8th Grade Regular English Class Guidelines Mr. Trayter (Room 210)

/trayter1

SPECIFIC CLASS MATERIALS

  • Pen or pencil every day
  • Single subject notebook for daily edit work, note keeping, etc.
  • Looseleaf paper
  • Two two-pocket inexpensive folders with three bendable prongs (one of these folders will be kept in my room at all times)
  • Students will be issued Elements of Literature textbooks. This book is also available online. Students will receive their passwords and ID’s early in the first quarter
  • Students should have at least a 4 GB flashdrive available to use throughout the year. This can be a flashdrive that is also used for other classes

DAILY EDITS: PARTICIPATION POINTS, HOMEWORKS, AND QUIZZES

Daily edits take on a much more significant role in 8th grade than they did last year. Each day, one edit sentence will be assigned to be copied and corrected in class. Students will volunteer corrections and explanations, as well as definitions for the underlined vocabulary word, to gain points toward their quarterly participation points grade. At the end of each five sentence series, an edit/vocabulary quiz over that series will take place, typically on Fridays. Students must have all five of their completed and corrected sentences with them on the day of the edit quiz!

INTERNET CLASSROOM UPDATES

Both students and parents are strongly encouraged to take advantage of a website called As in past years, I will be using this website to post my weekly class activities/schedule. Using the website is simple, and it provides a continual source of information for both students and parents. The web site will be updated each weekend for the upcoming school week. Follow these quick steps to access my page:

1)Go to

2) Scroll down to find my two different pages (8 Regular English or 8 Honors English)

3) Click on the page you need to find the week’s activities

Please bookmark the page early in the year and use it frequently.

Providing there are no technical difficulties here at Shore, assignments and information will be updated (as needed) after school each day. Even if you do not have internet access at home, a friend’s house, or at work, you can still use the internet at the Mentor Public Library. Hopefully, this will allow both parents and students to complete and prepare for assignments in a timely fashion.

GRADING PROCEDURES AND HOMEWORK POLICY

I am diligent about posting grades to Infinite Campus; however, parents should be aware of the fact that there are often technical problems with the program outside of the teaching staff’s control. Any assignments (homework, quizzes, tests) not completed on the assigned day will be entered in my grade book as a “0” until the assignment has been made up. For each quarter, grades typically break down in the following way:

Homework: 10 to 20 pts. Literature Quizzes: 15 to 25 pts.

Weekly Edit/Vocabulary Quizzes: 20 pts. Literature Unit Tests: 40 to 60 pts.

Study Island Assignments: 15 to 20 pts. Major Compositions/Projects: 50 to 100 pts.

Grades are determined according to the district guidelines with 90% and above being an A, 80% and above a B, and so on. The formula for determining a student’s final course grade is simple: add all four quarter’s percentages together and divide by 4. With this district-wide policy, it is important for students to maintain a consistent effort in their classwork throughout the entire school year!

Assignments must be submitted on time to receive full credit. Please allow adequate time for assignments to be evaluated and posted online! Often, technical problems with the program are out of the teaching staff’s control. All assignments not completed at the time of data entry will be entered in Infinite Campus as a “0” until the assignment is made up. Each student is given the opportunity to turn in late work for PARTIAL CREDIT when the assignment is completed AND submitted with a Shore English Personal Responsibility form. This form needs to be filled out and signed by both the student and at least one parent and returned to me based on the time frame below:

SLIDING GRADE SCALE FOR LATE/MISSING ASSIGNMENTS

Submitted on time Submitted 1 day late Submitted 2 days late

WITH completed/

signed responsibility N/A Potential for 90%Potential for 70%

form

WITHOUT completed/

signed responsibility N/A Potential for 80%Potential for 60%

form

END OF THE YEAR COURSE GRADES

End of the year course grades are determined using a simple formula: the percentages for all four quarter grades are added together and divided by 4; therefore, it is vital that students put forth a consistent effort towards passing throughout every quarter of the entire year.

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES

Students need to have their own daily planners in class each day. Beyond being used as an activity reminder, you must also have the planner with you in order to use the lav. Each student is given two lav passes to use at the beginning of each quarter; unused passes can be used for future quarters.

GRADE UPDATES

Students will be required to maintain a grade update chart each and every time assignments are passed back in class. These charts are also due at the end of each nine weeks for a separate class grade.

HIGH SCHOOL RECOMMENDATION PROCEDURES

Recommendations for 9th grade English classes are made twice during the year. A tentative recommendation is made in January, and a final one is made in May. Recommendations are based on students consistently earning the range of scores found below:

96% – 100% 9th grade Honors English

80% – 95% 9th grade College Prep. English

79% and below 9th grade Regular English

STUDENT INFORMATION SHEET

This sheet must be completed, signed by parents, and returned no later than ______

Students who do not turn this sheet in on time will begin receiving lunch detentions next week.

As a parent, I (we) have received the sheets regarding this year’s English class guidelines and grading policy. I (we) have read through the information, especially the section pertaining to the use of the Student Personal Responsibility Form and the /trayter1website.

Student name (print) ______English Class period ______

Student signature ______

Parent name (print) ______

Parent signature ______

Home address ______

Home phone ______

Mother’s daytime phone # ______Father’s daytime phone # ______

E-mail address ______

______

Students’ Schedule for Core Subjects

Advisory teacher: ______Room # ______

Math teacher: ______Room # ______Period ______

Social Studies teacher: ______Room # ______Period ______

Science teacher: ______Room # ______Period ______

English teacher: ______Room # ______Period ______

Phys. Ed. Teacher ______Period ______

Lunch period: ______(A or B) Study hall period: ______(A or B) Room # ______

*PLEASE COMPLETE THE BACK SIDE OF THIS SHEET REGARDING INTERNET ACCESS.

As in past years, I will be using a web site to post my weekly class activities/schedule. Using the website is simple, and it provides a continual source of information for both students and parents. The web site will be updated each weekend for the upcoming school week. Follow these quick steps to access my page:

1)Go to

2) Scroll down to find my two different pages (8 Regular English or 7 Honors English)

3) Click on the page you need to find the week’s activities

Please bookmark the page early in the year and use it frequently.

Please fill out the short form below and return it to me to let me know that you have internet access at your home or place of employment.

Thank you,

Mr. Trayter

8th grade English e-mail:

Please sign below and have this sheet returned by your son or daughter by ______. Thanks!

Student name (please print) ______

Parent name (please print) ______

Parent signature ______

_____YES, I do have internet access either at home or work.

_____NO, I have no access to the internet.

Reminder – All of Mentor’s public libraries have free internet access!