Course Syllabus with Policies and Procedures
Ms. Saylor
MYP English II
2015-2016
Contact Information:
Parents and Guardians: nsaylor@schoollane.org
Students: nsaylor@schoollane.net (or use Schoology)
Phone: (215) 245-6055 Ext. 439
Course Introduction:
Class will meet each afternoon in Room 439 and will begin promptly. Students will have the opportunity to capitalize on
cross-curriculum connections as the course’s theme, Asian Literature, will directly correlate with material being covered
in Individuals & Societies: Asian Studies. Throughout the year, students will grow as thinkers, debaters, critics, and
writers, as they analyze and evaluate selections of world literature in relation to political and cultural studies. I hope that
students will appreciate the opportunity to explore their passions in relation to the course material through open-ended
class discussions and a wide-range of creative assessments.
Classroom Environment:
In order to build and maintain a positive and supportive learning community, students are asked to adhere to all
classroom policies, procedures, and expectations for learning activities. Our classroom is an open forum where every
student will have the opportunity to share, debate, discuss, and explore while being respected by peers in return. The
policies in the Parent-Student Handbook and Code of Conduct will be upheld in the classroom at all times, along with
additional classroom procedures and the following community rules:
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Enter the classroom with a positive attitude.
Respect yourself, others, and all classroom property.
Listen and follow directions the first time.
Take responsibility for your actions.
Daily Procedural Expectations:
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Submit any non-course-related paperwork to the front office upon arriving to or departing from school.
Plan to be prepared for class when visiting your locker after lunch: always bring your charged Chromebook with
downloaded texts, SSR book, folder/binder, and materials needed for preferred method of note-taking.
Do not enter the classroom unless you see me or a substitute present. Please line-up outside the door to quietly
and patiently wait.
Promptly enter the classroom and take your assigned seat.
Take out your SSR selection and read accordingly for the first 10 minutes, unless instructed otherwise.
o If tangible homework was assigned the previous day, please have this ready as well.
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Be prepared to take-down any announcements or homework assignments at the very beginning of direct
instruction.
Wait until you are dismissed by the teacher to pack-up and leave your seat. The clock does not dismiss you, nor
does noise in the hallway.
Bathroom Visits:
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Use the bathroom and water-fountain during class transitions and lunch.
If a bathroom visit is absolutely necessary, please wait until direct instruction is over.
o Quietly raise your hand to ask permission to visit the bathroom.
o Fill-out the hall-pass section in your agenda book then quietly and respectfully approach the teacher for
a signature.
o Sign-out using the clipboard, located on the front bookshelf.
o Quietly sign-in and return to your seat, ready to resume participation in class.
Bathroom privileges will be revoked if abused.
Seating & Getting Teacher Attention:
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Remain in your assigned seat for the duration of class, unless instructed or permitted otherwise.
Use a quiet, raised hand when asking a question or requesting assistance.
Be patient and respectful when the teacher is assisting or answering a classmate’s question.
Reserve personal and non-lesson-related questions or conversations for the beginning and end of class.
Tuning-In:
Grow accustomed to hearing “let’s tune-in” when the teacher is ready to begin announcements and direct instruction.
At this time, all conversation must stop and attention should be directed to the front of the room.
During activities, you may hear the phrase “two minute tune-in.” Upon hearing this, please stop working and pay
attention to important information or clarification.
Daily Classroom Materials:
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You are responsible for bringing and maintaining a notebook to record Talk-to-the-Text responses and SSR
reflections.
Chromebooks should be fully charged and present during each class meeting. Many of our assignments and
activities will utilize the Chromebooks.
Each student is also responsible for maintaining a class folder or small binder to organize any paper hand-outs
that may be received.
Please remember to bring a writing utensil daily, just in case! I’ll have extra pencils but supplies are limited.
As we will have time for SSR each regular class day, please have your current SSR book with you at all times.
Expectations for Class-time:
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Arrive to class ready to participate and contribute to discussions and review: This means completing any out-ofclass readings and assignments prior to coming to class.
Independent class work is completed alone and quietly. Raise your hand to ask for instructor assistance.
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Group-work and activities should be quiet and constructive. All group-members must participate and be positive
and respectful when collaborating and conversing.
When given the opportunity to start an assignment in class, use this time wisely to begin working and ask any
relevant questions.
If class-time is used to workshop a project or larger assignment, use this time to your fullest advantage. Do not
say “I’ll do it at home” or work on assignments for other classes (unless work is complete and permission is
granted).
SSR:
We will be participating in Silent Sustained Reading (SSR) during the first 10 minutes of class each day. What you read
during SSR will be used for journal responses and various creative assignments throughout the year. You will be
responsible for maintaining a book-log and be expected to read a minimum of three SSR selections throughout the
duration of the school year.
You will have the opportunity to select your own SSR material from the shared classroom library, school library, or
home. SSR selections should be school appropriate and literary in nature, such as novels, collections of short stories or
poems, and plays. Cookbooks, fan books, and fashion magazines are not appropriate SSR selections. If you are bringing
an SSR book from home or that you have purchased, please run the title by me prior to reading it for SSR. I will be happy
to take any requests for specific books or series that are not yet in the classroom library and will try my best to acquire
them.
SSR time is NOT:
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A time to talk and socialize.
A time to catch-up on class-assigned readings.
A time to complete homework for another class or our class.
A time to run errands.
A time to nap.
Classroom Library:
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You may borrow items from the classroom library at any time. If you wish to borrow the item from the
classroom, please fill out the sign-out/sign-in sheet and have the present teacher initial upon borrowing and
returning all materials.
The classroom library should be kept clean and organized. Please shelve all returned materials appropriately.
Items from the library are my and Mrs. Weicksel’s personal belongings and should be treated with care and
respect. You will be responsible for replacing any lost or mistreated items at your own expense.
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Academic Honesty:
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Any act of dishonesty is treated seriously and will not be tolerated. It is expected that the work you produce is
original and your own.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to: copying another person’s work, cheating on quizzes or tests,
talking during quizzes or tests, violating classroom testing procedures, and plagiarism.
o Plagiarism is taking someone else’s words and not properly giving them credit via a works cited list and
in-text citations (when applicable).
Consequences:
Consequences for not respecting classroom and school-wide policies and procedures will vary based on severity and
may include the following:
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Warning
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Parent or guardian contact
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After school reflection
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Meeting with student and parent or guardian
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Discipline referral to administrator
Homework, Projects, and Assessments:
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Students must follow all directions and submit assignments on-time to receive full credit.
Due dates for long term assignments will be posted in the classroom, teacher website, and Schoology.
Criteria and rubric information will be given for each assignment will be given in advance.
Failure to plan ahead does not excuse personal responsibility for submitting assignments on time. This includes
technology issues due to waiting until the last minute.
In-class tests and quizzes must be taken in 100% silence to adhere to the academic honesty policy.
Absences:
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It is your responsibility to complete and submit any missed assignments. It is not the teacher’s responsibility to
seek out students for missed work.
Please utilize the teacher website and Schoology to access work that has been missed.
Missed assignments and graded activities will also be posted on the white-board on top of the filing cabinet. Any
necessary paper hand-outs can be found in your section’s absentee folder.
Students are expected to make up all assignments and projects missed when absent. Students are allowed an
equal number of days as they were absent, to complete the necessary make-up assignments or projects. In
cases of extended illness, please ask for help in establishing a make-up schedule (per Code of Conduct).
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