Classroom syllabus
Dear Parents,
I am delighted that your child is in my class this year. We can all look forward to many exciting and rewarding experiences as the year progresses. Your child will learn various 21st-century skills in order to compete with other students on a global stage. The 21st-century skills are a set of abilities that students need to develop in order to succeed in the information age. The 21st-century learning skills are often called the 4 C’s: critical thinking, creative thinking, communicating, and collaborating. These skills help students learn, and so they are vital to success in school and beyond.
Critical Thinking:
Critical thinking is focused, careful analysis of something to better understand it. When people speak of “left brain” activity, they are usually referring to critical thinking.
Creative Thinking:
Creative thinking is expansive, open-ended invention and discovery of possibilities. When people speak of “right brain” activity, they most often mean creative thinking.
Communicating:
Communicating is the process of transferring a thought from one mind to others and, in return, receiving thoughts back. Communicating allows minds to tune to each other, thinking together.
Collaborating:
Collaborating is working together with others to achieve a common goal. In this age of social media and crowd sourcing, collaboration is more important than ever.
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Self Reflection:
As I firmly believe that lifelong success depends on self-discipline, I have developed a Discipline Plan that gives every student the opportunity to manage his/her own behavior first. Please visit www.classroomdojo.com for more information. Once your account is created, you will have access to your child’s weekly behavior report with specific information on their Character Count pillars.
Character Counts:
1. Trustworthiness
2. Respect
3. Responsibility
4. Fairness
5. Caring
6. Citizenship
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Homework Philosophy: Homework is generally a reinforcement or extension of what we have been learning in class. My goal is to develop a sense of responsibility, establish time management, routine and initiate an ownership of learning within your child. You can become an active part in this development by following up and making certain that your child does their assignments on a regular basis. Please do not do your child’s assignments for them. This will not benefit your child in the long run; it also is reflected in their assessments. But please do guide and model for your child while you interact in homework together. In addition, all assignments will not be graded as it is used to reinforce a skill that was taught in class.
Homework Policy.
1. Homework will be given in the areas of English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. Students will complete all assignments inside their designated composition books or on digital format. Furthermore, students will be required to organize their notebooks or online for inspection at the end of each month.
2. Students will need to log into their Google Classroom account to access all of their homework.
3. Classwork/Homework is worth 30-40%% of your child's grade
4. Students will need access to a computer to complete several classwork, homework, and projects.
5. Late work will not be accepted unless a written note is provided by a parent/guardian.
6. You can check your child's academic progress by downloading the Rowland Unified School District application (Homelink). You will need a username and password from our front office.
I am delighted that your child is in my class this year. We can all look forward to many exciting and rewarding experiences as the year progresses. Your child will learn various 21st-century skills in order to compete with other students on a global stage. The 21st-century skills are a set of abilities that students need to develop in order to succeed in the information age. The 21st-century learning skills are often called the 4 C’s: critical thinking, creative thinking, communicating, and collaborating. These skills help students learn, and so they are vital to success in school and beyond.
Critical Thinking:
Critical thinking is focused, careful analysis of something to better understand it. When people speak of “left brain” activity, they are usually referring to critical thinking.
Creative Thinking:
Creative thinking is expansive, open-ended invention and discovery of possibilities. When people speak of “right brain” activity, they most often mean creative thinking.
Communicating:
Communicating is the process of transferring a thought from one mind to others and, in return, receiving thoughts back. Communicating allows minds to tune to each other, thinking together.
Collaborating:
Collaborating is working together with others to achieve a common goal. In this age of social media and crowd sourcing, collaboration is more important than ever.
__________________________________________________________________________
Self Reflection:
As I firmly believe that lifelong success depends on self-discipline, I have developed a Discipline Plan that gives every student the opportunity to manage his/her own behavior first. Please visit www.classroomdojo.com for more information. Once your account is created, you will have access to your child’s weekly behavior report with specific information on their Character Count pillars.
Character Counts:
1. Trustworthiness
2. Respect
3. Responsibility
4. Fairness
5. Caring
6. Citizenship
__________________________________________________________________________
Homework Philosophy: Homework is generally a reinforcement or extension of what we have been learning in class. My goal is to develop a sense of responsibility, establish time management, routine and initiate an ownership of learning within your child. You can become an active part in this development by following up and making certain that your child does their assignments on a regular basis. Please do not do your child’s assignments for them. This will not benefit your child in the long run; it also is reflected in their assessments. But please do guide and model for your child while you interact in homework together. In addition, all assignments will not be graded as it is used to reinforce a skill that was taught in class.
Homework Policy.
1. Homework will be given in the areas of English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. Students will complete all assignments inside their designated composition books or on digital format. Furthermore, students will be required to organize their notebooks or online for inspection at the end of each month.
2. Students will need to log into their Google Classroom account to access all of their homework.
3. Classwork/Homework is worth 30-40%% of your child's grade
4. Students will need access to a computer to complete several classwork, homework, and projects.
5. Late work will not be accepted unless a written note is provided by a parent/guardian.
6. You can check your child's academic progress by downloading the Rowland Unified School District application (Homelink). You will need a username and password from our front office.
7. It is each student's responsibility to manage his or her time to complete all assignments on time and with care. Mr. You does not provide extra credit or assignments for students who chooses to not do their part in taking responsibility for their own education.
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Promptness: School begins at 8:00 a.m. Please see that your child is present at least 10 minutes prior so that they have a chance to settle in and begin the day.
Birthdays and Parties: A birthday is a special day for your child; however I ask that you refrain from bringing in goodies and treats. An alternative idea is to donate a book in your child’s name to the class library. This way they can share with the class and it gives them the opportunity to give rather than receive. Finally, birthday invitations must be for all students and not for a selected few. We will plan on parties for certain holidays. Parent’s help is always a treat!
Library Cards: Take your child to the public library and get them a card if they do not already have one, then visit as often as possible. IT’S FREE!
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Grading:
I am determined to be committed to the excellence of your child and to provide a less-stressful assessment and grading experience. I want to surround your child with all the necessary measures of completing goals and assessments to prepare them for 21st-century skills and to ensure a healthy approach of accountability throughout their learning experiences.
I begin by providing grades that explicitly align with the learning goals. This will be appeared in the form of a rubric which students will be asked to help produce. This will then give them a chance to know and understand what is being asked of them. They will also feel a sense of accomplishment and accountability during the creation of the rubric and at the end of the project being assessed.
I will use four levels of proficiency in the grading rubric. The student has the possibility of receiving the following: Exceeds Expectation (4), Met Expectation (3), Approaching Expectation (2), and did not meet expectation (1). These four levels will gain insight as to how well your student knows, comprehends and can do the content being assessed. There will be pre-assessments done at the beginning of each unit, which will not be graded, but will allow for both you and me to see your child’s growth at the beginning, during, and the end of the unit.
I will not be grading everything your child completes in class or at home. This means, a lot of their homework is required to do, but will not all be graded, as we feel homework is a reflection of learning, and it is expected that students make mistakes, and can learn from them. Therefore, homework will receive only an effort grade. I ask that the homework that is sent home with your child be work that depicts only their own work, but it is encouraged that you help them if they need further understanding of the directions.
__________________________________________________________________________
Promptness: School begins at 8:00 a.m. Please see that your child is present at least 10 minutes prior so that they have a chance to settle in and begin the day.
Birthdays and Parties: A birthday is a special day for your child; however I ask that you refrain from bringing in goodies and treats. An alternative idea is to donate a book in your child’s name to the class library. This way they can share with the class and it gives them the opportunity to give rather than receive. Finally, birthday invitations must be for all students and not for a selected few. We will plan on parties for certain holidays. Parent’s help is always a treat!
Library Cards: Take your child to the public library and get them a card if they do not already have one, then visit as often as possible. IT’S FREE!
__________________________________________________________________________
Grading:
I am determined to be committed to the excellence of your child and to provide a less-stressful assessment and grading experience. I want to surround your child with all the necessary measures of completing goals and assessments to prepare them for 21st-century skills and to ensure a healthy approach of accountability throughout their learning experiences.
I begin by providing grades that explicitly align with the learning goals. This will be appeared in the form of a rubric which students will be asked to help produce. This will then give them a chance to know and understand what is being asked of them. They will also feel a sense of accomplishment and accountability during the creation of the rubric and at the end of the project being assessed.
I will use four levels of proficiency in the grading rubric. The student has the possibility of receiving the following: Exceeds Expectation (4), Met Expectation (3), Approaching Expectation (2), and did not meet expectation (1). These four levels will gain insight as to how well your student knows, comprehends and can do the content being assessed. There will be pre-assessments done at the beginning of each unit, which will not be graded, but will allow for both you and me to see your child’s growth at the beginning, during, and the end of the unit.
I will not be grading everything your child completes in class or at home. This means, a lot of their homework is required to do, but will not all be graded, as we feel homework is a reflection of learning, and it is expected that students make mistakes, and can learn from them. Therefore, homework will receive only an effort grade. I ask that the homework that is sent home with your child be work that depicts only their own work, but it is encouraged that you help them if they need further understanding of the directions.
Grading Standards:
Classwork/Homework - 40%
Participation/Discussion - 30%
Test/Projects - 30%
90%-100% = A
81%-89% - B
70%-79% = C
60%-69% = D
0%-59% = F
Thank you for your understanding of my grading policy and, of course, if you have any questions or concerns, please send me an email.
Thank you for your understanding of my grading policy and, of course, if you have any questions or concerns, please send me an email.