Mr. Polish’s Life Skills Syllabus

Welcome to Life Skills with Mr. Polish! Our class will meet every Wednesday and your attendance here is required. Because we only meet one day a week (or less), it is important that you maintain communication with me by e-mail if you are having any issues with me, school, or the work. My e-mail is and I check it every day so expect me to get back to you no more than 24 hours after you have messaged me.

Even though this class is an elective, this class is intended to be a place where you do you organize yourself, learn important, new skills, and receive help in your classes (if you need it). It is not a place to talk or play with your cell phone. In particular, you are going to do your work within two different contexts:

1. As a class, we will make weekly agendas that include all of the HW assignments that you have been assigned. Once I check your agendas and go over your grades, we will occasionally learn basic skills (i.e., how to write a letter, how to write a check, how to make a resume, etc.).

2. If we have time left over, you will be expected to work quietly on your HW and I will help you if you need hep. You will receive a 15 point grade based on how you make use of class time. Points will be deducted for tardies, unexcused absences, using a cell phone, talking on the side, sleeping in class, putting on make-up, eating, chewing gum loudly, leaving class without getting permission, and/or rude behavior. If you end up getting “negative” points for one week, points will then be deducted from your previous weeks’ grades. If you have a good reason to use a cell phone, tablet, or music device, you must get my permission BEFOREHAND. I WILL AUTOMATICALLY DEDUCT 5 POINTS IF YOU ARE USING A PHONE OR MUSIC DEVICE WITHOUT ASKING. If you think you have no HW to do, first check with me and we will look up your grades and assignments online. If we cannot find anything for you to do, you may either read a REAL BOOK (NOT A BOOK ON YOUR PHONE – IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A PHYSICAL BOOK, I CAN GIVE YOU ONE) or draw. YOU WILL RECEIVE AN AUTOMATIC ZERO FOR THE DAY IF YOU CLAIM YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DO BUT ARE MISSING ASSIGNMENTS FROM ANY ONE OF YOUR CLASSES.

Whenever you are missing assignments, you will be expected to bring whatever is necessary to do that work. Otherwise, you will receive a ZERO each day until you bring the necessary materials and/or make up the work.

I want to give you a voice in this classroom and am willing to share some of my power with you. However, with power comes responsibility. If you want to be a part of a class in which you are allowed to speak and be heard, you must:

1.  Be respectful in class:

n  Never put anyone down verbally or non-verbally. Doing so will lead to the automatic loss of all of the week’s discussion points. If it happens again, you will be referred to the assistant principal.

n  No hate speech. Regardless of whether or not you think you are “just joking around,” using hate speech (such as the b-word or the f-word for gay people) will cost you ALL of the week’s discussion points, lead to an automatic e-mail/phone call home and possibly a referral to the assistant principal.

n  Eating, passing notes, using a cell phone, playing video games, talking, using music devices, putting on make-up or playing with cell phones is NOT ALLOWED under any circumstances and will lead to the automatic loss of 5 discussion points for the week.

2.  You are ultimately responsible for your learning. You need to respectfully speak up if you are having problems with your classes, me, or any of your peers. You can find me in Room 511 during lunch every day except Monday if you need to talk. If you cannot make it at that time, feel free to e-mail me at .

3.  Show up on time. Be in your seat and ready to work when the bell rings.


MR. POLISH’S GRADING SCALE

CLASS PARTICIPATION: 10% of the grade

ASSIGNMENTS 90% of the grade


Mr. Polish’s RULES

If you want to avoid problems in your classes, you are also going to have to adapt to some rules. These rules are NON-NEGOTIABLE and will take effect immediately.

Food IS NOT ALLOWED DURING CLASS and will be taken away if I see it out after the first warning. Having it out will lead to the automatic loss of 5 discussion points for the week.

Cell phones/electronic devices are NOT ALLOWED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES and will be taken away if I see them out after the first warning. Having any of these things out will lead to the automatic loss of 5 discussion points for the week.

Music devices are NOT ALLOWED unless I give you specific permission to use one while you are working.

Passing notes, putting on make-up, chewing gum loudly, reading unrelated materials, leaving class without getting permission, or sleeping in class are NOT ALLOWED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES and doing any of these things will lead to the automatic loss of at least 5 discussion points for the week.

Basic Everyday Rules:

Show up to class ON TIME.

TURN OFF cell phones, pagers, iPods, PSPs and all other electronic gadgets and doohickeys BEFORE CLASS.

BE PREPARED to work, participate, and ask lots of questions AS SOON AS THE BELL RINGS.

RAISE YOUR HAND BEFORE you speak and WAIT TO BE CALLED ON. Speaking out of turn during class discussion will lead to the automatic loss of 1 discussion point.

ALWAYS ASK PERMISSION before walking out of class for any reason.

IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW THESE RULES YOU WILL:

1ST – RECEIVE A VERBAL WARNING AND/OR LOSE A DISCUSSION POINT

2ND – LOSE ANOTHER POINT, HAVE A CONFERENCE WITH ME DURING LUNCH, AND/OR

BE MOVED TO ANOTHER SEAT

3RD – LOSE ANOTHER POINT AND RECEIVE A PHONE CALL &/OR E-MAIL HOME

4TH – LOSE ANOTHER POINT AND RECEIVE A REFERRAL TO THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE

5TH – LOSE ANOTHER POINT AND HAVE TO ATTEND CLASS WITH YOUR PARENT

6TH – LOSE ANOTHER POINT AND RECEIVE A REFERRAL TO THE PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE


Mr. Polish’s Policies

These policies are NON-NEGOTIABLE and will take effect immediately.

Absences:

You will get no discussion points if your absence is unexcused.

Tardies:

You will lose 5 points for every unexcused tardy. Tardies may only be excused by bringing a note from a teacher, a parent, or the office. You must take care of this before you come to class.