Spanish Syllabus
St Peter Middle/High School,
Profe Englehorn (Pronounced Pro-fay)
Email: denglehorn@stpeterschools.org
Room 327
¡Bienvenidos a la clase de Español! The Spanish classes at SPMS/HS are designed to help you
communicate in Spanish. Communication includes learning to speak, read, write, and listen. Each
Spanish course is based on fulfilling the ACTFL standards for each level(ACTFL is the American Council
for the Teaching of Foreign Languages.) A goal of Spanish at SPMS/HS is to encourage you to think
globally about your future education and career while preparing you for future study of Spanish. To
this end, I speak a lot of Spanish in class, but I use clues to help you understand—look/listen for them!
Grading Summary:
1) Participation and Attendance: 20% of final grade. Earn 5 points per day by arriving to
class on time and being in your desk when the bell rings, talking in Spanish daily, and
behaving appropriately. Unexcused absences/tardies/misbehavior affect this grade.
2) Homework and Classwork: 40% of final grade. Expect 15-30 minutes of homework 3 to 4
nights per week.
3) Assessments and Quizzes: 40% of final grade. Expect 1 to 2 quizzes and 1 assessment per
unit. An assessment may be a formal written test, an oral exam, a presentation or a project.
Grading Scale:
93-100% = A, 90-92% = A-, 87-89% = B+, 83-86%= B, 80-82% = B-,
77-79% = C+, 73-76% = C, 70-72% = C-, 67-69 % = D+, 63-66% = D,
60-62% = D-, 59% and below = F
Extra Help: I am available Mondays thru Thursdays from 3 to 3:30 pm if you need extra help.
Bring to Class Daily: Textbook, a folder and notebook dedicated to Spanish, Spanish workbook(7th
grade only), I-Pad(Span 3 only), pencil, a whiteboard marker, una actitud positiva.
Classroom Expectations: Operate by the Regla Dorada: “Do unto others as you would have them do
unto you." Be an active participant in all class activities. Read the front board immediately upon
entering the class and follow any instructions given there. When you hear “Buenos Días” or “Buenas
Tardes,” be quiet and listen. Follow school rules. Leave backpacks in your locker. Water bottles are
allowed, other food/drinks/candy only with permission. Electronic devices should be used only with
permission in class. If you need to leave the room during the period, use one of your three
quarterly“pasaportes”(7th/8th Grade only) and take the sombrero pass. Stay in your desks during class
discussions; wait until an appropriate time to move around. Please leave at my dismissal, not the bell.
In Case of an Absence: For every day missed, you have 1 day to make up the work. All missed
assessments should be made up during my office hours or other arranged time. Check missed work
from a friend, from your class folder at the front of the class, infinite campus, or my page on the school
website.
Late Work: Homework and Classwork turned in late(after your class period on the day assigned)
earns 50% of its original value. Turn late work in the “Tarea Tarde” box on my desk and I’ll grade it
when I have time.
Content Covered:
Grade 7: ¡Avancemos! Textbook Units 1 through 3.
Grade 8: ¡Avancemos! Textbook Units 4 through 6.
Spanish III: En Español Textbook Units 1 through 3.
A: Parents/Guardians of Spanish Students
De: Profesor Englehorn
Re: Introduction Letter
Queridos Padres y Guardianes:
Greetings from St Peter High School Spanish Department! I will be your son/daughter’s Spanish
teacher this year at St. Peter Middle and High School. In this letter, I’ll give you a little background
information about myself and introduce some class expectations.
I have been teaching at St Peter Middle/High School since the 2009-10 school year. I have over ten
years of full-time teaching experience from grades pre-Kindergarten through adults, including time in
Chicago, Guatemala, and other districts in Minnesota. I try to relate relevant stories from my travels to
students in the classroom, and to encourage them to think globally when planning for their future. My
wife is from the St. Peter area and we enjoy living and working close to family.
Please help your students be successful in Spanish this year. Some ideas to encourage Spanish in the
home are to review the classroom vocabulary with notecards or some other method, to watch Spanish
TV(especially commercials where vocabulary is repeated with contextual clues), to listen to Spanish
radio (KMSU broadcasts in Spanish on Saturdays, 107.5 from Faribault is in Spanish, and there are a
multitude of online Spanish radio stations), and to use the internet to practice listening, grammar, and
vocabulary (www.learnspanish.com is a great site, duolingo is a great App). Consider visiting Latin
restaurants(¡El Agave!), stores, local neighborhoods where Spanish is spoken, spending an immersion
weekend at Concordia Language Villages, and consider traveling to Spanish speaking countries for
additional practice. Save up money to travel with St. Peter High School students every other summer
to a Spanish speaking country—this past summer it was Costa Rica! Seek out native speakers in the
building here and practice Spanish with them. And, of course, encourage your students to do their
Spanish homework!
If you need to contact me for whatever reason this year, please email me at
denglehorn@stpeterschools.org. Grades and other Spanish class information will be linked to the
school’s website at www.stpeterschools.org. Your signatures below confirm you and your student
understand this syllabus, so please sign below and send this back to class with your student. ¡Gracias
por su tiempo! ¡Que tengan un feliz año escolar!
Profe (pronounced Pro-fay) Englehorn
Student Signature:
_______________________
Parent/Guardian Signature:
____________________________
For three homework points, read the syllabus and letter together with your parent/guardian,
have him/her sign above, and write the translation of the sentence below in English together with
him/her:
Hint: Find the translation in the letter above.
“Yo voy a ser el profesor de Español de su hijo/hija este año en la Escuela Intermedia/Secundaria de
St. Peter.” Write the translation to English below:
__________________________________________________________________________________