Mrs. Cena-Nguyen’s Classroom Syllabus
Thurgood Marshall Middle School
Room C 202
2014-2015
The purpose of middle school is to provide students with structure, support, experience, and direction necessary to make the transition from elementary to high school. One critical aspect of this transition is that the student is expected to become more responsible each year. Common expectations, responsibilities, and classroom discipline policies have been established to help you and your child understand what is being required in all core subjects. The following outlines the expectations, procedures and requirements. If you have questions or concerns throughout the year, the best way to contact me is via email at (preferred).
Basic Expectations in C 202
1. Students will respect themselves, each other, and their environment.
2. Students will arrive to class on time with needed materials.
3. Students will come ready to learn with an open mind and a positive attitude.
4. Students will seek assistance when needed.
Please refer to the handbook on school rules, which are enforced on campus.
ResponsibilitiesMy Responsibilities as Your Teacher:ü To treat you with respect and care as an individual
ü To provide you an orderly classroom environment
ü To provide necessary discipline and guidance
ü To provide the appropriate motivation
ü To teach you the required content / Your Responsibilities as The Student:
ü To treat us with respect and care as an individual
ü To attend classes regularly
ü To be cooperative and not hinder learning
ü To study and give full effort
ü To learn and master the required content
ü To obtain extra help as needed
Academic Behavior (Citizenship)
Citizenship is not only defined in terms of behavior but also effort. This includes student responsibilities as outlined above. Participation, attendance, tardiness, effort, attitudes and actions will be grade factors. Every child is capable of learning from mistakes and has the potential to be a model citizen. As a seventh grader, students are fully educated regarding behavior expectations at Marshall; therefore, they are held to a higher standard. The rubric will be available to you online.
E Excellent exhibits the qualities such as always being respectful to adults and students, being dependable, being a leader, always being positive, following all rules, using time wisely and encouraging others to do so, participating actively in all class work, always being prepared, being self-disciplined, assisting others, and having excellent attendance.
G Good (student does more than is required independently)
S Satisfactory (baseline) exhibits behaviors such as being generally respectful, cooperating in class, exhibiting average behavior, using time appropriately when prompted, being engaged most of the time, usually being prepared, occasionally being redirected or coaxed and having average attendance.
N Needs to Improve
U Unsatisfactory
Classroom Rules
The classroom rules are discussed and students know the reasons behind them. These are non-negotiable rules.
1. Respect other students’ right to learn.
2. Come to class prepared with materials and assignments every day.
3. Be in your seat at the bell, ready to work.
4. Keep hands, feet, and foul language/thoughts to yourself.
5. No food or beverages (aside from water) in class.
6. Follow directions the first time they are given.
Consequences
Negative Consequences for Not Meeting Expectations
Three Strikes Rule
1. Verbal warning with or without an Accountability Essay
2. Accountability Essay with time-out and parent contact
3. Accountability Essay with time-out, parent contact and 15-minute detention after school or at lunch
4. Office Referral, parent contact, 30-minute detention after school and parent conference
Frequent or multiple infractions of the above rules will be reasonably reflected in a lowering of the citizenship grade (N or U) on reports.
Positive Consequences for Meeting Expectations
ü Positive comments, notes and phone calls
ü High Citizenship Grades (Es or Gs)
ü Homework Passes
ü Math Game Enrichment Time
ü Bonus Point Coupons
Mrs. Eleanor Cena-Nguyen
Accelerated math 7
Thurgood Marshall Middle School, Room C 202
2014-2015
Course Description:
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) will be implemented in the fall of 2014. As a math department, we will be working towards transitioning our curriculum and instruction to meet the rigorous standards. Through collaboration, we will write units of study and assessments. Throughout the year, your child will be given various opportunities to engage with these standards in the full implementation in 2014. To learn more about CCSS, please visit the California Department of Education at http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/cc/ or Council of Great City Schools at http://www.cgcs.org/Page/244.
Homework
This is a component of the curriculum and is for development of study habits, assessing understanding, retention of information, and for processing. Homework is essential for success in math and not turning in assignments will not be tolerated. Students will write their assignments in their planner daily. Homework that is posted online is a courtesy to ill/absent students but not a replacement for the planner. Homework will be assigned daily with the exception of Friday and days prior to tests or major projects. Homework will be maintained in a 3-prong folder. Daily credit for homework will be given on an “All or Nothing” policy and is checked for completion at random intervals. All problems must be attempted to receive full credit. Incomplete work or no reasonable attempt with a difficult problem shows lack of effort. Late work is accepted for half credit one day late. After that, no credit is given. When a student has been absent it is his/her responsibility to present it to the teacher to receive credit.Please refer to the Student Handbook that is in the planner. I have provided further reading material to answer other questions pertaining to Homework online.
Quizzes
Students will be given weekly quizzes on material covered the previous week. The lowest quiz or test score of the semester will be dropped therefore; there will be no make-ups for missed quizzes! However, every test must be taken.
Tests and Projects
Students will be assessed at the end of every chapter. Students who miss a test need to make up the test up to a week after returning to class after school. Students that do not earn a satisfactory mark have the option to “correct” a test after school to earn a higher mark. Test corrections may be done up to a week after the original test is returned and the maximum grade will be 75%.
Grading System
Grades are weighted for all assignments. The grades are NOT based on a curve, so the students are not competing with one another for grades. The lowest score will be dropped at the end of each semester. Below is a listing of the percentage values. To learn more about weighted grades (percentage) vs. points methods of grading, see the file “Point Percent” online.
Homework/Classwork 20%
Quizzes 30%
Tests 50%
All class grades are assigned in the following manner:
100-90% A+ - A-
89-80% B+ - B-
79-70% C+ - C-
69-60% D - D-
59% and lower F
Grades and Reporting
I post grades in the classroom with student pin numbers every 2-3 weeks. Grade printouts can be provided to you upon request during the semester, in addition to the 6-week progress reports from the school. Students can access their grades and print it at school. I encourage students to discuss their progress with parents. This is a prime opportunity to work on goals and helps students be accountable. Please encourage your child to speak to me in person so that we can problem-solve together. This also helps me get to know each student as an individual and fully understand what they perceive to be their areas of difficulty. Families have access to PowerSchool, and I instruct students to review their grades frequently in class.
Academic Honesty Policy
You learn by doing your own work, not by copying from someone else’s. All students involved in copying and/or plagiarism (this includes the student that copied the work as well as the student who furnished the work to be copied) will receive a zero on the assignment (without the opportunity to complete an alternative assignment,) as well as a lower citizenship grade and the consequences spelled out in your student handbook. However, if a student is caught copying or cheating on a test or quiz, the grade is zero.
Academic Assistance
If you need help, I can be available on most days until 3:00. Please see me personally a few days ahead of time to schedule an appointment. If you are not confident about the material we are learning, do not wait until it is too late. Seventh graders are encouraged to advocate for themselves. Parents can help by making sure their child is going on schoology.com frequently to stay posted on class assignments and events, contacting classmates via schoology, monitoring study habits at home, and limiting tv/video game/computer/cell phone time during school nights. Most importantly, encourage your student to talk to me personally. The goal this year is to empower your student in preparation for high school. I look forward to helping him/her.
Recommended Materials—If you are unable to purchase supplies, students will be furnished with basic supplies such as pencils, erasers and paper. It is my intention to cut down on your child’s backpack weight and to pare down the supply list to the basic essentials. Let me know if I can help. I am fine with recycling last year’s items. Items do not need to be brand-new.
· Textbook for home use. Your child will have access to the book online as well.
· 3-prong folder to be used all year ---VERY THIN and LIGHT! J (I will provide one for you.)
· loose-leaf paper or graph paper, for home use
· Marshall Middle School Planner (provided by school)
· 2 pencils with erasers (.5, .7 or .9 mm mechanical w/ refills (preferred) or wooden)
· four-function basic calculator or scientific calculator—highly recommended but not required
· Optional/Nice-to-have: highlighter or pens, I welcome donations of gently used calculators, pencils, erasers, mechanical pencil refills (.5 or .7), and disinfecting wipes.
Feel free to send an email to (preferred) or call the school at (858) 549-5526 if you have any questions or concerns.
Mrs. Eleanor Cena-Nguyen
Accelerated math 7 syllabus return receipt
Thurgood Marshall Middle School
Room C 202
Dear Students and Parents,
In an effort to be prudent with limited resources at school, I have made the full course syllabus available online this year. I will outline the steps below for access. You may choose to review the syllabus online, download it, save it, or print. It is up to you. You can review it, as needed, throughout the year. I will review it with students in class. After you follow Step 1 OR Step 2 below, you can fill out the return receipt acknowledging that you have read and understood the syllabus and citizenship rubric. If you do not have Internet/computer access from home, your chiId can see me right away and I will provide a hard copy for your child to take home. Upon review, have your child return only the Return Receipt.
Directions for Students/Parents (Choose either method):
Method 1. Visit marshallmiddle.org. Although I am not using this site to post homework this year, I will place my course syllabus there for easy parent access.
a. Go to marshallmiddle.org
b. Click on Teachers/Staff.
c. Click on Mrs. Eleanor Cena-Nguyen.
d. Locate your child’s Advanced Pre-Algebra or Pre-Algebra class by period and click on it.
e. Click on Homework.
f. Open/View or download the three attachments. One is the course syllabus. The second is a citizenship rubric. The third is a document called “Mrs. Cena Answers Your Most Pressing Questions”. Please review these documents together.
g. Return the completed Return Receipt page after completing the above steps to the teacher.
Method 2. Please go to schoology.com. Your child will self-register using an access code I provide them in class. This can only be done after your student has self-enrolled.
a. Go to schoology.com and sign in using the student username and password.
b. Click on the folder for my class that says “The Essentials”.
c. View or download three documents. One is the course syllabus. The other is a citizenship rubric. The third is a document called “Mrs. Cena Answers Your Most Pressing Questions”. Please review the documents together.
d. Return the completed Return Receipt page after completing above steps to the teacher.
RETURN RECEIPT FOLLOWS THIS FORM ON THE REVERSE SIDE
RETURN RECEIPT
PLEASE RETURN THIS TO MRS. CENA IN ROOM C 202.
We have reviewed the syllabus and other documents regarding expectations and requirements. We know where to locate these documents (or we have printed /saved these documents) for future reference. We understand the ways our student can access assistance this year.
Student Name (full): Period (circle): 1 2 5 4 6
Student Signature:
Parental/Guardian Name (Please print.):
Parent/Guardian Signature: Date:
Parent/ Guardian email address:
Please help me with information regarding your student so I can be ready to meet your child’s needs.
My child has Internet access at home (circle one): YES NO
My child needs help in organization: YES NO
My child needs help in keeping track of assignments
and often doesn’t know of/can’t remember assignments: YES NO
My child needs help with computer/online skills: YES NO
My child often needs help with homework assignments: YES NO
My child can stay after school for help, if needed: YES NO
My child is already seeking assistance from teachers
on his/her own with little prodding from me: YES NO
My child rides the bus home: YES NO
My child is in PRIMETIME: YES NO
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