Expectations and Guidelines for Ms. Madden’s Class
Course name: ______
Student name: ______
Classroom Dojo Student Code: ______
Classroom Dojo Parent Code: ______
Classroom Rules
- Your cellphone must be silent and concealed (unless you have permission to use it for a lesson).
- Talk only when it is your turn to talk. Do not talk over others.
- Work hard (your best effort) and participate in class activities.
Grading Policy
Your grade will be made up of the following components:
Lab reports and projects –25%
Quizzes – 25%
Tests – 30%
Homework – 15%
Participation - 5%
If you receive a score of less than 70% on a test or project, you may do a retake or rewrite, due one week from the day you receive your test or project back. The original score and retake/rewrite score will be averaged together. See me to arrange a retake or rewrite.
Class Participation and Attendance
In this class we are a community of learners, meaning that we all learn from each other. To help build a learning community,participation counts for 5% of your grade. I will use Classroom Dojo to keep track of your class participationgrade. You have in your packet a secret code to use to set up your classroom dojo account. Once you have set up an account, you can log in to change your avatar, andcheck on your points. I will also update your class participation grade in Power School every Friday. To get a grade of 100% for class participation, you need to have 100 points at the end of the semester. You will begin each semester with 50 points.
Earning Points
Contributing positively to classroom discussion is a very important part of your participation grade. Each time you participate, you will earn a point.
Not everyone is comfortable with speaking in front of the class. Therefore, you can share your knowledge with the class and earn up to 10 points by writing a 1-page essay or creating an informative poster. You may do this at any point in the semester. See me during period B2 or after school, and I will give you your essay or poster assignment, which will be due in one week. There is no limit to the number of essays or posters you can submit, but if you are choosing to earn points this way, do not wait until the end of the semester to do your assignments!
Your “Do Now” activity at the beginning of class is worth 1 point. The “Do Now” is completed during the first five minutes of class. If you are tardy to class (5 minutes or more late to class without a pass) then you will not earn the point for the do now activity.
Losing Points
If you have 4 tardies, you will lose 20 class participation points, and must make arrangements to meet with me after school within one week to have a conference so that we can create a plan to improve your attendance. I will also be making a phone call home. If you do not plan a conference with me within one week you will get an office referral.
If you have an excused absence, then you will not be earning any points for the do now activity or class participation for that day. You can always make up points by participating more during the next class, writing an essay, or creating a poster. You are responsible for getting notes, missed class work, and assignments from me or another student. The work missed (including test retake) will be due one week after the date you were absent, per NHHS policy. If you will be absent frequently, see me and we will work out an alternative class participation grade.
If you cut class, not only will you miss opportunities to earn points, but also you will lose 10 points the first time. You will lose 20 points the second time you cut class. All cuts will result in an office referral.
You will lose 1 point if you break one of the classroom rules, or are otherwise disrespectful to the teacher, another student, or the learning environment. You will lose 5 points if you break a rule or are disrespectful twice during one class. If you break a rule or are disrespectful three or more times, you will lose 20 points, and youmust make arrangements to meet with me after school within one week to have a conference so that we can create a plan to improve your behavior in class. If you do not plan a conference with me within one week, you will get an office referral.
Academic Honesty
Academic honesty is a very important part of this course, and any other course. Academic honesty means that work you submit is your own original work, and any quotes or ideas borrowed from others are cited properly using MLA format. If you commit academic dishonesty (as described in North Haven Board of Education Policy), then you will receive a 0 for that assignment, and an office referral. Please see me if you have any questions at all about academic honesty!
Types of academic dishonesty include:
Plagiarism – submitting the work of another as your own work, or failure to cite sources
Cheating on a quiz or test
Multiple submission - submitting the same assignment to different classes without prior approval from the teachers
Helping someone else cheat or plagiarize
Submitting Assignments
Unless otherwise specified, assignments are to be typed and printed out. You will submit assignments to your class “IN” folder on my cartat the beginning of class, and take graded assignments from the class “OUT” folder. If for some reason you cannot print out your assignment, email it to me before the due date, and then hand in a printed copy within one week after the due date.
Late homework assignments will not be accepted. Major assignments such as lab reports and projects will lose 5 points for each day that they are late. Extensions will be granted on a case-by-case basis. See me before the due date of an assignment to request an extension.
Passes
If you need to leave the room to use the bathroom, there is no need to raise your hand and interrupt the class. Simply get up and take the bathroom pass, make eye contact with me, and leave. Only one student may be out of the room at a time. I will not write passes for you to see other teachers or to go to the office during my class. If you come into the class with an important issue, see me immediately.
Extra Help
I stay until 3pm or later on most days. If you wish to meet with me after school for extra help, let me know when you are coming so we can arrange a place and time to meet. I welcome and encourage you to seek extra help!
Dear Parent or Guardian,
My name is Ms. Madden and I am a new science teacher at North Haven High School. I have experience doing scientific research in biofuels, paleolimnology (the study of ancient lakes), and climate change. Based on my experience teaching youth and working as a scientist, I emphasize the real world importance of science to pressing local and global issues. I am very excited to have your child in my class. My vision for my students is for them to gain the skills they need to set and achieve high goals for their life after high school. I will accomplish this through cultivating curiosity about the world around them, encouraging persistence in learning complex new ideas, and teaching the scientific method as a rigorous form of problem-solving, applicable far beyond the science lab.
To succeed in this class, students must participate in class daily, work hard, submit assignments on time, and come to me with questions and for extra help. You may contact me by email, or by phone, 203-239-2581 extension 2558. Please review the above expectations and guidelines with your child, and sign below to indicate that you have read and understood them.
Sincerely,
Zoe Madden
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