Welcome back!!! I hope you had a terrific break! Today we will be taking care of some “Housekeeping” and refreshing our knowledge of some policies, procedures, etc. As you come in… Place your phone in the pocket which corresponds to your assigned chromebook number. If you don’t remember your number, there is a list on the bulletin board. Clean out your binders. You may get rid of anything from the first semester….except….. Semester exams 9 Weeks exams (English II & Pre-AP English II) Syllabus, classroom procedures, etc. (If you’re not sure, ask!)

Classroom procedures Put your phone in the appropriate pocket (NEW!!!) Get what you need from your bags & put your bags against the wall (NEW!!!) Turn in any homework that is due for the day If you were absent the day before, check the purple folders for make up work Sit in your seat and begin working on the bellringer Only work on assignments for this class unless given permission otherwise DO NOT ask to leave the classroom during instruction time You will be given permission to begin gathering your things about 2 minutes prior to the bell DO NOT leave until you are dismissed – I dismiss you, the bell does not

Restroom breaks I am making a change to my policy for restroom breaks…. You should use the restroom between classes if at all possible You may not leave class to go to the restroom until all instruction time is complete Only 1 student at a time may go to the restroom You MUST take the pass and fill it out BEFORE you leave the room You must write down the time you return on the pass when you return to class If you become a “frequent flier” to the restroom, your privileges will be restricted Of course, if you are sick, you may go….in fact, PLEASE GO if you are sick

Cell phones & bags My liberal and generous cell phone policy was taken advantage of, so I have changed that policy effective immediately…. Cell phones MUST be placed in the pocket which corresponds to your Chromebook number at the beginning of class You may not use your cell phone without permission Any student caught with his/her cell phone during class will be written up, and I will confiscate the phone and take it to the office…NO QUESTIONS ASKED Bags must be placed against the wall in the classroom—there are to be no bags at your desks

Spring semester Test exemption policy You may be exempt from ALL spring semester tests if you meet the following requirements: HAVE AN AVERAGE OF AT LEAST 85 HAVE NO MAJOR DISCIPLINE ISSUES (ISS OR DAEP) HAVE NO MORE THAN 2 ABSENCES DURING THE SPRING SEMESTER ***Students who earn this exemption will be required to attend school on test days. Reward activities will be planned for those students. You may be exempt from THREE spring semester tests if you: ARE PASSING ALL CLASSES ***Students who earn this exemption will be required to attend school and classes on test days. The student will be able to choose which classes to use the three test exemptions.

LATE WORK Late work became a BIG PROBLEM during the fall semester, and I was fairly lenient on it. However, starting today, I will be following the guidelines approved by the school board for late work. Any assignment turned in 1 day late will receive a 30 point penalty. This means the MOST you can make is a 70. Any assignment turned in 2 days late will receive a 50 point penalty. This means the MOST you can make is a 50. After 2 days, no credit will be given, and the student will be written up for failure to complete required work. If you do not turn in an assignment you MUST fill out a missed assignment form (on my desk) and put it in the tray

Absences & Make up work It is VERY important that you keep up with your assignments in the event of absences from school. All work must be made up whether your were out for illness, or a school sponsored event. If you know you will be absent on a certain day, please come to me ahead of time and ask about assignments—I may not always have them ready at that moment, but they will always be ready at least a day ahead of time If you are absent for a school sponsored event, any assignment you missed during that time MUST be turned in immediately upon your return to school—it is your responsibility to get the work done while you are gone (this includes Membean) If you are out sick, you have the number of days you missed plus 1 day to get your make up work turned in—you should look in the purple folder for your class period and check for make up work there—if there is not any in the folder, double check with me before you assume you do not have any

Membean From this point forward, we will work on Membean during class on Tuesdays. You will have 30 minutes during that class period to work on it. (Pre-AP students will still have to do 15 minutes outside of class.) You will have a Membean test every other Thursday (starting January 25th). The test will be available for 24 hours. If you are absent, you MUST take the test during that time period. If you do not take it during that time, it will be considered late, and the maximum score you will receive will be a 70. If you fail a Membean test, you will have one opportunity to retake it for a maximum of 70. You must come in during tutorials on the Friday after the test, or the next Monday. You may not use class time to make up a failed Membean test.

Grading The grading policy is as follows: Daily grades = 50% (Pre-AP 40%) Exam grades = 50% (Pre-AP 60%) ***DO NOT ask me to make up a daily grade. Only exam grades may be made up. Remember: I drop your two lowest daily grades (except 0s) at the end of each quarter.*** I will hand out grade reports once a week on Fridays. Do not ask me about your grade before then. You can log in to the Parent Portal online and view your grades.

Respect & Kindness Every person deserves respect and kindness. I will not tolerate anything less than that in my classroom. If you are treating a fellow student poorly, you can expect to pay the consequences for your actions. Remember that you never know what someone is going through. Your kindness may be the only kindness they receive all day long—and one day, you may need theirs!

Homework Write a 2-3 page handwritten (1-2 page typed) narrative about your holiday break. What did you do? Where did you go? Did you see family? What happened? Be specific and descriptive. Tell me the story in a way that makes me feel like I was there with your. This will be due on Friday, and it is a 100 or a 0 grade.