist appointment) does not exempt you from due dates or homework. It is your responsibility to turn in assignments and find out what you missed before you leave or after you return to the school day.
Assignments announced in advance (e.g., essay, presentation) are due on the due date, regardless if you attend school that day or not.
Reading assignments are due on the day they are due. So if you are supposed to read chapter 5 for Wednesday and are absent on Wednesday, it is expected that you are up to date on reading the day you return.
Make up tests usually will be waiting for you in the Testing Center, but before and after school make ups may be necessary. Unless other arrangements have been made, you have the number of days you were absent to make up an assignment/assessment. So, if you are absent on Tuesday and return on Wednesday, you would make up the quiz/test on Wednesday. If you were absent Tuesday and Wednesday, you would have two days (until Friday) to make up your missed quiz/test. See page 18 of the Student Handbook.
If you need to make up a test after school and have practice, please let your coach know that you will be late to practice. If you have any issues about this, please see me or the Athletic Director, Mr. Wagner.
Please do not hesitate to share questions or concerns with your teacher. Communication is key!
Unless otherwise stated, class assignments must be TYPED IN MLA FORMAT. Most assignments will be submitted via Canvas; some assignments require you to bring a HARD COPY to class on the due date. Be sure to read assignment details and check the homework section of the website for directions.
Each assignment must have a title; do not submit assignments called Untitled. This helps you and Mrs. Voight more easily find your assignments.
MLA format
Double-spaced
12-point Time New Roman font
Last name and page number in upper right corner
Click on "Insert"
Click on "Page Number"
Hit the "Enter" key a couple of times so your name and page number doesn't get cut off when printed.
Type in your last name in front of the page number with a space in between
Include a heading on left side which includes your name, teacher name, class, and date in European format as in 23 August 2021.
Funky margins? Go to "File" and "Page Set Up" and make sure top, bottom, left, and right are all set at 1.
Assignments are due at the beginning of class on the due date. See below.
Homework assignments are learning tools. I do not assign busy work; it’s no fun for you to do or for me to grade. When I assign something, it’s important! If you do not complete an assignment or forget to bring it to class, you will not be prepared for a class review/discussion of the assignment. Late assignments have less educational value.
LATE HOMEWORK=loss of points in presence/preparedness category by teacher discretion. Electronic assignments must be shared by the BEGINNING OF CLASS. Do not ask to share it with me in class: it will be late.
Writing assignments are due and must be shared with Mrs. Voight by the beginning of class on the due date whether or not you attend school that day. These assignments are announced in advance, so you have plenty of time to complete them.
Everyone starts with a 50/50 for the DUE DATES assignment. Each time an assignment is late, 10 points are deducted from the DUE DATES assignment in the Participation/Preparedness category.
It is the fundamental responsibility of all RRHS students to adhere to the standards of academic integrity. The following actions violate this standard, and any occurrence will result in a zero for the assignment and a referral to the office:
copying or allowing copying of any assignment - I will take both the original and the one being copied and turn them into the teacher who assigned the work.
using AI to do your work, including editing and revising
sharing Google docs or your drive with others to use
calling someone else’s IDEAS or WORDS your own (This is plagiarism.)
using information from a book, magazine, Internet, etc. and just changing a few words without properly citing the source (This is plagiarism.)
talking during a quiz/test or using cheat sheets
You should know that: 1) teachers know your writing, 2) teachers talk to each other, and 3) teachers see more than you think we do.
Please complete all assignments to the best of your ability. If you feel the need to plagiarize, cheat, or use digital tools to do your work for you, please talk with me about what you need in order to have more success on your own and more investment in your learning. See the Student Handbook information below.
CHEATING/PLAGIARISM
Cheating and plagiarism cannot be tolerated in the school environment. Instances of cheating/plagiarism are considered cumulatively and taken into account throughout a student's time at RRHS. By way of example, a student’s first cheating/plagiarism offense could occur in 9th grade, a second cheating/plagiarism offense could occur in 10th grade, and a third offense could occur in 12th grade. Incidents from a prior school year are not “wiped away” once a student begins their time at RRHS. We want students to learn, improve, and grow from their mistakes, not repeat them.
Regarding instances of suspected Ai-based cheating/plagiarism, AI detection tools should never serve as the sole basis for a plagiarism or cheating allegation; rather, they are merely one component of a broader investigation. Before any disciplinary action is taken, educators must meet with the student to review the findings and provide them with a fair opportunity to explain and defend their work. It is the responsibility of the student to keep, maintain, and organize materials like outlines, drafts, Works Cited pages, bibliographies, peer editing exercises, and/or any other pertinent materials that could be helpful in defending their work should suspected AI based cheating/plagiarism arise.
All staff members are to be alert to potential problems in this area and must act to discourage attempts to academic dishonesty. This includes the use of artificial intelligence and chatbots unless the student has prior approval from the classroom teacher. Should such dishonesty be identified clearly, the following procedures are to be used:
First Offense: The student will potentially receive partial credit or no credit at all on the assignment in question, based on teacher discretion; a disciplinary referral will be filed with the assistant principal; the parent will be informed by the teacher.
Second Offense: (in same or different course): The student may be assigned a failing grade for the quarter (teacher discretion); a disciplinary referral will be filed and the assistant principal will notify the parents.
Chronic Offenses: May lead to suspension from school or failure in a given course. This will be determined by the administration. Additional disciplinary action may also be taken.
Students participating in College Credit Plus (CCP) courses are subject to the academic policies, attendance standards, and disciplinary consequences established by the higher education institution (e.g., Tri-C). These expectations are outlined in the course syllabus provided at the start of the term. Dual-enrollment students remain responsible for adhering to both the partner institution's rules and the Rocky River High School Student Code of Conduct.