Syllabus and Classroom Procedures and Expectations

 

Greetings and Bienvenidos (Welcome):

Your child is enrolled in Spanish for the 2019-2020 school year. This year, we will acquire Spanish through hands-on learning activities, including the use of audiovisual technology, art, drama, and music. Below you will find details on class rules, consequences, and procedures. Please fill out and sign the parent contact form indicating that you have read this entire document. Signed forms should be returned by Friday, August 2, 2019. I look forward to supporting your child in their academic excellence.

Regards,

Señorita Kwanza Fisher

Email: kfisher@dekalbprepacademy.org

Telephone: 404-937-2000

Cell: 404-594-4598

Room no. 21

Website: dpamiddlespanish1.educatorpages.com

 

Class Goals: Communicate in Spanish, Compare Hispanic culture to our own, make Connections between Spanish and other subjects, and build Community.

Class Rules

  1. Respect the Learning Environment.
    1. No talking out of turn.
    2. Keep your surroundings clean.
    3. No causing distractions during instruction.
    4. No eating, drinking, or chewing gum without permission.
    5. No cell phones.
    6. No profanity.
  2. Respect Others.
    1. Keep hands to yourself.
    2. Be kind and respectful.
    3. No bullying.
  3. Commit to Academic Excellence
    1. Always do your best work.
    2. Pay attention to the teacher.
    3. Always maintain academic honesty/integrity.

Consequences—Consequences are when any of the 3 rules are broken.

1st infraction: Warning (check next to name)

2nd infraction: Behavior reflection essay

3rd infraction: Lunch detention/Loss of Privilege

4th infraction: Parent Contact

 

Students who demonstrate an ongoing challenge to follow the rules will be referred to sit with a principle and parents will be invited to escort them back into the learning environment.

Classroom Procedures

Classroom procedures help us form a routine and maximize the amount of time spent learning Spanish.

  1. Entering the Room. Upon entering the room, students will give a proper greeting, enter the room quietly, and begin working on the warm up assignment. When students have completed their warm up assignment they may work on other Spanish assignments quietly until it is time for review.
  2. Exiting the Room. Two minutes before dismissal, students will stop work, quietly clean up around their seats, and pack their belongings.
  3. Turning in work. All assignments are to be turned in fully, checked over, and done to the best of the student’s ability, with student’s full name, date, grade, and homeroom teacher’s name in the designated space or at the top left hand corner of the paper. At the provided notice, students must turn in tangible assignments in class. Students in the back of the class will pass up their work to the front. Teacher will then collect work. Work turned in thereafter will be marked as late unless a written parent excuse if provided. Teacher will not guarantee notice to parents of late work, with the exception of a written notice on the assignment. If student is absent, parents must call to notify teacher of excuse in addition to sending a handwritten/typed and signed note. Students are expected to turn in online work at the stated due date. Students can find all relevant assignments (with the exception of tests and quizzes) on the class website.
  4. Due dates/times. Due dates are posted on rubrics, class website, notices, and are communicated verbally in class. The assignments are to be turned in at the beginning of the class session.
  5. Late work. Work turned in after the due date/time without a written and verbal parent excuse will be marked as late. A late grade is 10 points off.
  6. Absence. If a student is absent from class, parents must call teacher and provide a handwritten/ note with their signature. The note or email must include the following: Date of notice, date of absence, and acknowledgement/explanation of absence, and contact number.
  7. Assessments. Most assessments will be given and taken in class. During an assessment, students are expected to remain in “test mode” or “quiz mode” which requires silence, no cheating or use of notes or technology (unless otherwise expressly permitted), and being seated for the duration of the assessment.
  8. Traveling to another location during class time. When traveling outside of the assigned classroom with teacher, students are expected to walk quietly in a single line.
  9. Non-classroom conduct. In places of learning outside the classroom such as the computer lab, students should respect the space, the materials, and others. Students must follow the directions and rules of that space. While on the computer, students are only allowed to visit sites authorized by the teacher. During outside lessons, students must stay with the class at all times and follow directions the first time given.
  10. Instructional time behaviors. It is important that students respect the instructional time by listening intently without talking out of turn, and taking notes if necessary. Students with questions should write them down on the margin of their paper until given the opportunity to ask at the end of the teaching moment. All students should raise their hands to answer or ask questions.
  11. Notes. Students are expected to maintain a section for notes in their binders/folders. Notes should be taken whenever possible to help with learning.
  12. Outside time. Students are permitted to go outside for special lessons or as a class reward. In such cases, students must be able to line up quietly and remain in a single file during travel. Students must follow all instructions while outside and remain with the class.
  13. Interaction with other students. As students will be required to work cooperatively for assignments, it is expected that positive social actions take place. All forms of bullying, profanity, and any violence will be managed with consequences (the severity of which is determined arbitrarily by teacher), a counselor referral, and an administrative referral.
  14. Materials. If students are unable to obtain the required materials, please send written notice to teacher. The following are required/desired materials that students should have by July 31.
    1. 2 sharpened pencils/erasers--no pens (required)
    2. (1 or 2-inch) 3-ring binder or folder (required)
    3. Dividers with the following headers (highly recommended)
      1. Notes
      2. Classwork
      3. Homework
      4. Additional Handouts
    4. Hand-held, manual and nonmotorized pencil sharpener (highly recommended)
    5. Composition book with lined paper (highly recommended)
    6. Glue sticks (highly suggested)
    7. Colored pencils (highly suggested)
    8. Scissors (suggested)
    9. Spanish-English dictionary (highly suggested)
  15. Bathroom/Water. Students are expected to use the bathroom and get water before or after Spanish. If there is an emergency, students must raise their hand, wait to be called on, and use the appropriate question phrase in Spanish. Students should sign the bathroom log, take the hall pass and return to class immediately. Parents will be notified of excessive bathroom use or reported emergencies.
  16. Graded work. All graded assessments and graded guided practice work will remain in a student portfolio folder at school. Parents may arrange a meeting at their and teacher’s convenience to review the assessment hard copies. Parents may also view assessment grades in Infinite Campus. To receive Infinite Campus login credentials, parents should contact parent liaison Bernadette Baker or their child’s homeroom teacher.
  17. Parent Conferences. In order to meet with Ms. Fisher, parents must schedule a conference. Her available times are 11:45am-12:50pm daily, for 20 minute block meetings. Conference requests should be sent to kfisher@dekalbprepacademy.org.
  18. Makeup work/extensions and special circumstances. Makeup work will be given to students for special circumstances such as prolonged sickness, family loss, or other impactful events. Parents should send written notice to teacher. Makeup work is not given to students for low grade averages.
  19. Extra Credit. Beginning in the month of August extra credit assignments will be due the last day of each month. Students can submit a short mini movie of themselves using relevant vocabulary and grammar. Video must be submitted via email. Submitted and approved videos will replace the lowest quiz grade.
  20. Reward system. Students can earn Bull Dog Bucks for good behavior by bringing in media that is directly related to class lessons (as it relates to the Spanish language). Approved media includes youtube videos, library books, articles, etc. These would be materials that aid in student in learning for the most current lesson. Points are also accumulated for good classroom behavior. All points would be kept via Class Dojo and converted into Bull Dog Bucks.
  21. Use of Spanish. Students should make every effort to use their Spanish when asking questions and interacting with other students while in class. A list of classroom phrases will be given for student reference. Students are to bring their reference list to class every day.
  22. Parent contact. Parent contact is established via ClassDojo, email, and phone conversation. Parents should complete the first week contact form (included with this document).
  23. Grades. Grade weights are posted below. Parents should keep track of student grades on Infinite Campus.

Grading weights:                                    Assessment during learning 25% 

Guided, Independent or Group Practice 45%

Summative Assessments, Assessment of Learning 30%