English 8



English 8 Mrs. Dirk

Hercules Middle School 2018-19

Voice Mail Answered Tues

LDirk@

!!!!A fully charged tablet/laptop is required in class each day!!!!

CLASS DESCRIPTION:

Assignments are posted for the week on Monday and need to be copied down in the planner and brought home. Parents PLEASE CHECK PLANNERS DAILY!

Writing- Rewriting and editing principles will be stressed. Areas will include: Research Papers, Persuasive Essays, etc. as directed by the California Common Core. These assignments are not accepted late and only graded/read if typed. I do not have a computer/printer for student use. See the school/public library for this as needed. If a student is going to be absent, papers may be emailed, dropped off in the office, turned in early or delivered by another student before they are due.

Spelling- Twenty words per week are assigned. The test is given on Friday.

Homework- Read 30 minutes a night. Monday/Tuesday will be spelling in the workbook. Homework is due the next day at the BEGINNING of the period. Some in class assignments will need time at home to finish. Homework is a supplement to skills and is counted towards the final grade

MATERIALS: (In addition to a charged tablet/laptop)

(1) 3-4 blue or black, regular or erasable pens. Ballpoint preferred.

(2) White, wide-rule binder paper.

(3) Binder, folder, or notebook to keep assignments neat.

(4) Planner or calendar to keep track of assignments-this needs to be in class every day.

(5) 3 green or purple pens for editing work in class

(6) Whiteout if desired

(7) Tissue for runny noses

(8) Jump drive/memory stick if desired

GRADES: Will be computed and compiled from the following four areas:

(1)-20%- Writing-composition, essays, and reports

(2)-10%- Appropriate participation in class activities ie Collaborative Conversations, SSR book/reading. Etc. Entered as a weekly grade. Points will be deducted for no ID, no tablet/uncharged tablet etc.

(3)-20%- TESTS of grammar, spelling, literature, etc.

(4)-50%- Daily grades, homework assignments entered as a weekly grade

School-wide scale: 90+ = A

80-89 = B

70-79 = C

60-69 = D

0-59 = F

RULES AND POLICIES:-in addition to current school/district rules

All students must come to class with a fully charged tablet/laptop

(1) No late papers are accepted past the due date; unless with an excused absence. No projects/essays are extended. Due dates are to be respected and followed.

(2) Only papers with a proper heading in the RIGHT-HAND corner are accepted.

(3) No colored ink pen, colored paper, or pencil accepted. Blue or black ink only, except for spelling tests which can be in pencil.

(4) No bathroom during class time. Take care of personal needs during passing period.

(5) BE ON TIME AND READY TO LEARN!!!! Unexcused tardies will result in a detention.

(6) DETENTIONS-the length of detentions will double when unserved. Detentions are served after school. Failure to serve will result in a referral and counselor action.

(7) Makeup tests are given after school. It is the responsibility of the student to make up a missed test. An "F" will be given for tests that are not taken. A student has 1 week to make up missing tests.

(8) A double "F" will be given for any assignment/test a student is caught cheating on. A referral will also be sent to the counselor. The school policy for cheating/plagiarism will be followed.

(9) There is no chewing/eating/drinking allowed in class at any time.

(10) Please keep all personal grooming out of the classroom.

(11) No hats or head coverings in class other than for religious reasons.

Make-Up Work

No late work is accepted without an excused absence.

a) Students should have two phone numbers of classmates that they can call for help or for assignments.

b) When turning in absent work, write "Absent" at the top of the paper for want credit.

c) Check the planner! Assignments for the week should be copied down on Monday.

d) Students are responsible for making arrangements with the teacher for make-up tests. There is a one-week window on return.

e) Projects and essays are not accepted late due to their importance. If you are out you may have a schoolmate drop off your assignment or an adult can leave it at the reception desk and the office will deliver it to me. You may also email a draft to my email. It is extremely important for students to make sure their work is in on time!

f) Extended absences should have independent study forms on file in the office.

g) Students will have the same number of days to makeup excused absence work, as they were gone. Ex. Sick for 3 days, the missing work is due in 3 days.

Contacting Me

**Parents-the best way to contact me is to use email. I check my email throughout the day. I will respond as soon as possible. I check voice mail once a week and return calls at that time. When leaving a message, please leave a daytime number where you can be reached.

Parent Notification

Any student who is in danger of failing a course (grade below a “C”) will get a progress report 15 days before the end of the quarter. Please contact the counselor for missing progress reports.

Recommendations

Teacher recommendations for programs outside of Hercules Middle School need a 2-week turn around. Please send a stamped, addressed envelope with the address of where the recommendation is supposed to go. Recommendations are confidential; I am obligated to mail them myself. I will not complete recommendations that are not confidential. Please include what the program is, and any signatures of permission that are required. I am more than happy to recommend students, but most programs have strict deadlines, and I can’t take time away from my students to do rush jobs.

Cheating/Plagiarism

Cheating/Plagiarism will result in a zero for the assignment and possibly a zero in the class. Student will be referred to the office for disciplinary action.

Technology Use:

The ELA curriculum for WCCUSD is StudySync, a web-based program. Students will need to access the work on their tablet. The district Technology Agreement will need to be adhered to. Students will not be able to complete their work if they do not have their tablet. There is a very limited amount of plugs in the classroom, so tablets need to be charged before class.

When in class, tablets are not for:

Surfing the web, watching YouTube videos, charging cell phones, messaging, etc. Violations of the technology agreement will be referred to the office for disciplinary action.

Curriculum:

We will be using both Study Sync and Google Classroom, as well as novels and literature books.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download