Welcome to Mrs. Berchtold’s Class!

I grew up here!

I attended school here….

After High School… I attended California State University of Chico where I graduated with a Bachelors’ of Arts Degree in English.

After College I became a Teacher… I taught 11th and 12th grade English (Freshmen English, British Literature, Advanced British Literature, and American Literature) for five years. I began working at El Portal in 2010.

In 2012, I graduated from TCSJ with a Masters’ of Education Degree in Educational Leadership and School Development with a concurrent Administrative Services Credential.

I have two boys: Devin and Brenden

Why do I teach ELA? Because WORDS HAVE POWER! Click to Play

Welcome to your first year of SECONDARY school! Grades K - 6 Grades 7 - 12 1 teacher 5 or more teachers 1 classroom 5 or more classrooms on a spread out campus 1 set of expectations to get to know and follow 5 or more sets of expectations to get to know and follow Parents are very involved Parents begin to take a step back Learning the basics of education Broad scope of learning with critical thinking Preparing for the next grade Preparing for college and career

Changes in Curriculum: iCore

Why we NEED Text Complexity… VS Click to Play

Attendance Students need to attend this class regularly to succeed. We will be doing many activities and going over material in class that is hard to make up individually. If/when students are sick/absent they will have the corresponding number of days missed to make-up the work. For example, when one day is missed, they will have one day to make-up the work. If class is missed, it is the students’ responsibility to find out what they missed. It is THEIR responsibility to make up tests and quizzes missed during an excused absence.

Supplies Students will need: A spiral bound notebook with at least 70 pages to be used for warm ups/learning logs/spelling A 3 ring binder with an English section for notes and handouts with lined notebook paper Number two pencils, pens (blue and black ink only) Students may find it helpful to have colored pens, a glue stick, a highlighter, and a pair of scissors. Please see me if accommodations need to be made as I do keep a “stash” of supplies handy.

**Reminder** I don’t GIVE grades, students EARN them.  GRADING With participation, a good effort, and a good attitude, ALL students can learn and be successful in my class! **Reminder** I don’t GIVE grades, students EARN them. 

*All graded work is kept in the classroom, in the student’s portfolio* ENGLISH GRADING Grades are based on a percentage of total points per trimester: A+= 97 -100% or above A = 93 - 96% A- = 90 – 92% B += 87% - 89% B = 83 - 86% B- = 80 – 82% C+ = 77-79% C = 73-76% C- = 70-72% D+= 67-69% D = 63-66% D- = 60-62% F = 59% and below *All graded work is kept in the classroom, in the student’s portfolio*

Weighted Grades

Classroom Expectations 1. Be honest and respectful to your classmates and teacher at all times 2. Be on time, prepared, and ready to work when the bell rings 3. Use appropriate language 4. No food or drinks allowed 5. No hats or electronic devices at ANY TIME

Daily Participation Warm Ups Participation in the assignment of the day. This will require CLOSE attention, effort, conversation, and practice! Students will receive a weekly participation grade based upon their contribution to the class. If they break classroom rules, they will lose the allotted points for the day (2 points per day, 10 points per week).

If a student breaks a class rule, he or she will receive the following consequences: 1st offense: Verbal Warning and loss of participation points 2nd offense: Conference with the teacher, self-referral to be completed by student and signed by parent/guardian, and loss of participation points. 3rd offense: Loss of participation points, call home, referral to administration, and unsatisfactory citizenship grade on report card.

Electronics School policy states that cell phones are to be turned off and out of sight. Students who violate this policy will have their phones confiscated and returned ONLY to a parent/guardian in the front office. Repeat offences will result in Saturday School or suspension for habitual defiance. As far as my class is concerned, EACH and EVERY time I see one it will be confiscated and sent to the office. The first offense you will receive a warning and a self- referral in addition to administrative punishment, and the second offense you will receive an unsatisfactory citizenship grade. This system will also apply to MP3 players and other electronic devices.

Homework/Make-up Work Students can expect to have some type of homework each night. Weekly homework packets will be assigned Mondays and due on Fridays. Studying for various tests/quizzes is in addition to that. Late work and papers without names will not be issued credit.

Academic Honesty Plagiarism and cheating is unacceptable in my class. This includes using someone else’s work or words as one’s own, copying from someone else or allowing one’s work or words to be copied. This includes homework. If a student is discovered cheating, the consequences are as follows: 1st offense: Zero on the assignment, zero for participation, call home, unsatisfactory citizenship grade 2nd offense: Meeting with administration, call home, possible trimester failure

Tardiness Tardiness will be dealt with according to the student handbook along with my guidelines below. General outline is as follows: 1st tardy: Warning and loss of daily participation points 2nd tardy: Warning and loss of daily participation points 3rd tardy: Tardy referral and loss of daily participation points, call home 4th tardy: Tardy referral, loss of daily participation points, call home 5th tardy: Tardy referral, loss of daily participation points, unsatisfactory citizenship grade for the trimester

Reading Reading is a skill. The only way to get better at reading is to read. This holds true for excellent readers as well as reluctant readers. With this in mind, my goal is for all students to read one million words this school year. Research has shown that reading one million words translates into scoring in the top 2% on standardized tests. For the average student, one million words translates to twenty minutes of reading every day.

But… How do I find a book that I’ll ACTUALLY like? http://www.lexile.com/fab/ http://www.scholastic.com http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/ And PLEASE don’t forget our public library system! http://www.ssjcpl.org/  They now have e-books AND you can check out a nook to read them on if you do not own a tablet of your own!

Communication is Key! Click to Play

Setup for Period 1:

Setup for Period 3:

Don’t Text? No Problem! Period 1: Go to rmd.at/berchtold1 on a desktop computer to sign up for email notifications. Period 3: Go to rmd.at/berchtold3 on a desktop computer to sign up for email notifications.

Aeries Parent Portal… Sign up to view grades! If you need help with this process, please call the office at 838-7095. They will be happy to assist you! https://aeries.asp.aeries.net/escalon/LoginParent.aspx

Class Calendar: http://www.elportalmiddle.org/ Click on “School Staff”, then “Danielle Berchtold”

Assignments/Class Schedule EACH DAY Listed Here! 

I look forward to working with you! You may always leave a message for me with someone in the office at 838-7095. E-mail is the BEST way to get a hold of me quickly. dberchtold@sjcoe.net I look forward to working with you!