Mr. Pandolfini's background and education:

CLASS MISSION STATEMENT

The focus of this class is to prepare the student for what follows high school by building and improving upon three key areas:  critical thinking, problem solving, and communication skills.  Through the analysis of literature and evaluating information students will develop their critical thinking skills; working with others and balancing a varied workload will address their ability to solve problems; research, writing, public speaking, drama, and class discussion will strengthen communication skills. These activities will all take place in a classroom setting that is designed to balance challenging work with a welcoming and mutually respectful learning environment.

A Special Note for Seniors:

12th Grade College Preparatory English is designed in both curriculum and classroom structure to prepare the college-bound student for the requirements and rigor of a four year university.  With that goal in mind, students are asked to take personal responsibility for their success in this class.  The following rules will help the student understand what is required.

• Assignments are due on the date assigned whether the student is in class or not.  Students have the option of emailing completed assignments before the due date if they expect to be absent.

• Assignments are accepted one day late at 15 points off.  After that, assignments will not be accepted.

• There is no makeup work in class.  If an assignment has not been completed without a good reason it will be graded as a zero.

• Good reasons for missing assignments are a death in the family-with a note, or an illness-also with a note.

• There is no extra credit work at any time or for any reason.  Much thought and planning goes into the assignments given in class as part of the curriculum; students should complete those assignments.

• The most significant grade in senior English is The Research Paper and its steps.  Typically, the steps to the paper occur in second quarter and are worth half the grades of that quarter.  The Research Paper itself is part of the third quarter grade and is about half the grades of that quarter.  As a result, the entire project is one quarter of the year's grade.

Class Information and Responsibilities for Mr. Pandolfini's Classes:

2.      Come to class prepared.  This means English books, binder, pens. These items will not be provided in class.

Intolerance or disrespect for others will not be tolerated.

This class is not the place for an attitude.

II. ACADEMIC RESPONSIBILITIES:

Academically, students are responsible for the following:

1.      Completing all work assigned.

2.      Making up work missed due to absences, illnesses, etc.  Students must take initiative to make up quizzes, tests, assignments in a timely fashion (illness allowing, within one week of the missed assignment).  Failure to do so will result in a zero for that assignment.

3.      Taking an active part in class.  Much of this class will ask you to be active, and open to working with others; there are few lecture-type classes, and with a few exceptions, we rarely take pages and pages of notes.  However, your responsibilities are to:

a.      Take an active, vocal part in daily classes.

b.      Contribute when in pairs grouping and small groups.

c.      Be in class the vast majority of the time.  English requires conversation and interaction, and that you are present in class.  Each quarter, students will receive a class participation/attendance grade.

4.      Submitting assignments on time.  Assigned work (not next day homework) is due on the date assigned, regardless of absence.  The assignment may be handed in one day late only, with a penalty, usually 10-25 points off.

5.      Completing the research paper and all its steps.

6.      Using MLA form in your work.

III. Grading:

1.      Tests, quizzes, writing assignments, presentations and projects graded according to the formula explained above.

2.      Class Participation/Attendance.  An English class requires discussion, interaction, group work, and presentations.  In other words, the student must be actively involved on a regular basis.  In order to do so, the student must come to class and take part.

3.      Homework.  Graded at the end of each quarter accordingly:

1. Each assignment worth one point.
2. Points are added up and divided into the total number of homework assignments.  For example, 17 points out of 20 homework assignments would result in a homework grade of 85.  Homework may be worth anywhere from a full test grade on up, depending on the number of assignments.

·         Student grades will reflect their comprehension, understanding, and analysis of the literature included in this course.  Additionally grades will reflect students’ ability to communicate successfully through writing and speaking in a variety of forms.

·         Factors such as achievement, effort, class participation, attitude, and intelligence will be communicated through the rubrics and their related scoring systems for each assignment.  While each assignment will not specifically address every one of these factors, over the course of a quarter enough evidence will be compiled to evaluate a student in each area.

·         Students will read a variety of literature and respond in several ways resulting in a number of assessments that will be used to gather evidence of student performance.  Typically, each literature unit will include a major writing assignment, a unit test, a project connected to the literature, and a series of homework assignments.  In some cases there will be more than one writing assignment; or a series of quizzes instead of a major unit test; or a public speaking assignment instead of a piece of writing; but each unit will challenge the student to perform a variety of skills.

·         These assignments will be translated into grades by assigning a traditional letter value to the student’s performance on each rubric.

    1. Class Assignment and Homework Book

In the event of absence, the student upon returning to class should check the Assignment and Homework Book.  The book, which will be kept in class at all times, will include a summary of each day’s classes including any homework, assignments, and/or important reminders given on a particular day.  It will also indicate whether or not notes were given and the topic of those notes.  The student should then copy the notes from another student. Remember, each student is  responsible for the work missed.

Long-Term Assignments:  There are some assignments that are due on a specific date, regardless of absence for any reason.  These are usually long-term assignments (or any assignment in the Research Paper unit) and the student will have sufficient advance warning to work around any unexpected problems and make arrangements for handing in the work on the due date.  

2. This Website

In the event of absence, students will, in most cases, be able to access the course syllabus and quarterly plans, individual assignments, due dates, notes, and other relevant information on Mr. Pandolfini's website.  

3. Email

Students have access to Mr. Pandolfini's email address and may submit assignments, request help or clarifications, or exchange pertinent information outside of class.

1.      Extra Credit.  There is no extra credit work in this class.  Complete the work assigned.

2.      After school help.  I am available both before and after school several days each week.  However there are times when I have something else scheduled; please do not wait until the last minute to make an appointment.  (Note: Monday afternoon is usually difficult-meetings on at least the first two Mondays of the month.)

3.      Students caught cheating.  If a student is suspected of cheating on a test (in the teacher’s judgment), that student will receive a warning and be penalized twenty points.  If the student is observed cheating again, the test will be taken away and a grade of zero assessed.