1. Mrs. Cassiopeia Guthrie English 7 September 24, 2008 Feel free to look around the classroom and find a comfortable seat of your choice. If you have anything to share about yourself or your child, please write it on an index card and leave it for me tonight. Thanks for being here!

2. Personal Overview – San Diego native and Solana Beach resident, family, music, philanthropy, travel Education – San Diego State (Journalism) California State University San Marcos (K-12 authorization with Single Subject Credentials in English and Social Science; Certificate of Advanced Study in Middle Level Education; BCLAD – Bilingual Authorization Certificate in Spanish)

3. Mrs. Guthrie’s Classroom Innovative curriculum in accordance with content standards to meet needs of all students. High expectations in a caring, supportive environment. Team-based atmosphere to increase self- confidence and build community and character. Communication with parents, students, and the campus community. We are working to develop approaches to learning that can be applied to all subjects, as well as leadership and self-advocacy skills.

4. Course Curriculum Aligned to State Standards Theme: “A Quest for Identity” Reading: The Giver by Lois Lowry The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Shakespeare Writing: Poetry Autobiographical Incident Short Story Response to Literature Persuasive Essay Summary Report of Information Speaking: Oral presentation of writing Grammar, vocabulary, punctuation, sentence structure, spelling, and capitalization skills.

5. Character and life skills development I teach using the 8 keys of excellence to reinforce life skills and academic success. Also, Earl Warren has adopted a character development program called Character Counts which infuses the universal values of trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship into our curriculum and school activities. Activities and procedures have been developed to support your child’s success and ensure their preparation for high school and college curriculum and for life skills: Planner and agenda serve to develop organization and time management skills. Homework, assessments and projects serve to encourage self-reliance and responsibility and promote a strong work ethic. Standards-based lessons serve to give students a strong background in the content area.

6. Some final points Communication is a priority for me!!! PLEASE email and call me and don’t hesitate to use my website as clarification! Daily agenda, homework, handouts, helpful resources http://teachers.sduhsd.net/cguthrie cassiopeia.guthrie@sduhsd.net Utilize our online grade program! SDUHSD Information Portal You should have received a letter with verification information from our campus registrar. Don’t be afraid to ask! We as a staff are dedicated to working as a team with YOU to support your child’s learning and development as a student and as a person. Please talk to us!