Welcome to GC Academy Senior English

My primary goal is to make this year at La Serna challenging and fun! I work hard to lay the foundation for a successful year and I expect hard work from students in return. All instruction will focus teaching students how to understand and how to use language, which will include reading comprehension and analysis skills, writing clearly and correctly, as well as speaking and listening effectively.

Required Behavior

Respectful

Punctual

Responsible

Required Materials

✓ Composition Notebook

Pens (2 colors)

Pencil

Grade Breakdown

Work Ethic 45%

Assessments 55%

Work Ethic Category Includes:

• Silent Sustained Reading

I will reserve time (about 20 minutes) on Tuesdays and Fridays for SSR.  Students may choose their reading material as long as it is appropriate for school and/or meets parent approval.    Students lose SSR points for being absent, but they can read during the tutorial period the make them up.

• Composition Notebook

Students will be doing DAILY activities in the composition notebook.  Completing these activities will be essential to doing well on the assessments.  Activities will primarily include but are not limited to: vocabulary, grammar, journals, review questions, and notes.  The composition notebook will also serve as a great reference throughout the year.

Assessment Category Includes:

• Final drafts of written work
• Group projects
• Senior project
• Brain Checks (tests/quizzes)

These are quality grades: just completing the assignment doesn’t guarantee that the student will receive a passing grade on that assignment.

Homework

Unless otherwise specified, homework is due at the beginning of class, the day after it is assigned.  I DO NOT ACCEPT LATE WORK. With some major assignments, the due date applies even if the student is absent.   

Excuses I do not accept for not turning into an assignment:

• Anything related to computer or printing problems unless a parent writes a note.
• A student telling me he or she “forgot” to turn it in.

Lateness and Absences

A student’s punctuality and attendance affects his or her grade in several ways. Both are how his or her citizenship grade is determined. Students who are absent lose participation points for that day and they cannot be earned back. (Please note that if a student is absent because of a major illness or family emergency, they will not lose daily points.) If a student gets up to 5 tardies per grading period (every 4 ½ weeks or so), he/she will be assigned an after-school detention and risk receiving a “U” in citizenship. If tardiness is a consistent problem, the student may be dropped from the class.

If a student misses an entire school day, what was done in class will be posted on Google Classroom. Students are responsible for logging in and checking what he/she missed. Students will still be allotted one day per day absent to turn in make-up work and/or take a missed test.  Student have one week to make up a missed test during tutorial before being given a zero for not doing so.