Classroom Policies

CLASS POLICIES

Please do not hesitate to contact me by email at laura.shaw@pcs.k12.de.us or by phone at (302) 573-7760.

CLASSROOM GUIDELINES: Students are expected to observe all school standards and guidelines. Students are also expected to arrive promptly and be prepared for every class. Specific classroom guidelines are listed below, and will be discussed in class:

1.     Be respectful

2.     Be prepared

3.     Be prompt

CLASS MATERIALS: All students are expected to maintain a hardcover three-ring binder, that should be organized into the following categories: 1) Notes, 2) Class work, 3) Vocabulary, 4) Homework, 5) Journal, 6) Rubrics, and extra paper. Handouts will need to be incorporated into these categories. Students must also have an agenda or they will not be able to leave the classroom.  In addition, students are asked to please purchase and bring to class a complete Spanish-English dictionary. 

GETTING WORK IF ABSENT: It is the student’s responsibility to make up assignments and to get notes from a classmate. There will be a binder in the classroom students will be able to reference to find handouts and assignment details from the day that they missed.  Assignments to be turned in will be listed in the classroom and on my website for the student to check. If a student will miss more than one day of class, he/she should review the website and then contact me with additional questions about what is being missed.

LATE WORK: If students have an excused absence, they have a grace period equal to the number of excused days. (For example, if the student has one excused absence, he or she has one extra day to turn in an assignment without penalty.) For the first 10 days that the assignment is late it will be docked 2 points per day.  After 10 days the highest grade the assignment may receive is a 50%.  In the case of documented, extenuating circumstances I will work with the student and parent(s) to set a schedule for completion.

MISSING A QUIZ: Because quizzes are announced well in advance, students will be expected to take the missed quiz during class within the excused absence grace period. It is the student’s responsibility to approach me to make up the quiz, and taking a quiz outside of the regular class time must be agreed upon with me. Penalties will be applied to the quiz, as with other assignments, if it is taken after the excused absence grace period or if the absence was unexcused. If students do not make it up before the end of the penalty period, then they will no longer be able to take that particular quiz, except if their grace period passes that date. Missed quizzes will receive a zero. In the case of documented extenuating circumstances, I will work with the student and parent(s) to set a schedule for completion.

FREE PASSES: For each marking period, every student will receive passes that they may use at their discretion: one Free Homework and one Late Homework without Penalty.  The Free Homework pass should be turned in in lieu of the assignment. The Late Homework without Penalty pass should be stapled to the assignment, and the assignments should be turned in the following day.  Passes may not be used on journal and other writing assignments.  

EXTRA HELP:  My after school schedule changes weekly.  Please talk to me in advance for after school help.

USING ONLINE TRANSLATORS, GETTING HELP FROM OTHERS, AND COPYING: It is NOT acceptable to use online translators. You MAY use online dictionaries, where you search for an individual word or expression, as you would in a regular dictionary. Also, it is NOT acceptable to ask another person to translate your work, do your work or to make corrections for you, verbally or written. Copying an assignment is also NOT acceptable. There will be consequences if you are caught doing any of these things. Partner and group work will create situations when helping each other is acceptable, and even expected, however each person should contribute to the task at hand. Please consult with me when you have any doubt about what is acceptable or not.

ASSIGNMENT APPEARANCE: All assignments should have your name, period, and the date at the top of the page. As a school that is preparing students to enter the business world, all work should be neat, and not on pages that are torn, damaged, or otherwise difficult to handle. Handwritten work must be legible. Some assignments may have to be typed or word-processed; students will be notified of any such requirements. Failure to complete the work in a satisfactory manner may result in the student having to re-do the work and/or a loss of points. 

Grading system

Grades will be assigned by the formula: (points earned) ÷ (points possible) = percentage

The total number of points possible in a given marking period will vary, but the weights will be distributed as follows:

Class Work: This refers to certain assignments we do in class, individually or in partners/groups, that I decide to collect and grade. This section will also include notebook checks.

Homework: The purpose of homework assignments is to practice and reinforce the topics being studied in class, and occasionally to preview information in preparation for class. Some, but not all, homework will receive a grade.

Oral: This includes assignments where a student’s ability to use target vocabulary and structures when speaking will be evaluated. This may include class discussions or debates, role-plays, or other tasks.

Writing: This section will include journal assignments, as well as other assignments in and outside of class. Students may be asked to write sentences, paragraphs, short stories, and other formats.

Quizzes: This includes more ‘traditional’ assessments, in which students may not receive help from other sources, and will mainly measure the students’ mastery of the ‘building blocks’ we are learning.

Projects: Most units will include or end with a project that will show the student’s ability to apply the topics and structures we have learned in whole language. The formats will vary, and may involve research, oral presentations, informational posters or booklets, and other tasks.