18th
11 -
2009
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no comment »
Our freshman will be participating in “Greek Week”. This is an exciting cross-curricular tradition at University High School in which students explore ancient Greek culture from a variety of perspectives. One of the important features of the week will be a number of guest lectures about Greek philosophy and culture. Another exciting feature of the week will be the “Greek Field Day”, in which students will compete as teams in a number of Olympic inspired events on Tuesday, November 24. Much like the Olympics students will be awarded prizes for these competitions. Also, like in the ancient Olympics, we would like to follow our field day with a great Greek feast.
We are working with a local Greek restaurant to have lamb Gyros and fries delivered to school on Tuesday as our “Greek Feast,” and we invite all of our students to enjoy this special meal. The cost of the “feast” will be $6.50. Students will receive one gyro, fries and something to drink. Of course, students are not required to eat the meal, but because of the special nature of our field day, students will be eating lunch as a picnic and WILL NOT be permitted to buy a school lunch as they may normally otherwise do. As such we would ask that students either bring their lunch or purchase the “Greek Feast” by Friday, November 20.
Again the cost of the meal is $6.50 and students can pay with cash or a check made out to University High School. We would appreciate if students could submit their order for this meal by Friday morning so that we can communicate a complete order to our caterers.
Here is looking forward to a great Greek Week!
The Freshman Program
26th
08 -
2009
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no comment »
Announcement:
The reading for extra credit book discussion on Uglies by Scott Westerfeld will take place in the library on Wednesday, NOV 18th. We will meet in the library at 3:15 and the discussion will run until 4 pm. You must bring at least 4 discussion questions based on your reading of the book. We will begin with a game/activity, then quickly move into a student-led discussion. Please note that the quality of the discussion on the book determines the number of extra credit points you will receive (up to 15 pts). Discussion questions are open-ended and demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the book. Discussion questions often prompt comparison to other books, films, and events.
University High School Freshman Program
General Information and Classroom Expectations
Teachers:
English: Brian Conant & Amy Reiman
World Studies: Kate Pole, Char Lehnen, Kevin Schrop
Biology: Karen Travis, Steve Evans
Freshman Office: Room 301
Welcome to your freshman year at University High School! Your teachers in the program are excited to have you as students. In order to make your year enjoyable and successful, your teachers wish to share with you some helpful information, as well as some classroom rules and expectations that will be the same for each of your freshman classes.
Character Expectations: Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, & Empathy
1) Respect your classmates and yourself. Treat people as they should be treated, with dignity and respect. Be courteous. Be tolerant of ideas that differ from your own and understand that every student’s voice is valued in the classroom. Respect yourself! Respect for yourself comes easily when you know you have put forth your best effort and met your responsibilities.
2) Be Responsible. Responsibility includes being prepared, completing assigned tasks, and fulfilling your commitments. Come to class with pens, textbooks, and notebooks and ready to engage the tasks and discussions set out for you.
3) Have Integrity. Do what is RIGHT! Integrity is a quality you develop by adhering to moral principles even when nobody seems to be watching. It requires honesty; do and say nothing that deceives others. As your integrity grows, so does the trust others place in you. The more choices you make based on integrity, the more it will positively affect your relationships with family, friends, and teachers. Ultimately, integrity influences how much you respect yourself.
4) Empathy is the ability to see through another’s eyes and to accept that person without judgment. Empathy is putting yourself in another’s shoes and demonstrating compassion. Acceptance rather is key to an empathetic view of your peers as every person has value.
General Rules of Conduct
• Get to class on Time! Each teacher will use his/her own discretion as to what constitutes a tardy. See the Student handbook for the school Tardy Policy.
• Have books, homework, and writing utensils out and ready at the start of each class. Bring your Student Handbook/Agenda to class every day.
• You must have your Student ID card with you at all times
• No food, drink, or candy is allowed in the classroom. Food is not permitted beyond the Lounge on the first floor.
• Do not write on the desks/chairs.
• Do your own work. Any attempts at cheating and/or plagiarism will result in no credit being given for that particular assignment.
• Do not access any social networking websites using school computers. The use of social networking websites is forbidden by the appropriate use policy.
• Do not communicate with anyone electronically inside the classroom without explicit permission from your teacher.
• Students may have cell phones, but they should not be seen or heard during class. If a freshman program teacher sees a student using their cell phone during class he/she will follow the mobile device policy detailed in the handbook.
Assignments and Late Work policy
All assignments are due on the date indicated in class, unless prior arrangements are made with the teacher. The penalties for late papers and assignments (major or minor) are as follows:
1) Handed in on time/in class = Full Credit
2) Handed in after class, but before class the next day will result in your grade being lowered by one letter grade (10%) off the final grade. This work cannot be completed during class; use your time to complete these tasks.
3) For each subsequent day that an assignment is late, an additional 10% will be taken off of the final grade
4) Once an assignment is one week late, it will no longer be accepted and a zero will be given for that work.
Please keep in mind that this penalty list for late work is the same for all your Freshman Program classes, and all teachers will follow it. Any exceptions to this late-work policy must be approved by the teacher.
Your grade will be based on tests, projects, reports, essays, quizzes, and other assigned written and oral work. Your grade will also reflect your participation, attitude and effort in class.
Grade Scale:
90-100 = A
80-89 = B
70-79 = C
60-69 = D
Below 60 = F
Make-Up Work:
We cannot stress enough that it is the STUDENT’S RESPONSIBILITY to find out what the assignment may be when he/she is absent from class. If you are aware of an absence in advance, ask your teacher about missed work ahead of time. Most teachers within the Freshman Program maintain a class shell in Blackboard in which assignments will be posted regularly. Please see the Student Handbook for the amount of time given for make-up work. Extended absences may fall under special circumstances, which will then be agreed upon between teacher and student.
Make-up Tests should be taken during a free period or after school hours at the convenience of the teacher. The amount of time you have to make-up a test will be at the discretion of each individual teacher. The teacher is under no obligation to provide assistance or allow you to make-up a test in the event of an unexcused absence.
E-mail Policy:
E-mail is a very useful and efficient way to contact teachers and pose questions. Individual teachers will specify when they can be reached via e-mail; pay close attention to their hours, especially if you have a question about an assignment. If you do not complete an assignment, regardless of questions, the late policy will still apply. Always complete work to the best of your ability. Because e-mail is such a prevalent form of communication, it is important that we utilize this medium effectively and respectfully. Follow the Freshman Program guidelines for communicating via e-mail: Always use your ilstu account (webmail). If webmail is down, utilize a backup e-mail account. Make sure your e-mail tag name is school appropriate. Every e-mail must include a subject header. Always include a salutation including the teacher’s name. Use Standard English: punctuate and capitalize appropriately. No texting language. Always sign your name at the bottom of each e-mail.