Rules and Expectations

Here’s the deal, y'all: I want you to succeed in my classroom.  Therefore, I’m going to give you every opportunity to do that.  However, there are certain things that will not be tolerated.  I have high expectations of you and I expect you to have high expectations for yourself.

1)      Be Respectful. This classroom is an open and free environment.  I expect all of you to respect all opinions, even if you disagree with them.  We will have no arguing, no fighting, and no bad mouthing.  I want each of you to feel as if your voice counts here.  You are not 5 years old anymore.  We are all humans and I expect you to treat each other that way.

2)      Keep the classroom in an orderly fashion.  This means, if you make a mess, clean it up.  I don’t want to treat you guys like little kids, but remember, this is not just my classroom, and it belongs to you too.  We want to keep a clean and fresh environment for all of us. 

3)      You may have drinks or food in the classroom.  Drinks need to have a lid and do not make a mess with your food. I am your teacher, not your maid.  If you start making a mess, I will revoke this privilege. 

4)      Please raise your hand if you wish to speak. This is a classroom, not a barnyard.  I ask that you do not blurt out in class, but respectfully wait your turn to comment.

5)      Class starts when the bell rings. We have a lot of material to get through in a very short amount of time.  If you are tardy in my classroom on a regular basis, points will be removed from your participation grade.   

6)      Work will be turned in on time.  When it is one day late, I’m going to have to start knocking off points of the final grade.  This means that if you get a 95 on an assignment and turn it in one day late, I’m going to have to give you a 90. Two days late, a 85. I know that sometimes emergencies happen, so I will give TWO (and no more) chances to turn in an assignment late with no penalty.  Use them wisely--this does not excuse the work, just the late points.

7)    KEEP IN MIND THAT ALL SCHOOL RULES, INCLUDING DRESS CODE, SUPERSEDE ANY OF MY CLASSROOM RULES AND THEY WILL BE FOLLOWED AT ALL TIMES.

I believe that these rules are fair and manageable.  There is no reason that you should not be able to follow them easily.  However, if problems occur, please keep in mind that we have a lot of material to cover and anything that we cannot finish in class due to behavior issues will be completed at home.  The choice is yours.  Remember that one person can ruin this for the whole class.

If problems continue to occur, immediate action will be taken.  I will contact your parents or guardians.  If the issue continues, administrative action will be taken.

If we can go for a full quarter without any major issues and I do not have to contact any parents, we will plan a fun surprise in class! This might be a movie day, bringing in some Bojangles biscuts, or whatever else we decide on as a class.  I want to be able to reward you every single quarter!

Policies: As I said before, I want to do everything I can to help you do well in class.  The first way you can do this is taking notes each day.  I expect you to keep an organized binder to store all of your notes, handouts, quizzes, etc.  At the end of class each day we will have a short quiz on your notes.  You will be able to use your notes from class and nothing else to take this quiz.  If you take good notes, you should have no problem making an easy 100% on these quizzes.  We will have a test every two weeks on Thursday.  I will remind you in class before each test, but unless otherwise told, expect to have them.  I also expect each of you to have a one subject, spiral bound notebook to use as a journal.  We will write every day in this journal.  I will collect them at the end of the week to check them.  This will help to boost your participation grade. 

Your grades will consist of:

Tests

Homework & Projects

Quizzes

Class Participation

Final Research Paper or Project

Parents: If you feel the need to contact me for any reason, I am always willing and able to meet with you.  The easiest way to contact me is through email, which I check on a regular basis.   You may also call the school and get my extension to leave a message.  I cannot speak with you during the school day.  I will have regular office hours after school.  I am more than happy to meet with you whether you feel that there is a problem or not--I also want you to know when your children are doing well!