Mrs. Mak & Ms. Sobota’s Classroom Guidelines

Five Guidelines For Success:

  1. Respect – Treat others the way you want to be treated
  2. Respect for personal differences
  3. Respect for property
  4. Responsibility – you are responsible for your own behavior
  5. Recognize personal space
  6. Use words wisely
  7. I over E especially in C
  8. Participation – come prepared to learn and share your ideas
  9. Bring all materials necessary to aid in learning
  10. Awareness – listen to others and follow directions
  11. Follow all school rules and regulations

“Events, circumstances, etc. have their origin in ourselves. They spring from seeds which we have sown.” - Henry David Thoreau

Homework Policy

  • Homework is an important part of our curriculum. The objective of homework is to strengthen skills and reinforce knowledge learned in our classroom.
  • All homework will be posted in our classroom and on my “Teacher Web” page that can be accessed through the Haworth website (faculty – Mrs. Maketansky or Ms. Sobota)
  • InGrammar and Vocabulary homework assignments are worth 5% of student’s grade. Regardless of the subject, completed homework will receive full credit. Any incomplete work receives an automatic 65 (D). If a student fails to hand in homework they will receive a 0 (F).
  • If work is not submitted at the beginning of the class period in which it is due, it will be considered late.
  • Missed assignments must be made up – even those reviewed in class – and will earn you points towards your average.
  • Not all make up assignments are eligible to earn credit – long term assignments such as essays and projects will be reduced by one letter grade for each day it is late.
  • Compositions must be typed, double-spaced in 12-point type New Times Roman font, with standard margins.
  • If writing or literature assignments are handwritten, blue or black ink is acceptable.
  • You may use pencil when completing homework or daily assignments that are not being turned in (grammar, vocabulary,) or in-class work.
  • Neatness counts! Messy homework or compositions will not be accepted, and will be returned to you for revision or recopying and will be treated as late papers.
  • Papers with no name will not receive credit.
  • Papers without the correct middle school heading will receive two points off.

Parents are encouraged to provide instructional assistance, including: designation of a study area, adherence to specific homework time period, positive support, and supervision, as well as parent / teacher communication. If students or parents have any questions regarding our homework policy or any of our assignments please e-mail us at .

Procedures

1.Entering Class:

You are expected to be at your desk with all the required materials when the bell rings. Check the blackboard for the daily assignment. You are expected to start on the assignment immediately. If there is no assignment, you must review homework, read, or sit quietly while you await further instructions.

2.Announcements:

No matter what is going on in class, it must be quiet for any announcements made over the public address system. Even if the announcements do not pertain directly to you, please be quiet.

3.Fire Drills or Emergencies:

If there is a fire drill or any other emergency, you are expected to comply with the school regulations. You will walk quickly and quietly out the nearest exit, stay together as a class and wait for further instructions. If you are in the bathroom or anywhere else in school, then you are to exit the building immediately and find the nearest teacher or administrator.

Class & Work Requirements

1.Daily necessities:

  • Bring all materials to class each day and be ready to work. (You will not be allowed to return to your lockers for forgotten supplies.) Coming to class unprepared will result in a point (zero) for the day. At the end of the marking period points will be totaled and deducted from your final grade.
  • Besides your usual supplies, always bring a reading book to class
  • Books distributed by me must be kept in the condition that they were received in.
  • Your notebook and folder must be neat and organized as we will be taking notes and adding work regularly. Notebooks will be checked once a marking period and averaged into your homework grade.
  • Class Header:

All papers must have the following heading:

Name:Date:

Class:Subject:

2. Essay/Project Submission

When you arrive in class on the day that an essay or project is due, you are expected to have that project organized and stapled together BEFOREyou arrive in class. Failure to do so will result in a 3- point deduction from your grade.

  • Printer Problems

Even if your printer is not working, you are still responsible for submitting work on time. You should arrange to e-mail your work to a friend who can print it for you, or put it on a flash drive and come into school early to print it out.

  • Plagiarism and Academic Integrity

It is your responsibility to ensure the academic integrity of your work. Please become familiar with HPS policies found in your student handbook regarding this matter.

3. Absences:

If you know in advance that you will be absent, talk to us about any assignments you might miss. As long as you had an excused absence you are able to make up the work you missed while you were out for full credit. You have three days to make up the work, after that it is recorded as a zero.

Absences are your responsibility. I will not remind you of the work you need to make up. You need to see us before, after class or school, or during a quiet assignment time. Do not disrupt the whole class for what you missed personally. Previously announced tests, projects and compositions are due the day you return to school if you are absent on the day they were assigned to be due.

4. Extra help:

Extra help is always available before or after school by appointment.

Our Classroom

1.Keep It Clean:

We will be spending a lot of time in our classroom. Therefore, it is necessary that we regard it with care. Starting with your locker and desk, then working outward, you will be responsible for keeping our class neat and clean. Also, if you use any of our community materials you will be expected to put them away properly. You will be asked to stay after class/school to help clean up if this is not taken seriously.

2.Audio-Visual and Computer Equipment:

Always ask permission to use any AV equipment in our room. Our policy is, you break it - you buy it. Whether we use the school lap- tops or the computers in Mr. Talty’s room, please remember to adhere to all technology rules.

3.Our Desk:

Our desk is strictly off limits unless we directly give you permission. Feel free to use any of the materials found at the Student Supply Stations in the front of the room.

4.Substitutes & Other Visitors:

If we are out for the day, you are still expected to follow our class rules and procedures. You are responsible for any and all assignments. You should treat any substitute/visitor to our class with respect and afford them the same treatment you would like to receive if you were a “stranger in a strange land”.

5.Mrs. Mak’s Web Page:

We will be updating our class web page daily. You will be able to keep up with assignments, test schedules and reading selections.

(Faculty – Mrs. Maketansky or Ms. Sobota

Grading System:

  • Writing and creative assignments will be scored with various middle school rubrics
  • At the end of every marking period your grades are averaged together using the following percentages and grading scale:

Writing 30%Reading 30%Grammar 15% Vocabulary 15%

Homework 5%Participation 5%

Homework assignments, projects, performance, participation, and effortmatter, and are factored into your grade percentage. Your involvement in class may be all the difference between the grade you want and the grade you earn.

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Separate the above pages from the signature page below. Place them at the front of your Writing binder (enter them into your Table of Contents as pages 1,2, and 3. Return the signature page to Mrs. Mak in class tomorrow.

**** RETURN ONLY THIS PAGE TO MRS. MAK IN CLASS BY TUESDAY 9/9****

I have read Mrs. Mak’s Class Rules and Procedures and understand them. I will honor these guidelines while in Mrs. Mak’s class.

Student Name (Print): ______Class ______Date: ______

Student Signature: ______

You, the student, should complete this section:

What are your goals for Language Arts class this year? What are your concerns, if any?

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This section is to be filled out by your parent/guardian:

I have read Mrs. Mak’s Class Rules and Procedures and understand them.

Parent/Guardian Name (Print): ______Date: ______

Parent/Guardian Signature: ______Relationship: ______

Please feel free to share anything you think I should know in order to support your child in Language Arts this year, or anything you’d like me to address on Back To School Night. If more room is necessary, please use the back of this page

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