CLASS
POLICY
Bienvenue au
monde francophone du Lycée Metro! My goal is to help you learn French in a comfortable and
enjoyable atmosphere through challenging and productive activities which use as
much French as possible. What is your
role in accomplishing this goal? This
policy should help you answer that question.
What You Should Bring to Class Each
Day
A notebook. You will be taking notes, as well as working with numerous
handouts. While a notebook with pockets will work, previous students
have found that a loose-leaf notebook is the best way to organize all of this
material.
A writing utensil
All of the notes you have been taking
all year. These serve as your reference source during activities, so simply
having paper on which to take notes for the day is not sufficient.
Homework
Expect homework for every class meeting. Each assignment is carefully designed to
help you memorize new material effectively.
Missing homework impedes your learning process. Missing homework points severely affects
your grade.
Follow the instructions carefully.
Write down the instructions and
examples in a specific spot in your notebook.
I only repeat homework instructions
outside of class for students who were absent.
I will not accept your homework if you
arrive tardy to class and homework has already been collected (unless you have
been detained by a faculty member, cab or bus.)
I will not accept your homework if you
work on it during class the day it is due.
Allow sufficient time in your weekly
schedule to complete your assignment carefully, before the due date.
I do not usually allow late
homework. Don’t leave it at home.
I will, however, allow you to miss one
homework assignment per semester if you have an emergency.
(NOTE: This does not include the “Use the new
vocabulary words [or expressions] three times each in context” assignment, nor
any other worth over 15 points.)
Homework is usually worth 10,
15, 20 or 25 points.
Daily Objectives and Your Notebook
The class objectives are
written on the board each day in French. They serve as both a teaching tool and
an organizational tool. You will encounter new French words and expressions in
the objectives, and you are expected to memorize these on your own. The objectives
also help you locate things more efficiently in your notes.
Your
first required activity each day is to copy the daily objectives into your
notebook.
You
will have pop quizzes on the material used repeatedly in the objectives.
Taking notes is essential. I consider an organized notebook to be an
essential learning tool.
If it pertains to French, and you
don’t know it, write it down. You should not need to ask me whether or not you
need to write something down.
Don’t rely on your memory alone. Examples are the best illustration of new
information. You should write down
examples of things I say, as well as those that I write on the board.
Your 50 Bonus Points
(and how to keep them!)
Each student will begin each semester with
50 points simply for taking notes every day, writing the objectives every
day, getting notes you missed for any absence, keeping track of handouts, and
arriving on time. I will do unannounced
notebook checks during class at my discretion.
If I notice days with missed notes, missed objectives, or lack of
organization, you will lose points. The
amount of points lost will be 5 to 10 points per infraction, at my discretion,
according to the amount of notes you are missing. If you come tardy to class, you will lose 5 points for each tardy (including coming back tardy from a
break). If you neglect to return to
class with some required handout, worksheet, or paper to be signed by a parent,
you will lose 5 points. If you take daily notes, write the objectives for each
class, and keep your notes organized, you won’t need to worry about this
grade.
Attendance and
Missed Notes
When you miss class, you miss vital opportunities
to practice the material you are trying to learn. You also miss explanations of
the nuances of using the new material, which you can’t get just from copying
someone’s notes. When you are tardy to
class you miss instructions for activities and you disrupt the concentration of
your classmates.
Metro accepts only phone calls from your
parent/guardian before 9:00 a.m. as verification of your absence. Do not wait to bring a note the day you
return.
Any assignments due or assigned the day of
an un-verified absence receive ZERO points. This includes tests, quizzes,
homework and in-class assignments.
Your overall class grade will be reduced
by 10 raw-score points for every
absence which exceeds the limits described in Metro’s Attendance Policy
(unless the absence falls under the emergency categories and is cleared by an
administrator).
Immediately get notes for the class
you missed. You are required to have those
with you by the next class meeting you attend. Make arrangements by phone with someone to get a photocopy of
their notes before coming to class. Failure to do this will result in a loss of
10 raw-score points to your overall class grade.
NOTE: All teachers at Metro adhere to the school-wide attendance
policy. All Metro students are
responsible for knowing the particulars of this policy.
Exams and
Quizzes
Prepare yourself well for exams and quizzes. They are worth a large number of
points.
Study
by writing. This is a much more
effective method than just looking over your notes repeatedly.
Study
every day. Daily practice is
essential to help you memorize.
Last-minute “cramming” is not effective for long-term retention of
information.
Try not to miss an exam. Make-up tests are difficult to
schedule.
If
you miss an exam, it is
your responsibility to see me immediately upon returning to school (not just to
class, but to school) to schedule a time to make up the exam.
You will never make up an exam during our class period.
Expect
your make-up time to be during your study period, on the day you return to
school. Be prepared.
If
you miss your assigned make-up time, you receive a ZERO for the exam.
Grading
You receive a cumulative grade at the 5th,
10th, 15th and 20th weeks of each of the two 20-week semesters. That means that you start fresh at the
beginning of each semester. It also
means that everything you do all semester long affects your total grade.
Your grade is figured as a percentage of the
total points possible. For example, if
there has been 300 points worth of work, and you earn a total of 248 points,
your grade at that point is 83%. I use
the standard scale for A, B, C and F:
A=100-89.5
B=89.4-79.5 C=79.4-69.5 F=69.4 and below
Behavior
I accept a certain amount of informality for the
sake of keeping the class comfortable for everyone. The purpose of class is for you to learn. It is imperative that
you remember that there is a hierarchy in the classroom. It is I who must have the final word on how
things are run and what kind of behavior is acceptable. Class must be run in a manner which allows
everyone to get the most out of class. Here are the guidelines I must insist
that you follow:
No rudeness of any kind, at any
time--not to me, not to other students. Period.
No disrespect of the teacher or other
students through your words, actions, manner or tone of voice
Do not enter class in a disruptive
manner
Do not refuse to heed my directives to
cease any action
Do not joke about being reprimanded,
nor about others being reprimanded
Do not speak to others during
class in a way which distracts anyone in class
Punishment for these behaviors will include being
sent out of class. Should this happen, any
work due or assigned that class period will receive a zero, including quizzes
or tests. Further disciplinary measures may follow. Thanks in advance for your understanding that we must have rules
in order for class to run smoothly.
Extra Help
If you feel that you are becoming confused, come
ask me for help, or ask a classmate who seems to understand. Remember that doing your homework,
participating in class, and taking good notes are the best ways to help keep
yourself from becoming confused. I am
always happy to spend extra time with students who first try to help themselves
this way. I also suggest study groups
as a means of self-help. Tutoring can
be arranged, but doing homework, participating, taking good notes, and studying
with others usually alleviate the need for tutoring.
Et ça, c’est tout! Bon courage!
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