Overview
University High School Freshman Program
To dedicate our minds to inquiry, our hearts to empathy and to act with respect and responsibility so that we may become leaders of integrity.
General Information and Classroom Expectations
Teachers:
English: Amy Reiman, Benjamin Webb, Kelsey McGreer (intern)
World Studies: Kate Pole, Kirsten Hany, Sara Neiman, (intern)
Biology: Maggy Gleason, Steve Evans, Kari Koppers (intern)
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) Act with Empathy. Empathy is seeing a situation from another person’s perspective. The most thoughtful and mature thing you can do before acting or speaking is to consider the subject from another person’s point of view. Walk the hallway in their shoes.
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
- Bring your netbook to school every day with a fully-charged battery.
- 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 be reported to and handled by the Assistant Principal.
- At all times adhere to the Appropriate Use Policy outlined in your handbooks on P53-56. Violations of the Appropriate Use Policy will be reported to the Assistant Principal.
- Do not communicate with anyone electronically inside or outside the classroom without explicit permission from your teacher.
- Students may have cell phones, but they should not be seen or heard within the classroom. If a freshman program teacher sees or hears a cell phone in the midst of class they will take it away for the rest of the day. Students may get the phone back from that teacher or the assistant principal.
GRADING:
The grades in Freshman English reflect a student’s level of mastery of the skills laid out in the course syllabus. While participation, effort, and behavior will likely have an impact on the final grade, they will not be directly factored into it. The largest portion of students’ reported grade will reflect scores earned on summative assessments (Tests, papers, quizzes, labs, etc.).
Grading Scale:
90-100%=A
80-89%=B
70-79%=C
60-69%=D
59% and below=F
RE-DO Policy:
Despite the fact that students are moved through grade levels in large groups with their peers, each student learns at an individual pace. When they demonstrate mastery of a skill is not nearly as crucial as the fact that they demonstrate mastery at some point within the given grading period. Furthermore, learning is recursive and often times clumsy, causing students to regress with a skill before acquiring more sophisticated mastery. A student’s grade should reflect their actual mastery of a skill, not their errors and struggles during the learning process, which may, at times, occur on a summative assessment. Therefore, students will be provided the opportunity to re-do summative assessments according to the criteria set forth by each teacher, provided they do not attempt to manipulate the instructor or take unfair advantage of the system. Individual teachers will decide their process for re-dos of summative assessments. The goal is to maintain a respectful, positive learning environment in which students can struggle with new concepts and skills without being penalized for their struggles.
HOMEWORK:
In the Freshman Program classes, homework will count for 0% of, but not more than 10% of, a student’s grade. Grades are not compensation for effort given on an assignment. Instead, grades should report a student’s mastery level of the standards for a given content area—a grade should indicate what a student KNOWS. Homework is an important opportunity for students to practice and receive feedback on their acquisition of the skills being taught in class. Completion of homework is crucial to a student’s academic development; however, student efforts should not be penalized in the form of a grade assigned to their formative efforts.
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. All homework is posted on your Blackboard Calendar. If you are aware of an absence in advance, ask your teacher about missed work ahead of time. 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 given according to the School Policy outlined in the Student Handbook.
E-mail Etiquette:
Use the following etiquette when e-mailing a teacher. Any e-mails that do not adhere to this policy will be returned to the student for revision.
- Always use your ilstu (webmail account)
- Have a back up e-mail with an appropriate, professional tag name in case your webmail account is not functioning. “Webmail was down” is not an acceptable excuse for a late or missing assignment.
- Every e-mail must include a subject header
- Always include a salutation and the teacher’s name
- Use Standard English: punctuate and capitalize appropriately
- Do not use texting language
- Always sign your name at the bottom of the e-mail.
- Be courteous and respectful
- Know when it is appropriate to send an e-mail regarding your concerns and when you need to talk to the teacher face-to-face.