Welcome to the 2015-2016 school year!
Honors Academic Decathlon
Kerri.Mathew@husd.org (480)-279-7300
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Course Description Academic Decathlon is a nationwide academic competition that fosters academic
excellence in high schools. This honors elective course is open to all students regardless of GPA or grade level.
The goal of the course is to prepare for competition against other schools, and all students will be required to
compete at least once throughout the school year (most likely in November). This honors-level course carries a
weighted grade; as such, the material will be challenging and expectations will be high. Students will be
required to work well independently as well as in groups.
SCIENCE: The science topic will be an introduction to ecology and will include case studies and examples
relevant to India.
*LITERATURE: The literature curriculum will include critical reading, one long work of literature, and
selected shorter works. The long work of literature will be the novel Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya.
*Students will need to purchase a PAPER (not electronic) copy of this novel. ISBN 9780451531728
It is available for $6.95 from Amazon.com
ART: The art curriculum will include a section on art fundamentals and will largely focus on the art and
architecture of India.
MUSIC: The music curriculum will include basic elements of music theory and will focus on the music of
India.
SOCIAL SCIENCE: The social science curriculum will cover the history of modern India.
ECONOMICS: The economics curriculum will cover fundamental economic concepts, microeconomics, and
macroeconomics and will also include a thematic section on the Indian economy.
MATHEMATICS: The mathematics curriculum will cover permutations and combinations, algebra, and
statistics.
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Materials:
2” three-ring binder
Dividers
Binder pouch for supplies
Notebook paper
Personal stapler
Blue or black pens
Pencils
Highlighters
Important Dates:
9/25/15
Basha Speech/Interview Invitational
11/??/15
Student Clinic @ ASU
11/06-07/15
Hamilton Invitational
1/??/16
Campo Verde Invitational
2/5/15-2/6/15
Regional Competition
2/29/16
State Essay
3/11/15-3/12/15* State Competition @ASU East
(all competitors)
(optional)
(all competitors)
(12 competitors)
(9 competitors)
(9 competitors)
(9 competitors)
*State falls during Spring Break. Students who are on track to compete in State should plan
accordingly.
Required Dress for Competitions
Students will need one professional dress outfit for the speech and interview competitions. This outfit should be
modest, conservative in color, and neat.
Class Expectations and Rules
I.
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100-90
89-80
79-70
69-60
59-0
A
B
C
D
F
(5.0 GPA)
(4.0 GPA)
(3.0 GPA)
(1.0 GPA)
Grading Policy:
Grade categories are:
o Assessments 40%
o Practice and classwork 30%
o Final Exam 20%
o Collegiality and Team Focus 10%
Semester grades will be rounded up to a higher letter grade only in the case that the final percentage is
within .5% of higher letter grade.
Zeroes will be entered for assignments that are not submitted; thus, missing work will significantly
impact a student’s grade.
Late work may be submitted no more than one week after the due date and will be penalized 20% of the
earned grade.
Test retakes or corrections and assignment re-dos are not offered. In select instances at the discretion of
the teacher, an alternative, more rigorous assignment may be offered in lieu of a retake/redo.
At least two grades per week will be entered.
Parents and students can check grades online through ParentVue/Student Vue.
II.
School and Classroom Policy
Absences:
Definition: An absence is defined as a student's non-attendance in the student's assigned classroom during an
assigned period. The difference between an excused absence and an unexcused absence is parents have followed
procedures to excuse a student by calling the attendance line. However, the accumulation of excused and unexcused
occurrences will result in potential consequences. ALL absences accrue towards the limit of 10 per semester.
Higley Unified School District has implemented a limit of ten absences per semester. If the student acquires ten or
more absences during a semester, the student will lose credit in those classes. To earn credit while auditing a class,
the student must submit an appeal to administration, attend all classes after the appeal is presented, and pass the
semester final exam with a minimum of 75%. Subsequent appeals can be appealed to the School Board.
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Tardy policy will be enforced. Having “checked in” or dropped off a backpack in the classroom does not mean the
student is on time for class. Students who are not in the classroom when the bell rings will be marked tardy.
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Students will have as many days to make up work as were missed. In case of extended absence,
alternative arrangements may be made with the teacher.
It is the student’s responsibility to find out what he or she missed due to absence and to make
arrangements to make up the work. Resources for finding out what was missed include the teacher’s
web page, information written on the board, other students, and the teacher by email or in person.
Do not approach the teacher during class about absent work. Find an appropriate time outside of class or
send an email.
Projects due on the date of an absence are still due, even if the student is absent from class. Make-up
time does not apply to work assigned prior to the absence. Arrangements should be made to ensure the
work is submitted on time. Consideration may be given for extenuating circumstances. (Extenuating
circumstances do not include running out of printer ink, suddenly discovering a faulty printer, having
computer issues, the Internet going down at your home, staying up until two in the morning only to have
your computer crash, etc.).
Emailed assignments submitted on or before the due date and time will be accepted. An assignment
submitted via e-mail will not be accepted after the start of the class period on the date that it is due, and
showing me a “sent” receipt to the wrong email address will not be accepted. E-mail failure does not
equate an extension on an assignment. Allow yourself plenty of time to be sure that the assignment was
properly sent.
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Classroom Environment:
To maintain cleanliness and an academic environment, the following district rules will be enforced in my
classroom:
 Academic Decathlon is a team competition. Students will be required to work positively and
productively independently and with their peers. Students will often work in groups not of one’s
choosing. Students will be expected to contribute to a collegial classroom environment, and behaviors
and attitudes that are detrimental the environment will be handled as disciplinary issues and will impact
a student’s grade. These behaviors include but are not limited to:
o Talking over each other, sidebar conversations, interrupting, heckling, or otherwise
disrespecting each other.
o Listening to music, checking the cell phone, watching videos, or otherwise using media to avoid
or ignore what is happening in the classroom or what one is supposed to be working on at a
given time.
o Refusing to participate in an activity.
o Refusing to work with one’s peers in a positive manner.
o Deliberately undermining or derailing classroom work.
o Using the restroom, nurse’s office, water fountain, etc., in order to avoid being in the classroom.
 Absolutely no food or drink, except for clear water, allowed in the classroom, and students are not
allowed to chew gum or candy in the classroom.
 All students, girls included, will be asked to remove hats while in the classroom.
 Cell phones are to be turned off and put away unless students are asked to use them for educational
purposes.
Diversity:
All individuals have a right to an educational environment free from bias, prejudice and bigotry. As members of the
Higley High School educational community, students are expected to refrain from participating in acts of harassment
that are designed to demean another student’s race, gender, ethnicity, religious preference, disability or sexual
orientation.
Classroom Time:
Students are expected to be in class during the entire class period except in case of an emergency. Students who
need to leave to see the nurse, use the restroom, run an errand, etc…must ask for and receive permission before
they leave, sign out on the classroom log, and return as quickly as possible. Students will rarely be given
permission to leave in the first or last ten minutes of the class period. Disciplinary action will be taken for
students who abuse their time out of the classroom.
Disciplinary Action:
In the case of a behavioral or academic concern, the following steps will be taken:
1. Conference with student (possible parent communication)
2. Parent communication
3. Assign After School Detention
4. Parent conference (may involve counselor/administrator)
5. Referral to administration
Assignment Expectations:
 MLA format must be used for all work. Include the following information in the top left corner of each
assignment.
Your Name
Ms. Mathew
English – Class Period
Day Month Year
 All final writing assignments must be typed unless otherwise specified.
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Papers should be clean, undamaged, and unfolded. Fuzzy notebook edges should be removed.
Stapled pages should be stapled once, along the left-hand edge of the page.
Write in complete sentences, always. Grammar and spelling matter, always.
Complete all assignments in full. Partial work will not necessarily receive partial credit.
Maintain academic honesty at all times. Plagiarized assignments will earn a zero.
Computer and Internet Requirements:
Assignments for this course will frequently require computer, Internet, and printer access. The HHS Library
does have these resources available, but students will not be given class time to go to the library for computer
use. Computer, Internet, or printer issues are not accepted excuses for failure to submit work or produce it
according to the requirements of the assignment.