Course Guidelines
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LATIN I, II, III, IV Honors, V Honors
BROAD RUN HIGH SCHOOL
2015-2016
Magistra McGinley
elizabeth.mcginley@lcps.org
Discipulī Carissimī:
Education is about interacting with the teacher, interacting with your classmates and
pushing yourself to your highest potential. Our classroom must be built on mutual
respect. I must respect your right to learn and you must respect my right to teach. I
expect that you come to class prepared to learn and to work hard. We have so much to
accomplish this year. You have placed yourselves in an elite group of students by
choosing to take on the challenge of a classical language. I am looking forward to a
wonderful year with you. I cannot wait to help you reach your highest potential!
ex animo,
magistra
Course Guidelines
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Mission Statement
My mission statement expresses why I do “what I do” in the classroom…and why I have
chosen to be a Latin teacher. I hope that it will help you get to know me a little better.
The teacher said to the students, “Come to the edge.”
They replied, “We might fall.”
The teacher again said, “Come to the edge.”
And they responded, “It is too high.”
“Come to the edge!” the teacher demanded.
And they came, and the teacher pushed them…and they
flew.
--Christopher Logue
As a teacher at Broad Run High School, my mission is to help my students fly. I will
nurture their self-worth and give them the tools that will allow them to conquer many
challenges. I will make my students work as hard as they have ever worked. They will
feel the pride of success after a long and difficult challenge. I will teach them to think
critically so that they can use this skill in all aspects of their lives. I will honor them as
individuals so that they learn to honor themselves and their peers. I will nurture the
gifts which have been given to them so that they learn to find the gifts in each other. I
will have high expectations of myself, so that through my example, my students will set
and meet high expectations for themselves.
Course Guidelines
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LEGES SCHOLAE
I. Be respectful of yourself, of your classmates and of me. Come to class
with an attitude to learn! Give Latin, and Latin only, 100% of your focus
when you are in this classroom so that you do not misuse our class time.
ALL LATIN ALL THE TIME!!! Consequences for inappropriate behaviors
will include a warning, confiscation of materials, parent contact,
detention and and/or administrative involvement.
II. Be at your desk ready to begin at the start of class when the bell rings.
Bring only LATIN class materials to your desk. Place homework on the
corner of your desk for me to check it as you are completing the
“cotidianum.”
III. Bring the following materials to class:
--Binder
--Flashcards
--Textbook
--Pens/pencils
--Special Corrections RED pen
--Packets (keep in your binder)
--Highlighter pack
IV. Unless it is an absolute EMERGENCY, you will not be permitted to leave
during class time. Make sure that you have all of your materials (see
above) and that you have taken care of all personal issues before
entering class. We are quite fortunate that there is a set of restrooms on
the way to T4. If an emergency does arise, ask permission before you
leave, and use the sign in/out clipboard. Take the yellow hall pass, and
turn in one of your Quarterly Hall passes to my desk. . A prompt return
to class is expected. PLEASE RETURN the yellow pass to the clipboard.
Any unused hall passes can be returned at the end of the quarter for
extra credit.
V. Cell phones or other electronic devices will only be used at specific
times during instruction time. Thus, as you enter the room, please drop
your phones in the phone tree in your assigned slot. An extra credit
point will be awarded for each day that your phone parks. Any other
electronic device will be confiscated and returned to the student at the
end of class. There will be no warnings!
Course Guidelines
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VI. Students may have water bottles at their desk during class. Any other
food/beverage will be removed and you will earn a one-way ticket to
lunch detention.
VII.
It is my expectation that all students do their own work. It is not
acceptable to copy homework or to give your homework to be copied. It
is not acceptable to down load text and then use it in assignments
without proper citations. It is not acceptable to copy and/or give
answers on exams or quizzes. It is not acceptable to use on-line
translators.
Please carefully read the Broad Run High School Honor Code, under
which auspices we will operate. You will be asked to sign the honor
code on each assignment and assessment.
Please make wise decisions about this! Your actions could have
ramifications for you if you are interested in NHS or Latin Honor
Society.
And most importantly…I do not ever want to have a “suspicious” feeling
about any of my Latin scholars. I want to implicitly trust ALL my
students. I am actually more interested in your “heart and character”
than I am in your Latin grade.
INTER ALIA
Absences: Rule number one: if a classmate tells you that we did nothing in class the day(s)
you were absent, do not believe him or her!!! I guarantee that our class will be full of
activity! All class activities and homework assignments will be delineated for you on the
quarter agenda. You will receive a hard copy, which is to be kept in your binder.
Additionally, a copy will be posted on my webpage.
It is your responsibility to make up missed work. If you are absent on the review day, you
will still be expected to take the test on the scheduled day since you have the stage agenda. If
you are absent on the day of a test/quiz you will make it up on the retake day at the end of
the quarter (see your Latin agenda) or during a mutually convenient study hall. Upon
return from an extended absence, see me in order to create a timetable for your make-up
work. The time period will vary depending on the material that was covered. Any work,
which is not made up within these time frames, will merit a zero in the grade book.
Course Guidelines
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Deadlines: I am very serious about the assignments that I give. They will be reinforcement
for grammatical concepts that are introduced in class. All assignments that are checked in
class, such as translation work, textbook exercises, or workbook/worksheet exercises are
due at the beginning of class. Any work that is not completed by the homework check will
be considered LATE. Completed late homework will earn half credit upon showing it to me.
Grading: Grades are based on a point system. To calculate your grade on any given
assignment, divide the points you earned by the points possible. Homework is worth 10%
of the quarter grade. Other assessments (quizzes, tests, group work, projects, etc.)
comprise the remaining 90%.
Nota Bene: Students who earn a perfect homework record (i.e. one or less late night’s
homework assignment(s), may choose to replace their lowest quiz grade of the quarter
with a 100%.
Nota Bene: Students will have the opportunity to retake any vocabulary quiz for an
average of the two scores. These retakes can be completed during retake days (see Latin
agenda). But please understand the purpose of these retake opportunities. They are to help
you when you have not truly mastered material. They are to be used to improve targeted
quiz scores. They are not to be used as an out for retaking all your quizzes when you chose
not to study for them on their original date! Since I am limiting retake day to one per
quarter; you will not have time to retake more than a handful of quizzes. So study well the
first time, and use the retake day as a safety net, as it is meant to be used.
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Parentes carissimī:
Please read these course guidelines with your child. For returning families,
please note a few of the new policies. Both you and your child should sign the
following page, indicating that you have read and understand the material
contained herein. Please complete the pertinent contact information for me,
as legibly as possible. A copy of these guidelines should be kept in the
student’s binder for future reference.
I look forward to our partnership. You are your child’s best asset. Know that
I am counting on you to do reinforcement needed on the “home-front.” I
would encourage you to be involved in your child’s academic pursuits. Ask
him or her what was introduced in class; sit with your child for 10 minutes a
night and drill vocabulary cards. Listen as he/she recites endings (you may
not have a clue what is being said, but your presence will be enough to keep
him or her concentrating). You could even ask your child to read and translate
a sentence or two from a current Latin passage.
In addition, Phoenix will be available for student and parent access. Please get
in the habit of using this excellent communication tool. I will do my part in
keeping my grade book up to date. Please help your child stay on top of
his/her academic progress and missing assignments by accessing this site
several times per quarter.
I look forward to a wonderful year with both you and with my beloved Latin
scholars.
ex animō,
magistra
Course Guidelines
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Course Guidelines
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Student: I, ___________________________ (print student name), in class period __________ have
read and understand everything in these guidelines. I agree to be honest, to be respectful,
and to do my best in class.
Student Signature ________________________________________ Date ________________
Student email: ____________________________________________________________________
Parents: Please sign this sheet and return to school with your child. Feel free to call e-mail
me if you have any questions throughout the year.
I have read the course guidelines and have discussed it with my child.
Parent/Legal Guardian Signature __________________________________________ Date _______________
Parent/Legal Guardian email: _____________________________________________________________________
Best contact phone number: _______________________________________________________________________
****************************************************************************************
Authorization to email grades:
I, ________________________________, the parent/legal guardian of __________________________,
________hereby allow the teacher to send information to me via email communication
regarding my child’s class behavior and academic performance.
________ I do NOT give permission to have my child’s class behavior and academic
performance emailed to me.
Parent/Legal Guardian Signature _________________________________________ Date ________________