Page 1 - Parent Copy
Mrs. Stewart English 12: College Prep English
Messages (425) 408-7297,email: . I can usually be found in either room 118 or the Little Theatre. J
Class Guidelines: Respect and Kindness - to create a “safe, civil, respectful and inclusive learning community.” The school rules will be followed: Students and staff are required to treat all individuals…in a respectful manner. Any conduct…that threatens a person’s security and safety will not be tolerated and includes anything perceived reasonably to be offensive. Individuals who violate this policy shall be dealt with firmly. Students and employees are strongly encouraged to report to their teacher or supervisor any threat or act of violence or sexual harassment made against them or against others. These individuals may use the district’s anonymous tip line. (Taken from School Board Policy)
Grading & Related Policies:
OPEN-DOOR POLICY: IF SOMETHING IS BOTHERING/TROUBLING YOU, COME TALK TO ME! (Put a note in my mailbox in the main office if a face-to-face sounds too scary.) I want people to complete their work on time, but I understand that special circumstances arise occasionally. If you need an extension on major or minor assignments, you MUST come and talk to me about it. I am usually able to accommodate legitimate requests, but these must be made before the assignment is being passed in. Please take care of your extensions with more than a day to spare.
LATE WORK POLICY: Obtaining & completing missed work is the sole responsibility of the student.
• When you are absent for a day, the work due that day must be turned in first thing the day you return for full credit (exceptions below). If you are on campus at all on a day you miss English, you must turn in your homework to me the day you miss English class. Turn in work in person, via email, or my mailbox in the main office.
• Depending on the assignments, you will generally have 1 or 2 days to do the work that was assigned while you were absent. The rule is that you get the number of days absent to complete that day’s work. See me and I can explain. When you return to school, turn in your missing work to me at the start of that class period.
• Work that is beyond a week late will be too late for full credit, & half credit or no credit are possible scores.
WARNING: Relevance of assignment (is it way too long since we were working on that topic?), degree of lateness, reason why it’s late, & quality of work will determine points. Begging &/or having your parents excuse you aren’t legitimate when work is over a week late. You need to come and talk to me about an extension before any assignments become over a week late.
• Missing a class period when a test is given means you will make it up the day you return to IHS, after school, during lunch, or other time! Call or e-mail the day you are absent 408-7297 or and let me know when to expect you (unless you skipped or missed the test for a reason that is a non-emergency, in this case the test score will be a zero. Having such an absence excused by your parents does not mitigate the zero on the test). After 24 hours test make-up time expires. In the interest of fairness, if you miss a test but are on campus that day, you should take the test the SAME DAY as your class (during lunch, club/study, after school). Please note: I AM NOT AVAILABLE BEFORE SCHOOL. If that is the only time you are available, please contact me to make alternate arrangements.
• If you are going to miss class on a day a major assignment (all final draft essays, large projects, etc.) is due/collected, you still must turn in the assignment the day it is due to receive full credit (use e-mail or fax or another student, sibling, parent, etc. to give it to me on time). Generally, 5 points will be deducted if it is turned in the next day. (Main office fax number 425.408-7202)
• If you miss class the day your group is presenting, you will earn a zero for the project.
• If you miss class the day you are to present (a speech, etc.) partial credit or no credit are possible outcomes of this situation. You need to contact me ASAP and explain the circumstances.
• When you are absent, you need to find out what you missed. I do not currently have the calendar working on my website, but I hope to have it up and running soon. So, in the meantime, please check with a classmate or me. Work missed while you skip class (such as an unexcused absence) is not eligible for credit or make-up work! It’s a zero.
• To encourage students to complete the course work and master the skills, turning in late work/missing assignments for half credit (max.) is allowed. Almost all late assignments are eligible for late half credit. (Get missed handout/assignment from the box in the classroom, or online). Get the work done and give it to me; no need to ask, “Can I turn this in still?”
• Exceptions: A few assignments can't be made up – this includes but is not limited to WRITING GROUPS and other activities that are experiential. However, this can be mitigated by taking advantage of extra credit.
* If you copy someone else’s work, in part or whole, it is plagiarism and counts as cheating (unless you are properly citing sources according to the assignment). To “cut and paste” off the internet is plagiarism. In fact, all of the following count as cheating:
ü having your notes, etc. in a visible place during a test,
ü talking during a quiz, even after you’ve finished,
ü doing an assignment “together” that was not assigned as group work,
ü passively allowing another to peek at your answer to a test question or assignment,
ü “borrowing” a peer’s journal or homework,
ü cut-and-pasting part of an article off the Internet without citing your sources,
ü using Sparks notes or Cliff notes, etc. unless given specific teacher permission
At the least, school policy will be enforced. The Educational Honesty policy you signed applies!
ATTENDANCE:
Tardies can result in detentions and a reduction in final grade. Tardy students must sign in when they arrive in class for their own protection – to keep a tardy from being incorrectly recorded as an unexcused absence for that period. Each third tardy can trigger a detention with me. Starting with the 10th tardy, your final grade will be affected. Students with 10 tardies will lose 1 percentage point off the grade earned in the class. Each additional tardy after that reduces the grade earned by an additional percentage point. Ex: 12 tardies will deduct 3 percentage points off final grade – a 91% becomes an 88%. Class time is valuable. Please be on time!
Absences – read the school policy carefully! More than the max. allowed excused absences per semester will result in loss of credit unless specific arrangements have been made (through the counselor, assistant principal, or me). A student who accumulates more than 2 unexcused absences could lose credit in at least 1 class. A student who goes over the absence limit, and has more than 2 unexcused absence, will be denied credit in the class. Any class in which you have more than 2 unexcused absence will be an “F.” Please keep track of your absences & get them EXCUSED (within 48 hours!!!) since the ability to petition for credit can disappear with unexcused absences. Sign in and out at attendance office if you arrive to school late or leave early. Attendance office: 408-7210.
★Fifth Period Potty Breaks – I do allow students to use the bathroom when necessary, however extended absence from class (such as, but not limited to visiting friends in the other lunch) will be treated as a skip and will immediately be brought to the attention of the administration.
EXTRA CREDIT:
There will be a pool of points offered during the grading period for a variety of extra credit opportunities. However, they will not be added to your overall point total in the class. At the end of a grading period, I'll look at your extra credit points. They are applied to grades that are on the border (1% to 2% away from higher grade - Ex: 63%, 66%, 69%) to see if enough extra credit was turned in to merit raising the grade. Exception: Reading certain extra books & passing the test allows a student to earn extra credit that goes into point total. Note: Poor behavior could negate the extra credit you have turned in (see below).
INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT in HOMEWORK, etc.:
If you choose to be inappropriate on an assignment, etc., you will receive a zero, & I will let your parents see &/or hear your handiwork. You will not be allowed to “fix it” with extra credit or re-doing the assignment. The assignment will not be returned; it will be thrown away or delivered to your parents and/or the Asst. Principal.
NO cell phones, calculators, games, personal listening devices, etc. in class. They’re disruptive & not needed in an English class. The first time one is visible (or rings), you will be ‘in trouble,’ and, following IHS policy, you will be referred to the VP. Keep them turned off and in your backpack. If there is an exception, I will let you know.
Unforeseen or extraordinary circumstances:
If a student creates a situation not specifically or generally addressed by these guidelines, be aware that I will decide upon an appropriate response.
For instance, student X cheated on several assignments. While he was in the process of administrative discipline for incident #1, a second plagiarized assignment was discovered. Regardless of when any assignment or activity is turned in or graded, each time a student made the choice to cheat is what counts in my class. At the classroom level it is a student's choices and actions that count, and therefore the administrative discipline and timeline might differ from mine. The above situation would trigger a failing grade in my class (although the administration discipline could be processing Step 1, so for them the 2nd incident is ‘ignored’). In fact, cheating is so serious it is likely to trigger an F in the class in most cases. Be careful to do your OWN WORK! I am available to help and give extensions! There is NO NEED TO CHEAT!
Page 2 - Student Copy
Mrs. Stewart English 12: College Prep English
Messages (425)408-7297, email: I can usually be found in either room 118 or the Little Theatre. J
Class Guidelines: Respect and Kindness - to create a “safe, civil, respectful and inclusive learning community.” The school rules will be followed: Students and staff are required to treat all individuals…in a respectful manner. Any conduct…that threatens a person’s security and safety will not be tolerated and includes anything perceived reasonably to be offensive. Individuals who violate this policy shall be dealt with firmly. Students and employees are strongly encouraged to report to their teacher or supervisor any threat or act of violence or sexual harassment made against them or against others. These individuals may use the district’s anonymous tip line. (Taken from School Board Policy)
Grading & Related Policies:
OPEN-DOOR POLICY: IF SOMETHING IS BOTHERING/TROUBLING YOU, COME TALK TO ME! (Put a note in my mailbox in the main office if a face-to-face sounds too scary.) I want people to complete their work on time, but I understand that special circumstances arise occasionally. If you need an extension on major or minor assignments, you MUST come and talk to me about it. I am usually able to accommodate legitimate requests, but these must be made before the assignment is being passed in. Please take care of your extensions with more than a day to spare.
LATE WORK POLICY: Obtaining & completing missed work is the sole responsibility of the student.
• When you are absent for a day, the work due that day must be turned in first thing the day you return for full credit (exceptions below). If you are on campus at all on a day you miss English, you must turn in your homework to me the day you miss English class. Turn in work in person, via email, or my mailbox in the main office.
• Depending on the assignments, you will generally have 1 or 2 days to do the work that was assigned while you were absent. The rule is that you get the number of days absent to complete that day’s work. See me and I can explain. When you return to school, turn in your missing work to me at the start of that class period.
• Work that is beyond a week late will be too late for full credit, & half credit or no credit are possible scores.
WARNING: Relevance of assignment (is it way too long since we were working on that topic?), degree of lateness, reason why it’s late, & quality of work will determine points. Begging &/or having your parents excuse you aren’t legitimate when work is over a week late. You need to come and talk to me about an extension before any assignments become over a week late.
• Missing a class period when a test is given means you will make it up the day you return to IHS, after school, during lunch, or other time! Call or e-mail the day you are absent 408-7297 or and let me know when to expect you (unless you skipped or missed the test for a reason that is a non-emergency, in this case the test score will be a zero. Having such an absence excused by your parents does not mitigate the zero on the test). After 24 hours test make-up time expires. In the interest of fairness, if you miss a test but are on campus that day, you should take the test the SAME DAY as your class (during lunch, club/study, after school). Please note: I AM NOT AVAILABLE BEFORE SCHOOL. If that is the only time you are available, please contact me to make alternate arrangements.