This counts as a homework grade. Due:

[Pages:4]This counts as a homework grade. Due: _____________________________________

Dear Parents and Guardians,

I am excited for your student to be in my 7th grade English Language Arts/Reading (ELA/R) class this semester and I look forward to being a partner in your student's education.

Our school theme this year is: "High School and Beyond". In my classroom, you will see a list of traits that students will need to exemplify in my class on a daily basis, which include: being a Risk Taker, Persistent Worker, Innovator and Self-Manager. In addition, this year, my BIG goal is for students to leave 7th grade with the skill of being able to thoughtfully and clearly state their opinions and back them up with evidence. This is a skill that your student will be able to use in all of his or her subjects and something that will help him or her to be successful in high school and college. I invite you to visit our classroom at any time to see how we are accomplishing this goal!

Lastly, I'm also excited to share with you a new resource that I hope will keep you updated on what we did in class on a particular day. I created a website that I invite you to visit at any time. I will do my best to update the website on a regular basis. It will also serve as a tool for resources for you and your student to enhance his or her learning outside of my class! Visit the website at mszinsou..

Supplies (Required and Optional)

The following supplies are required for my class, and are to stay with your student, unless otherwise noted. Students will have until Friday, September 29 to show me these items. In addition, I HIGHLY recommend that students use a planner to write down any homework assignments/due dates that they can use for all their classes.

red pen highlighter (any color) pencil or blue/black ink pen 2-inch binder pouch for the binder set of dividers for the binder ream of notebook paper (college or wide rule) small pencil sharpener tissue box (turn in to teacher)

The following supplies are optional and your student will be given extra credit for bringing them and turning them into me.

index cards glue sticks pencils/pens markers/crayons/colored pencils highlighters (other than the required one)

Communicating with Me and Checking Grades

Contact Information The best way to contact me is through my email at paige.zinsou2@ or through Parent Portal (see below). You may also contact me through my class website at mszinsou..

Parent Portal Parent Portal is available for parents to sign up for on the district website. You will be able to see your student's grades from all their classes as they are updated. If you have any questions about your child's performance in my class at any time, please contact me through Parent Portal. For more information, go to .

FYI Students may also use their FWISD logins to check their own grades online (this is separate from Parent Portal). They will need to go to (this link can also be found on the FWISD webpage under "Educators"). Once there, students will type in their login information. (Generally, the username is s + Student's ID # + @ and the password is first initial + last initial + . + 060)

Grading

The following grading scale will be used each six weeks. It is possible that during a six weeks cycle, we won't do an assignment from one of the following categories, which will not penalize your student. In that case, your student's grade will be comprised of the remaining categories. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns throughout a grading cycle.

25%: Tests and Projects 35%: Daily Work and Participation 15%: Quizzes 15%: Essays 10%: Homework and Binder Check

All late work will result in half credit for that assignment after 1 day and will not be accepted more than one day after the deadline unless you have received an extension in advance from Ms. Zinsou.

Please note that all assignments must be done in pencil or blue/black ink, unless otherwise noted. Points will be taken off for assignments done in another color.

In addition, cheating will not be tolerated. Any student found cheating, including plagiarizing/copying another student's work, will receive an automatic 0 on the assignment without a chance to make it up. I am big on integrity (what you do when no one's looking)!

Homework

We have implemented a new homework policy at Wedgwood Middle School. Students will receive homework on a daily basis based on the following schedule.

Monday: Math and Science Tuesday: English and Social Studies Wednesday: Math and Science Thursday: English and Social Studies

In addition, students may be given homework if they were unable to complete and assignment for the day or if is part of an extended assignment/project. This is why I recommend for students to use a planner so that they can keep track of assignments and due dates easily!

Anchor Activities

If a student completes his or her work early, he or she is expected to begin working on an Anchor Activity, which is a list of assignments that will enhance a student's learning; however, the student will choose what activity is done.

There is a poster in the room that lists the Anchor Activities students are able to work on. Of course, a student may present me with a written proposal to suggest another activity. If, by the end of the six weeks, your student turns in documentation for at least 5 well-done Anchor Activities, it will become a quiz grade.

Honors Classes Only

In addition to our daily classwork, honors class will do the following:

Weekly stem list (prefixes and suffixes) quizzes Read at least two Lone Star library books outside of class time, and complete a project that will be due in November. (More information will be given at a later date.) Another project will be assigned for the second semester. Each six weeks, honors students are expected to turn in documentation for at least 5 well-done anchor activities for a quiz grade.

Tutoring

I will offer tutoring Mondays and Wednesdays afterschool. Students must notify me if they are coming beforehand.

Missed Work

If your student must miss a day of class, there will be a designated place in the classroom where students will be able to get any missing work, which will be emptied each Friday. Students will be responsible for checking for and completing the make-up work. Students will have two days from the day they return to complete this work. Students are responsible to come to me on their own time if they need help on an assignment. In addition, I am using my website as a means for students to see what they missed on a certain day. Visit the website at mszinsou..

Incentives

Students will be able to collect tickets from me for the following actions and "cash" them in for prizes/supplies.

Displaying characteristics of a student going to "High School and Beyond". Giving an exceptionally thoughtful answer Stumping the teacher Being caught doing something good Being a good listener Getting a compliment from another student/adult Doing an outstanding job on an assignment Making it onto the student expert wall Other actions based on the teacher's discretion!

Some of the prizes may include pencils, erasers, homework passes (1 per six weeks only!), etc. Also, students may decide as a class to save their tickets, present me with a written proposal, and do something as a class instead.

Classroom Rules

I expect each student to follow our classroom rules so that we're able to focus solely on our learning objectives. These will always be posted in the room as a reminder of what is expected.

1. Follow directions the first time. 2. Always be respectful of yourselves and others.

3. Keep your hands, feet and other objects to yourselves. 4. Stay in your seat. 5. Come to class on time, prepared and ready to learn! Ms. Zinsou's Procedure Handbook I have created a second document with the daily procedures that we will do each day in class. These procedures can be found online at mszinsou.. If you would like a hard copy, please let me know and I will send a copy home with your student. All procedures and rules are tentative and may be changed at my discretion. Students will be notified of these changes. Consequences Should it become necessary, listed below are our classroom consequences. 1. Verbal Warning 2. Student Conference 3. Change of Environment 4. Parent Contact 5. Office Referral (The teacher may come straight to this consequence for a particularly severe offense.)

A copy of this syllabus may be found at mszinsou.. Don't forget to sign and return the SIGNATURE section for your student's first homework

grade!

Please fill in the information below. Student Name (Printed): ___________________________________________________________________________ Parent/Guardian Name (Printed): ________________________________________________________________ Parent Phone Number: _____________________________________________________________________________ Parent Email: ________________________________________________________________________________________

Signatures below denote that you have read and understand the entire syllabus. Parent/Guardian Signature: ______________________________________________________________ Date: ______________________________ Student Signature: _________________________________________________________________________ Date: ______________________________ Comments/Questions:

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