Dear Parents/Guardians and Students s8

Dear Parents/Guardians and Students,

My name is Lori Elvrom and I will be your student's English 11 teacher for this semester. The purpose of this letter is to introduce myself and to outline my classroom policies. Please also see the handout on English Department policies for late work, syllabus, grading scale and cheating/plagiarism.

BASIC GUIDELINES/RULES/MATERIALS:

- Students will come to class prepared and on time. Students should always bring paper, a writing utensil, his/her textbook and any other books that we may be using at the time. In addition, students will need a supply of approximately 200 note cards for the semester. Last, students will need a spiral note book (70 sheets only, please) that will stay in the classroom and only be used for English.

- Students will show respect for their classmates, verbally and physically.

- Students will show respect to guest teachers. The classroom guidelines and rules will still apply in my absence, unless the guest teacher states otherwise.

- Students may bring food/drink to class. Conditions to this rule: students may not leave class with the purpose of going to the vending machines for food or drink. Also, if I see that students are not treating the classroom with respect (leaving wrappers and trash around) I will revoke this privilege. Simply put: bring it with you to class and clean up after yourself!

ATTENDANCE:

-Please review the attendance policy in the CHS Handbook. Be aware that after seven unexcused absences, the student may be dropped from the class without credit. Parents/Guardians: it is very important to call in any excused absences in a timely manner to prevent unnecessary problems or anxiety over this policy.

- It is very important for students to be present in class as often as possible because it is difficult for students to make up in-class work, especially in cases such as class discussions and group work.

-If students know ahead of time that they will be absent, it is recommended that they inform me of the date(s) that they will be gone. I often have the assignments already copied off ahead of time and I usually can provide students with their work so that they are able to complete it before/during their absence to make a more effective transition back into the curriculum upon their return.

HOMEWORK/LATE WORK POLICY:

- The English Department has a no late work policy (with two exceptions);

*EXCEPTION #1: each student will be given three "late passes" to use when submitting a major assignment (essays and projects) after the assigned due. It is to be completely filled out, attached to the assignment and it is good for turning in up to one week from the assignment due date). At the end of the semester, any unused "late passes" may be redeemed for 5 points each, to be added to the final class grade (up to 10 points in the writing category and up to 5 points in the projects category). Please see English 11 Syllabus for department policies regarding late passes.

*EXCEPTION #2: excused absences: students will have one day per each day absent to turn in missed assignments. When the students are absent it is the student's responsibility to find out what he/she has missed. This can be done before/after school. Handouts will be in the shelving unit on the counter, labeled by class. Tests/quizzes must be made up in a timely manner (within one week). This means that the student will need to approach me with the information that he/she needs to make up a test and we can then decide on an appropriate date/time to do this. Bottom line: it is the student's responsibility to take care of this. I will not accept late work based upon the excuse that the student wasn't aware that there was work to be made up.

GRADING:

The grade for this class will be calculated according to the following:

Writing 50% Projects 15%

Tests/Quizzes 15% Vocabulary 10%

Daily Work (homework- 5% & classwork- 5%) for a total of 10%

* Test/Quizzes and Project categories may be joined into 1 category weighted at 30%*

NOTE: In order for parents and students to monitor student progress in this class, I update the online grade book weekly, with the exception of essays. Please allow 3 weeks for essay grades to be entered online.

WEBPAGE:

To access pertinent unit calendars and documents in case of loss or absence, visit the University Place School District website, click on “Select a School”, click on “Curtis Senior High School”, click “Staff Pages” on the toolbar, click on “Elvrom, Lori”.

If you have any questions or concerns, I can be reached at 566-5710 ext. 2462 or at .

Parents, guardians, and students: please sign the statement on the last page of this packet and detach. Please keep the rest of the information in the packet for your convenience. Students, bring the signed statement back to class on ______for points!

Looking forward to a great semester,

Lori Elvrom