Honors English 9 Gina Brillante

St. John’s College High School (preferred)

Fall 2014 – Spring 2015 202-363-2316 ext. 1913 ______

Course Overview

This course is designed to present an introduction to the various literary genres including short story, novel, poetry, drama, and nonfiction and the processes of critical thinking and critical writing. Each quarter, students are expectedto produce pieces of writing with rough drafts, complete several units of vocabulary, complete several units of grammar, and to read a novel or series of selections from our iBooks anthology.

Texts and Materials

Grammar anthology (downloaded from teacher)

Short Story Anthology (downloaded from teacher)

Vocabulary Power Plus for the New SAT (Book One)

Lord of the Flies, William Golding (Penguin, 101-15810-7, green cover)

Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas, An American Slave, Fredrick Douglas

Our Town, Thornton Wilder (purchase hard copy)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Mark Haddon (Knopf Doubleday)

Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare(Folger)

Notebook

Loose-leaf

Pencil and pen

Folder/binder

Class Policies

  1. All materials to be used for the day must be in class that day. If missing materials, a student will lose participation points. All notes must be kept up to date. The notebook is checked and graded at unannounced times.
  1. Anticipate unannounced quizzes! Material for quizzes will come from homework, grammar, or recent literature work. Weekly vocabulary quizzes will be cumulative.
  1. It is the student’s responsibility to check for each day’s assignments. Check Homework Central EVERY DAY BY 4:00pm.
  1. Any homework assignment not turned in the day it is due (except for absence) results in a loss of credit and cannot be made up for credit. All homework is due on turnitin.com by 8:10am. You must ALSO have a copy of your homework for class discussion(either on paper or on the ipad).If a student’s computer is broken, they must find time to use the school’s computer, or have an alternate copy of their homework ready, before the start of class when the homework is due. In this instance, the student must also have a note/email from a parent.
  1. Any homework not turned in due to absence can either be turned in the day the student returns, or can be sent by email. Turn in date for missed homework due to multiple day absences will be arranged when the student returns to class.
  1. Any essay not turned in the day it is due will drop one letter grade each additional day. If a student is absent on the day an essay is due it should be emailed or must be handed in the day the student returns. Special problems due to multiple day absences must be worked out between the student and teacher.
  1. Any test or quiz that is missed due to absence from class must be made up within two days of the student returning to class. It is the student’s responsibility to initiate a discussion about when and where to make up any quizzes or work missed during class.
  1. If you leave school early, it is the student’s responsibility to bring in the assignment that’s due that day prior to leaving campus.
  1. Each student must have a school email address. This address must be used only for school related purposes. Email me with your address:
  1. If a student has any trouble printing an assignment at home, he/she must bring the assignment to school on a flash drive, or email it to themselves, and print it on a school computer. The teacher is not responsible for this.
  1. All students are required to set up a computer/print account at St. John’s. They may do so by seeing Mr. Colvin or anyone in the Technology Office. This must be done by the end of the first full week of classes.
  1. All essays and compositions must be turned in to turnitin.com by the date/time assigned by the teacher.
  1. iPad Procedures: Follow all Student Handbook rules and guidelines. In addition, iPads must remain flat on your desk at all times. No photography, recordings, sounds of any kind, messaging, or games. I will confiscate your iPad! You will receive a zero on all work, participation, etc.
  1. If late or out of uniform, a student may not enter without a pass. You must be in your seat before the bell in order to be on time. Otherwise you are late and must get a late pass.
  1. Respect Each Other: Students do not have to like each other, but the definition of Christian love is that it extends to all people –friends, enemies, and strangers- whom we encounter throughout our day, everyday.

Grades

  1. Parents are encouraged to check PowerSchool frequently to monitor student grades. All grades will be posted as soon as possible after tests, quizzes, or assignments are turned in. In order for a student to continue in an Honors English class in their sophomore year he or she must have a B average as a final grade and teacher rec.
  1. Grades are given on a point system, not on weighted percentages. The following categories are not weighted. Instead, the points each student earns are added together and divided by the total possible points for each quarter.

Homework, Quizzes, Tests, Essays, Participation*

*In order to get full credit for participation, the student must actively participate in a positive manner in class on a regular basis. The student must also be prepared with all of their materials.Sitting silently is not active participation.

Plagiarism

St. John’s College High School has contracted with “Turnitin.com”, an online plagiarism prevention system, for the school year. Teachers may submit papers to verify originality or require students to submit papers as a part of their classroom policies. Submitted papers are compared against live Internet pages, previous versions of the Internet, all prior student submissions, and various databases.

Accommodations

If a student has any verified academic accommodations, he/she must report those to the teacher within the first week of school. All accommodations must be verified by the Counseling Department.

All students are responsible for knowing and adhering to the following specific policies in the Student-Parent Handbook: the St. John’s Code of Integrity, and the Class Attendance policy.

Parents and Students: Please EMAIL ME with the following information.

Students: email me separately from your St. John’s email only.

Parents: email me separately from your preferred email address.

1. Student’s Name

2. Parent’s Name

3. Include a brief note indicating that you have read and understand the Honors English

9 Course Description/ Procedures, as well as the Student/Parent handbook for 2013 – 2014.