Classroom Expectations 
- Students are expected to help create an atmosphere wherein the teacher is able to teach and the students are able to learn.
- Please come to class prepared with the proper materials -- a blue
or black ink pen, a number 2 pencil, your textbook(s), and appropriate
handouts/notes. Assignments completed in anything but dark blue/black
ink will be returned to the student with no grade until it is redone.
No locker passes will be given for forgotten materials!
- Late work is not accepted. No work = no grade -- period! Assignments
must be submitted when collected, not at the end of the hour or the
end of the day they are due. If you miss class the day an assignment
is due but you are present for other classes or for a field trip, the
assignment is still due that day. Missing this class but not missing
others is no excuse for not turning in an assignment! If you are absent
after a test day has been announced but return on the day the test
is given, you will be expected to take the test. If you are in class
on the day a homework assignment is given, you are expected to hand
it in on the due date even though you have been absent in between.
With long-term notice on an assignment, your short-term absence from
school
will not
be a valid reason for a late assignment. Your failure to plan ahead
for an assignment is not a reason for the teacher (or even your parents)
to panic!
- If I'm talking or writing on the board, you should be taking
notes!
- Make up work is the student's responsibility and must be discussed
with me before or after school on the day you return from an absence. Refer to the SHS Student Handbook regarding the specific school-wide
makeup work policy.
- Unless you have a medical condition which necessitates otherwise, please remove headgear and sunglasses upon entering Room C145.
- The school tardy policy will be enforced! A tardy update
chart is posted at least once a week on the cupboards at the side of
the room
to ensure that you always know how many tardies you have. Detention
period for third, fourth, and fifth tardies will be on Tuesdays in
Room 335 -- at either 7 a.m.-7:30 a.m. or 2:45-2:15 p.m. -- to be determined
by the teacher.
- No food or liquid in Room 335 without prior permission, per the
SHS administration. Food is to be consumed in the commons; liquid must
be capped and remain so throughout the hour.
- Weekly oral participation points are awarded to each student at up to 10 points per week (possible 180 points per semester). It is important that you take part in class discussions and that you ask questions to stimulate discussion, constructively comment on the ideas of others, volunteer to read, volunteer to have your writing read aloud, ask for advice, etc.
- Because students have ample opportunity during each 9-week quarter
to maintain a passing grade, extra credit projects are not assigned.
These projects tend to be a reward for people who have not completed
the work expected of them, a punishment for people who have done the
work, and are not realistic in regards to either college or workplace
expectations. There are, however, several times during the semester
when students can earn extra points on such things as essay tests,
impromptu speech presentations, research scavenger hunts, etc.
- Please dress accordingly for class, presentations, and debates! Pay
attention to the dress code!
- Complete your written assignments before the due date so that you
and your computer/printer will not be unduly stressed at the last minute.
Even
though most teachers
do not wish to hear excuses or "reasons," we
often hear how busy students are on the night before a paper is due. Do
not wait until the night before the due date! Furthermore, if
you have the ability to create and organize a paper on the computer
without a rough draft, be sure to print and save frequently.
- Grades are figured cumulatively through the 18-week semester and
are based on total points earned on each assignment, test, etc. Each
quarter counts as 40 percent of the semester grade, while the final
exam counts as 20 percent. The final exam consists of four parts: public
speaking, reading comprehension, literary term comprehension and identification,
and composition. Questions regarding grades will be answered before
or after school.
