Classroom Rules:
1. Give and receive criticism in a professional manner.
2. Respect peers, guests, teacher, and school property.
3. Participate.
Examples of Negative Consequences:
Textbooks: Students will have access to the textbooks through Canvas (BFW Learning / My Perspectives)
Excerpts from How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas Foster (digital copy available on Canvas)
Class Novels: In addition to the required novels from the summer reading list, all students will be responsible for additional novels or plays. I recommend that students obtain their own copies in order to annotate and read actively; however, checking out novels from a library or downloading PDFs is also acceptable.
GRADING
ASSIGNMENT AND HOMEWORK POLICIES
Homework will be assigned regularly, so expect to have it rather than expecting to have a free night. Remember, this is an advanced course and it earns you an extra GPA point! Homework is due at the BEGINNING of the class period unless otherwise indicated.
Late Work
Late work is strictly discouraged. Assignments that are later than five school days (one week) after the close of the lesson or assignment, module, or unit will not be accepted. Some assignments may not be accepted late, such as in-class assignments and long-term projects.
IMPORTANT REMINDER: Long-term projects, including class reading assignments, will not be accepted late. Students will have advance notice of deadlines to ensure they have adequate time to prepare and complete assigned tasks. It is essential that students complete certain tasks on time in order to be prepared for class activities (ex. discussions or assignments that correlate to assigned readings).
POWERSCHOOL ACCESS
Grades and attendance may be accessed 24 hours a day online with your Power School access code. Access codes are available in the Counseling Office or Front Desk Monday – Friday 7:00 AM– 3:30 PM. You may check student progress regularly on the Power School site using the same login for one or more students.
DAILY DEVICE USE
Students should come to school with their Chromebooks charged and ready to use in each class every day. Cell phones must be placed in backpacks and remain there during class. School policy allows for confiscation of the device by the teacher or the office. After multiple infractions, parents may be required to pick up the cell phone from the front office.
Devices may not be used to record or take photos of other people without their consent. Consequences for classroom disruptions and misuse of devices will follow a progressive discipline model, beginning with a phone call home and progressing to office referrals for repeated or more serious offenses.
- Verbal Warning, (2) Removal from class, (3) seating change, (4) Parent contact, (5) Referral.
- Additional Reading: Because wide reading as well as sophisticated analysis is important to a deeper understanding of literature, students will be required to read other works outside class.
- Students will be given several weeks advance notice when they need to obtain a novel for class use
- Grades are based on a percentage of all possible points: (100%-90%=A, 89%-80%=B, 79%-70%=C, 69%-60%=D, 59% and lower=F).
- Grades are cumulative for the semester. Per district guidelines, the first and second semester grades will be weighted as follows:
- 80% Assessments
- 20% Classwork
- Any assignment, test or quiz with no name indicated will be immediately discarded. To ensure credit on your assignments, please remember to include a full heading on them! It should include your name, the date, and your class period.
- Check the Canvas course for assignments and due dates.
- If you are absent, check the Canvas announcements to see the Weekly Update with lesson plans. Students are responsible for checking the lesson plans and completing assigned work. If you have questions on the assignment, email the teacher.
- Assignments must be completed in pencil, blue or black ink or typed (when required). Sloppy, illegible assignments will be returned to be typed and then resubmitted for scoring.
- I want to reiterate that LONG-TERM projects and assignments will NOT be accepted late, except with an authorized doctor’s note from a hospital. If students will not be on campus, they should email their work or have guardians drop off their work at the front office. According to the district, long-term projects are assignments that students have at least one week advance notice of a due date.
- Group Projects- Group assignments are meant to be collaborative, and students are expected to individually meet all deadlines that contribute to the project as a whole so that they can practice and be evaluated over the relevant skills for the unit. The teacher will schedule regular conferences with each group to evaluate group member progress, and if students consistently do not meet deadlines, they will be removed from the group. Students are expected to be team players, and at the very least, they must inform team members if they are sick or have extenuating circumstances.
- If you want to re-do an assignment, re-write an essay, or re-take a quiz or test, make an appointment with me to discuss what options are available.
- Plagiarism will result in a zero on the assignment and parent contact for a first offense. Any work taken or derived from other sources should be cited correctly.
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AI (Artificial Intelligence) USE: DVUSD has determined that the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT are prohibited unless clearly specified by your teacher. Specific guidelines will be provided in an assignment details. If you are unsure you are using an LLM or if is permitted on a specific assignment, contact your teacher before submitting your work. Unauthorized use of AI to complete assignments will be treated as plagiarism. Writing assignments are key to the learning process as they develop students’ thinking and help teachers assess student learning. While a variety of tools (such as the Internet and AI, including ChatGPT) are available and helpful in some situations, it is important that students submit work which is their own writing and thinking—rather than work originating from one of those sources. Students bear the burden of proof that the writing is that student’s own writing and thinking.
- Assignments that are completed in class or timed activities (ex. timed essays or assessments) will not be accepted late. Students should be accountable for using class time wisely.
- Missing assignments will be entered as a zero until the assignment is submitted. The zero will be permanent once the assignment closes (one week after due date).
- Late work due to absence:
- UNEXCUSED: If you are late to class and get sent to the SWEEP room (room 624), any regular assignments (ex. A grammar worksheet, a class reading packet, etc.) that are due must be turned in by the end of the school day. Any assignments missed due to unexcused absences may not be able to made up.
- EXCUSED: If you have an excused absence and a regular assignment to turn in (ex. grammar worksheet, reading guide, etc.) you should turn it in when you return to campus. If you have an excused absence and a long-term project is due, it must be turned in on the original assigned due date.
- TROUBLE-SHOOTING ON CANVAS:
- If students are encountering problems submitting their work on Canvas, they should immediately email their work to the teacher so it is still on time AND students need to provide evidence (such as a screenshot) of the problem with the error code. Students should still submit the assignment to Canvas as soon as possible, and seek help the next day if necessary.
- Suggestion: Try using the Canvas website (dvusd.instructure.com) instead of the app. Ensure that the file type is correct (use PDFs not Pages).
- Extenuating Circumstances: There may be legitimate extenuating circumstances that necessitate an extension. The impact of specific issues on personal performance may vary from student to student, so please talk to the teacher as soon as possible to develop a plan. Notes of explanation from parents, extracurricular activities, and job responsibilities DO NOT warrant extensions.
