Photo 2/3/4 Syllabus & Parent info
Dear Parents,
Please go to the class webpage http://sites.google.com/site/manzanohighphoto2/to read the course syllabus and get an overview of the class. Please read and understand my class attendance, grading, employability skills policies. Unexcused absences and tardies are graded! Please send excuse notes to your student’s secretary within Three Days so absences can be marked excused. If you do not have access to the Internet please check that you need a paper copy of the syllabus and I will send one home with your son or daughter. Please sign below that you have read the course syllabus and return to me by Monday, August 19, 2019. The class website will have assignments and more information for you to reference throughout the year. Please make sure your email address is up to date in ParentVue. I communicate with parent mainly through email. If your email needs to be updated, please call your student’s secretary to update.
The photo lab fee for the 1st semester is due by Monday, Sept. 9, 2019. The Lab fee is $20 if paid by the deadline, $30 if paid late. If students are in the free/reduced lunch program the fee is $10 if paid on time and $20 if paid after Sept. 9th, 2019. If fees are owed from previous years,monies collected will be applied to the Current semester first then the previousyear/s. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns about the lab fee . I will take partial payments and if partial payment is paid by Sept. 9th no late fee will be assessed. The course syllabus explains why we need to charge a lab fee in detail.
Please feel free to contact me at 505-559-2200, ext. 23436 or at my email address: heimer_p@aps.edu if you have any questionsabout the class.
Thank you,
Perry Heimer
Photography Teacher
ManzanoHS
Syllabus
Contact Information
MHS phone number:505-559-2200, ext. 23436
Email: Primary: heimer_p@aps.edu, I check my email daily. Please put student’s name in the subject so that I can quickly see that the email concerns one of my students.
Class webpage: http://sites.google.com/site/manzanohighphoto2/homeor through MHS Classroom Connection.
Class description
Students will learn digital photography by using digital cameras, scanners, the Internet, and traditional learning modes including photography books, magazines and gallery visits. Students will learn how to compose photographs, manipulate photographs using various software programs, critique photographs and how to make digital portfolios on the Internet. Students will learn the Principles and Elements of Art/Design as they are applied to photography. They will also learn the history of photography and vocabulary associated with photography.
Materials needed
Lab Fee:$20 persemester if paid by September 9th. After Sept.9ththe lab fee is $30.The lab fee may be paid in smaller $5 increments. If $5 is paid by Sept. 9thno late fee will be assessed. (Please only pay one semester at a time as students leave after the 1stsemester for various reasons.)For students receiving free or reduced lunch the lab fee will be reduced to $10 per semester,$20if paid after September 9th. The lab fee may be paid in smaller $5 increments. If $5 is paid by Sept. 9thno late fee will be assessed. Due dates for the 2ndsemester lab fees will be announced in January.
A note on Lab Fees:APS and Manzano High School usually do not provide funding for art and photography classes. All art/photography equipment and supplies must be funded by the collection of lab fees. The lab fees paid by the students go to buying, maintaining and replacing the digital cameras and lenses used in class as well as buying computer peripherals like scanners, USB devices, card readers, storage drives/disks, photography software, printing paper, printer ink and toner cartridges, mat board, cleaning supplies, batteries and chargers, etc. Without lab fees each student would have to supply their own camera and photography supplies and equipment at a great expense to each family. The lab fees usually cover most costs associated with this classbut may not cover all costs.
Textbook: A Short Course in Digital Photography 2ndEd. I have a classroom set for use during class for reading assignments and studying. These books do not leave the classroom. I have a classroom library with many photography and art books that we will use for research and technical information. Also, the MHS library now has some new photography books available for check out.
Digital Camera: Highly recommended,but Not mandatory. Part of the lab fee goes to pay for class digital cameras that are used during class time. Class cameras can only be used during class and on campus. Students get more opportunities to learn if they have a camera at home to photograph on the weekends and away from school. A high-end expensive digital camera is not necessary; an inexpensive point-n-shoot digital will be sufficientfor most assignments. Cell phone cameras are also an option as the quality is getting better.Advance Students should have access to a digital camera as some assignments will need to be done on their own time.
USB flash driveor Cloud storage: highly recommended to transfer images from/tohome and to backup. It should be at least 8GBs.Cloud storage should be at least 15GB.
Notebook/writing instruments:Highly recommended. Required for AVID students.
Grading Policy
Grading Scale: A’s 90-100%; B’s 80-89%; C’s 70-79%; D’s 60-69%; F’s 0-59%. Generally,I give plus and minus grades that follow the APS/Synergy grading scale, 0–3.3 is a minus and 6.7–9.9 is a plus grade. Grades of D’s and F’s usually do not get a plus or minus attached to them.I do not round up grades. For examplea 59.9% is an F, not a D.
Incomplete Assignments:Assignments are only graded when they are complete. No partial credit will be given.
Grading categories:Photography and class assignments are about 50-60% of the grade: Employability Skills are about 30-35% of the grade, and quizzes, tests and extra credit are the remainder. At the beginning of each semester Employability Skills are a higher percentage of the grade due to the lack of turned in and graded assignments.
Cumulative Grade reporting: Grades are accumulated for the semester. Six-week grade report cards are basically a “progress report.”
Grading Policycontinued
Employability Skill points: 600 points can be earned per semester. 500 points are given to the student once the parent letter and lab fee are turned in. Points are given or taken away as a result of positive or negative actions/behavior of the student. Attendance, turning in assignments on time, classroom behavior and attitude are all part of Employability Skills. For more information about Employability Skills see the Class Webpage: http://sites.google.com/site/manzanohighphoto2/home
Attendance: Attendance is graded. Excessive tardiesand absences will have a negative impact on student’s overall grade. The point system is explained in detail on the class website under Employability Skills. Parents, please send absence excuse notes (within 3 days) to your child’s secretary so absences can be marked excused. Otherwise your student will lose points.
Grade Posting: Grades are automatically posted when I grade them. Grades can be checked by students and parents by going to the school’s website and clicking on the Parent/StudentVuelink. If students and/or parents check the grades and something doesn’t look correct,please call or email me.
General Expectations
Behavior: Students are expected to behave appropriately in class and while out on campus during photography assignments using the photo passes. Students who behave inappropriately while on photo passes will lose their photo privileges and will have to photograph all assignments on their own time after school. Students will be assigned a computer while in class. Students will be sharing computers, students are not to disturb, move, copy or delete other students’ files. All APS computer usage rules will be followed. If a student cannot follow the computer rules their computer privileges will be suspended and they will have to do all their assignments at home or be removed from the class permanently.
Class assignments: All class assignments will be posted on the class Webpage (http://sites.google.com/site/manzanohighphoto2/home). If school is cancelled due for any reason or if a student is out sick for an extended time, assignments will be posted there. Assignments are not usually printed and handed out to students; this saves on valuable resources and reduces lab fees. Students who need printed directions can print the assignments out at home or ask for permission to print in class.
Original Work: Students will only turn in their own work for grading. Use of another person’s work constitutes plagiarism and copyright infringement. This will lead to disciplinary action to include suspension and receiving a failing grade and removal from the class.
Homework:Time will be given during class for completion of assignments. Students will have a better experience if they do photograph after school and on the weekends. Unfortunately, class cameras cannot be signed out overnight or on the weekends.
Late Assignments: Late assignments can be turned in for a reduced grade. Near the end of the semester a deadline will be posted. Work turned in after this deadline but before the posting of grades in Synergy will receive no more than a 50%. Late work also affects Employability Skills points; late work is highly discouraged. Since assignments can be turned in late, only complete assignments will be accepted.NO incomplete work will be graded!
Make-up Work: There are no make-up assignments. Late,regular class assignments are the only assignments that will be accepted.
Food and Drinks:Absolutely no food and drink in the classroom except a capped water bottle. A table near the door is available to place drinks and unfinished food from snack break and lunch. Students found snacking out of their backpacks during class will be directed to throw their food out and will be given a referral. It is bad for the computers and extremely unsanitary to eat at the computer stations. If a student spills a drink on a computer they will be responsible for the cost of repair and/or replacement of that computer/keyboard.
Use of personal electronic devices/Cell phones:Use of music listening devices /cell phones during class is onlyallowedat the teacher’s discretion. Headphones connected to the computer for listening to approved online tutorials and instructional DVDs are allowed with teacher permission. Students are not allowed to stream music/videosfrom online sources. Using cell phones to text or make calls in class in strictly prohibited. If an emergency arises and students need to callhomethey need to ask permission from the teacher to use their phone.
MHS Rules: All MHS rules are in effect in our photography classroom. School rules can be found in the student agenda and are posted on the Manzano website.