CLASS PROCEDURES:
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1. Look at the Agenda Board to see what you might
need for the day
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2. Take out those items necessary for that day's
work and place them on your desk
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3. Put your backpack completely under your desk,
or on the back of your chair
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You should be in your seat by the time the bell
rings!
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4. Have your homework ready, out on the desk, to
be collected or stamped
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Do not turn in homework unless told to do so.
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5. Then, begin today's Warm-Up.
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Before you leave the classroom:
Please return all handouts to the proper box (these handouts
will be numbered in the upper corner, and are not to be taken home).
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At the end of the period, Do not pack up before
I dismiss the class. The bell alone, does not dismiss the class.
HOMEWORK:
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Check the weekly schedule in class, or on this
website to plan your week in regards to homework. Usually, there will be
homework every night of the week. On weekends, the homework will, generally,
consist of typing up class notes and/or reading. I will try not to assign
homework on a Friday that is due Monday.
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When you come to class on Monday, you should copy
down the week's homework on your Weekly Homework Planner during morning
announcements/attendance. You can also find the homework on this website,
under, "Homework."
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Homework is considered late if it is not on
one's desk at the beginning of class. Larger projects and papers are
considered late if not turned in by the end of
that school day. Automatic lunchtime detentions will be given to those
students who do not do their homework on any given day. A letter home will be
sent, too, each time a student does not complete their homework. Consider
yourself forewarned!
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Broken printers, out-of-ink, etc. are the new,
"My dog ate my homework." These excuses don't work. Set up
an internet-based email account for yourself so
that you can email to yourself the work, and print it at school. Or, better
yet, purchase a FlashDrive and move your work to the drive, bring to
school, and print at school. But, this printing must take place before class/the
due date. You will not be able to do the printing during class.
BEHAVIOR POLICY:
Be kind. Be safe. Be respectful. Be responsible.
Failure to follow school, pod, or classroom rules, i.e., being on time, will
result in the following:
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Verbal warning.
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Removal from classroom, and
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Detention after school,or during lunch, with
possible phone call home.
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If you miss the detention without a valid excuse,
you will receive a referral.
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After accumulating a succession of detentions, a
referral will be issued.
There are, of course, situations where an immediate
referral will be issued (fighting, harassment, etc.). I will also issue
immediate detentions (without the warning) for the following:
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If you are not quiet and attentive when I ask for
your attention.
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If you pack up before I dismiss the class at the
end of the period.
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If you leave your materials at home, including
homework (see above, under "homework")
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IMPORTANT NOTICE ABOUT DETENTIONS: The
detention you receive for one of the above infractions, is a detention FOR THE
DAY OF THE INFRACTION. Let me repeat that: for the day of the infraction
. This means, if you have an appointment, or otherwise can't make a detention
because of a previous commitment, it does NOT mean you don't serve the
detention. On the contrary. It means, YOU SHOULD NOT DO SOMETHING THAT WILL
EARN YOU A DETENTION ON A DAY YOU KNOW YOU CAN'T SERVE ONE!
GRADING POLICY:
My grading practices and policies are influenced
by William Glasser’s Quality School principles. Basically, this means that I
have found that children: a) need the opportunity to improve their work; b)
often learn more during the improvement process than during the initial
attempt; and c) need to be given clear standards for what is expected of them
in any given activity.
To this end, therefore, my grading policy is as
follows:
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All substantial activities, projects and
assignments have Rubrics that will be handed to the students before
they begin the activity, and they will be able to see what is involved in
creating “Quality Work.” PLEASE GO OVER THESE RUBRICS/INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE
BEGINNING ANY LARGER ASSIGNMENT!
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All assignments, except Tests, Quizzes, and some
Homework will be “improveable.” Students will have one
week from the date the assignment was given back to them to work on
the specific revisions and re-submit that assignment. You may re-submit
as many times as you would like to get the grade you want. Hopefully,
however, after learning what makes "quality" work, the need for these
revisions will lessen as the year progresses.
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Assignments will be accorded a point value,
based upon the "weight" of the assignment. For instance, a substantial essay
might be 100 points; less demanding assignments, accorded less points. Grades
are quoted as points awarded over points possible. For instance: a weekly
essay grade may look like this: 45/50. A less demanding assignment, say, a
homework response, might look like this: 8/10.
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Trimester grades are total points earned
divided by total points possible (usually, approximately, 250-500 points per
trimester). Students will keep track of their own grades throughout the
trimester, so there are no surprises; as well as time to improve if need be. I
will hand out a "Keeping Track of Your Grades" sheet to make this easy.
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I give out Progress Reports to those
students who, at the time of the Report, are earning a C or below. These
reports are warnings (they do not go on any permanent record) so as to
help in improving the grades. They are not to be used as "quotable" grades
("But you said I had a C at the progress report...."), but as a type of
"alarm" or warning! Please see that they are interpreted
as such.
Late Work: In order to teach planning,
organization skills, prioritizing, etc., I am a real stickler for on-time
work. Due dates are given for a reason (i.e., to teach good planning, because
classwork for a given day follows in sequence to the homework, or my need to
balance in-depth grading of 5 history classes' assignments). I will not accept
any work - no matter how small - for full credit that is late without a
written excuse from home. And even then, it is not guaranteed that I will
accept the excuse! Late work will receive a loss of one grade per day it is
late.
Absences: It is your responsibility to use
the website, your friends, your Agenda Book to keep up with missed work.
Missed work should be made up in a timely manner, usually one day for every
day you were absent. Speak to me personally - before or after class - about
any work you might have missed. Do not ask during class, please.
NOTEBOOK GUIDELINES:
You will keep a spiral notebook in History class.
All regular class and homework assignments will be completed in these
notebooks. Although I stamp and go over the Homework each day, the notebook
will be graded for overall quality and completeness, as well as
individual-assignment assessment, approximately twice a trimester. As all
of your work is kept in this notebook, the grade for it will represent the major
part of your trimester grade in History.
I cannot stress this enough: THIS NOTEBOOK IS
WHERE ALL OF YOUR WORK IS KEPT. IT IS NOT A SEPARATE "PROJECT."
IT DOES HAVE, HOWEVER, REQUIREMENTS AND EXPECTATIONS FOR ITS ORGANIZATION AND
COMPLETION.
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1. Leave the first page of the notebook free, as
you will be creating a "cover sheet" for your notebook there.
2. You need to keep a Table of Contents on
the follwing few pages of the notebook. Record the Assignment Number and
Assignment Title as it appears on the classroom easel (and under "Notebook
Contents" in this Website). Add your own page numbers in the Page Column. Keep
this page up-to-date! Annotate the assignment in the space provided on the
TOC, immediately after completing the assignment.
3. You may write on both sides as
long as your writing utensil doesn't "bleed" through.
4. Each assignment needs to have the Assignment
Number and the Assignment Title centered, on the top line of the
page. You should also prominently write the Page Number in one of the outside
corners; be consistent as to which corner.
5. Put only one assignment on each page.
6. All homework assignments must be stamped
to receive full credit. If you are absent, make sure to have me stamp your
completed work when you return to school.
7. All assignments must be complete and legible.
If you do not have time to finish something in class, you should complete it
at home. You should use ink in most cases; the use of a computer should be
used for longer pieces of work. If you type something for your Notebook, print
it out and paste neatly into the notebook, cutting it down if necessary.
8. Your notebook must be complete. Absences
are not an excuse. You should check with me, this website, or a classmate in
order to make up missed work. Don't forget to look in the Student Filing
Cabinet for any missed handouts. Do not write, "absent" on an assignment and
expect to get credit for it: you won't.
9. Pay attention in class the first few
days of school, as examples and instructions for exactly how to put your
notebook together will be discussed and demonstrated.
10. There is no "10;" I just like even numbers!