Policies and Procedures of Mrs. McMinn’sClass

Honors English I

Materials: You will need to bring to class each day:

A folder or binder

A notebook or loose leaf

A writing utensil

Highlighters

A school agenda to record homework

Curriculum:

Students will be reading the following novels this year:

  • First They Killed My Father by Loung Ung (Summer Reading)
  • The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd (Summer Reading)
  • To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  • Lord of the Flies by William Golding
  • Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
  • Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
  • Antigone by Sophocles
  • Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
  • Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
  • The Odyssey by Homer (Excerpts will be taken from the school textbook)

For more on curriculum, please see the course syllabus.

Classroom Rules:

  1. Be prepared for class each day with a sharpened pencil or writing utensil and classroom material.
  2. Treat all classmates and your teacher with respect.
  3. Try your hardest on all assignments. Your full-time job is that of a student, and I anticipate you to take this job seriously.

Cell Phone and Electronic Device Policy:

All cell phones and electronic devices must be out of sight during class.

Tardy Policy:

More than 30 minutes late to this year-long course is considered an absence. More than 10 minutes late without a note is considered cutting lass.

TCR’s Consequences for tardies to an individual class states the following:

1st tardy:Warning

2nd tardy:Warning

3rd tardy:Warning

4th tardy:Lunch detention

5th tardy:One period ISS during that class (assigned by administrator) PLUS loss of parking for 1 week*

6th tardy:1 Full-day of ISS PLUS loss of parking for 1 weeks*

7th tardy:2 Full-days of ISS PLUS loss of parking for 2 weeks*

8th tardy:3 Full-days of ISS PLUS loss of parking for 3 weeks*

9th tardy:One day OSS PLUS loss of parking for remainder of semester*

Absences:

Students may have up to five absences in this year-long course before they must attend summer school.

Make UpPolicy and Missing Work:

Students have three days following an absence to turn in missing work. Absence make-up work can be found in the absence binder, located at the front of the room. If not absent, late work is not accepted. This includes major essays and projects.

Format on class assignments: All writing assignments will be written in MLA format. The following format will be placed in the upper left-hand corner of all writing assignments:

Your Name

Teacher’s Name

Class Name

Date

  • Incorrect format earns you five points off

Extra Credit: Each marking period, I will give an extra credit opportunity. This will typically involve reading an additional novel that thematically connects to the one we are studying.

Bathroom:

Raise your hand when you need to use the restroom. Do not abuse the privilege by going every day at the same time or else you will be given a set number of bathroom passes.

HallPass:

Every time you leave the Freshman Academy hallway, I will write you a hall pass.

Grading Scale

I use a weighted grading scale:

Essays count 4 times

Tests count 3 times

Quizzes count 2 times

Homework and daily assignments count 1 time

For example, let’s look at Jane Doe’s grades:

Essay: 92 (worth four grades)= 368

Novel Test: 80 (worth three grades) =240

Vocab Quiz:95 (worth two grades) =190

Daily Grade: 95 (worth one grade) = 95

8930 points / 10 grades = 89

SMART Period: SMART period occurs each day from 9:30-10:00. The days my classroom will be open for SMART period are ______and ______. If your grade drops to a D or below, it is school policy that you attend SMART period for remediation until your grade improves.

Communication: Please, talk to me if you have a problem with homework, assignments, or need additional help. I am available every morning at 7:30AM and after school until 3:30PM. I want to help! 

Parents, if you need to reach me, I check my email daily: . You can also call the school at 654-1765 (ext. 3124). I do not check my voicemail regularly, so if you need to contact me and do not email please leave a message with a secretary, or you can even send a note through your child. My planning period is 4th period, from 1:30 – 3:00PM. Please make sure you receive your child’s Parent Portal log in; I will update grades weekly for you to see.