Classroom Policies

1. CITIZENSHIP GUIDELINES

SHOW RESPECT!

Bullying and foul language will not be tolerated. Please keep the room clean.

SHOW RESPONSIBILITY!

Be in class, on time, and pay attention. Raise your hand to participate.

SHOW INTEGRITY!

Don’t cheat or argue in class. Please discuss concerns with the teacher in private.

* Maintain a positive attitude and always try your best.

* Follow all district policies regarding citizenship and attendance.

Leaving the classroom frequently during instruction is discouraged and may result in loss of participation points. A student will be marked tardy if he/she enters the classroom after the bell rings unless he/she has a tardy pass from the attendance office or another teacher. Consequences for not abiding by the rules may include but are not limited to one or more of the following: verbal warning or visual cue, change of seat, student-teacher conference, detention, parent contact, office referral, lower citizenship grade.

Cell phone/smart watch policy:

Cell phones/smart watches may be used for instructional purposes or in urgent situations only when allowed by the teacher. They will need to be placed in designated holders during quizzes and tests. Photos/videos may not be taken without prior permission from the teacher.

Failure to follow these rules will result in a warning first and then a possible confiscation of the device. Students will need to go to the attendance office at the end of the school day to pick it up.

2. CLASSWORK, HOMEWORK, MAKE-UP WORK AND LATE-WORK POLICY

Students are expected to do the assigned work, to participate in classroom discussions and to take notes on a daily basis. I recommend to keep all handouts and worksheets for future reference. Weekly agendas will be posted on Google Classroom.

Weekly oral participation is very important in a language class and does not equal classroom behavior. Each student in level 1+2 automatically receives 3 points for being present and paying attention. If they participate and are called on once a day, they will end up with 8 points (a grade of B). They can earn up to 10 points each week (A+). If a student is absent for two or more days within a week, he/she will be excused from participation points for that week. Level 3+4 students will receive a monthly participation grade (out of 20 points).

Any major project that has been assigned in advance is due on the due date. If a student is absent on the due date, the project needs to be turned in/presented the day of the student's return. A late project can only receive partial credit. If it is one day late, it will earn a maximum of 50%. After that, the student will receive a zero for not completing the assignment unless there are special circumstances that were previously discussed with the teacher.

Homework will be assigned, checked and recorded regularly. It will be listed on Google classroom. The assignments in level 1 are usually small and should take 10-15 minutes to complete based on the abilities of the student. Students in level 2-4 may take longer to complete their homework at times, and Honors/AP students should expect more detailed and difficult assignments. All students should review vocabulary regularly, even on days where there is no official homework. I usually grade homework in level 1+2 on completeness which means that a student can get full points if he/she honestly attempted to do the assignment even if there are a few mistakes. However, I will not give any points if I can see that a student did not take the assignment seriously (e.g. it is obvious that he/she put down random answers or copied from a classmate). Students in level 3+4 will have their homework graded based on completeness and correctness. Assignments will be worth different amounts, ranging from 10 to 50 points, depending on the difficulty of the work. Some assignments will be corrected in class while others (mostly writing assignments) will be collected and corrected by the teacher. Late homework will only receive partial credit (one day late = down by one letter grade, any day thereafter within the grading period = half credit). If students need clarification on a homework assignment, they should talk to me before the end of the school day or email me before 8 pm that day.

All missed work must be made up. Students have two days for each day missed. Complete assignments that are turned in late within a grading period (usually five weeks) will receive partial credit unless there are special circumstances that are discussed with the teacher. Any work not turned in will result in zero points for the assignment. Missed quizzes or tests can be made up during lunch. It is the student's responsibility to schedule a make-up appointment and to show up at the scheduled time. Students have one week after their return to make up a quiz/test.

3. RECOMMENDED MATERIALS

* 3 ring hard-sided binder for keeping handouts and notes

* lined paper or notebook

* blue or black pen for notes and red pen for corrections

* # 2 pencil and highlighter

* index cards for vocabulary review (all classes)