Welcome to 8th grade Language Arts. Below you will find our policies for class participation, grading, and discipline, as well as information regarding our curriculum materials.
Assignments/Absences
Our class website, mrsschroyer.com is updated daily with assignment details. This is where you will be directed when you are absent, or should you need additional copies/clarification of assignment expectations. I encourage parents to access our class website, so that they may aware of the content their child is learning.
Remind 101
Remind 101 is one way that I plan to communicate with families. Please enroll using the codes on the Remind 101 page.
Discipline
The following steps will be taken in the event that a student does not follow a classroom rule/procedure:
- Warning
- Take-Home Detention/ Parent Contact
- After-School Detention/ Parent Conference
- Referral
School and county rules or larger infractions may result in an immediate discipline referral.
Textbook
Students will have access to a class set of textbooks in their teacher’s classroom. Should a student need a textbook for additional time on an assignment, it will be the student’s responsibility to checkout a book from his/her teacher. Not having access to a textbook will not be a valid reason for a late assignment.
Logon information for electronic access of the textbook will be provided to the students as soon as student logon information is shared from the county.
Curriculum Materials
Our Common Core standards require that students develop research skills. This means that students will be accessing many different types of sources via the Internet.
Our curriculum also includes topics, such as the Holocaust, which require brief historical instruction for background knowledge as we read related texts.
Should you have any concerns regarding the sources (texts, visuals, videos, etc.) your child might encounter, please share these with me as soon as possible.
Grading
Students will be graded according to Volusia County School’s grading policy. Formative assignments will make up 40% of a student’s grade. Summative assignments will make up the remaining 60%.
Students are allotted one day to make up any assignment they missed while absent for each day the student is absent.
Generally, students are given dues dates and ample time to complete missing assignments. After this point, the assignment will no longer be accepted for credit.
Students may retake one summative assignment per nine weeks. Usually, I choose which summative assignment the students will be permitted to retake. In order to retake the summative assignment all related formative assignments must be submitted, as well as a remediation assignment the teacher assigns related to the summative assignment.
Technology
To better meet the Common Core standards, some assignments will be completed and submitted using technology.
Students will be provided class time to complete assignments requiring the use of technology; however, students needing more time for these assignments (including if they were absent) will need to access the program/app on their own. Our media center is a great place to access the program before school or during Warrior Time. Students will need to plan accordingly and let me know when technology becomes a problem. Lack of technology at home will not be a valid excuse for an incomplete or missing assignment.
Students will also be permitted to participate in BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology). Use of individual devices will not be permitted when the assignment is not a BYOT assignment.
One program we use is Office 365. Students wishing to access Office 365 on their devices will need to download the appropriate app (Word on Apple devices, Microsoft Office Mobile on Android devices). Students will need to login using their VPortal login when setting up an account in the app.
Group Work
Almost always, students will be permitted to choose their own groups when completing a group project. This means that the students are choosing the work ethic of those in their group. All students in the group are responsible for all parts of the assignment.
Any excuse related to the grouping of students will not be accepted (e.g. Student A did all of the work; Student B couldn’t meet with us; Student C has all of the work and he/she is absent today, etc.). The assignment will be considered late and will adhere to Volusia County School’s grading policy.
Warrior Time
Warrior Time will be used for students to complete any work including missing or late work. Students will also be permitted to study for upcoming tests/quizzes, complete their homework for that night and/or remediate/retake a summative assignment. This is a great time to simply get out a book and read for the fun of it.
Students will not be permitted to use this time for recreational or social purposes.
If you have any questions regarding the information presented here. Please contact me.
Thank you.
Mrs. Schroyer
