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=Welcome to Mrs. Stapleton's 8th grade language arts class! ﻿ = Dear Parents and Students: Welcome to the 2010-2011 school year. I am excited about working together in meeting the challenges that are ahead of us. I have high expectations that students will study and apply themselves rigorously to this subject. As a teacher, I will encourage, coach, and teach your child to meet the demands of 8th grade language arts. When absent, it is the student’s responsibility to make arrangements with me to make up work. Tests and homework assignments are required to be turned in or taken the day a student returns from being absent if the student was present when the test or assignment was announced. After being absent from school, the student has the responsibility to check with me immediately upon his or her return to make up work and tests missed. The student should contact me before or after school or at the beginning of class for this work. Unfortunately, I cannot leave an assigned duty area or stop teaching a class to inform someone of his or her missing assignments.

The quarterly grade is divided into four areas: participation – 5%, homework – 10%, class work – 30%, quizzes – 20%, and major tests and projects – 35%. Homework is a very important part of this class. Students will be given several assignments each week that must be completed at home. All homework is to be turned in on time. Late homework will not be accepted once I have removed homework from the homework box. Assignments which count as a test grade will be accepted late, but a full letter grade will be deducted for each day the assignment is late. I encourage you to urge your child to do their homework. Doing homework helps in the preparation for class tests. A minimum of three major tests and three quizzes will be assigned each quarter.

I will notify you as soon as possible if I notice your child may be experiencing academic difficulty, and I hope you will do the same if you notice any difficulties arising. If you know your child’s academics need monitoring, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Class rules: 1. Please enter the classroom prepared to work. The first assignment is always on the board, and each student should begin this assignment on entry into the class. 2. Please raise your hand and wait for the teacher to respond before talking. 3. Please be respectful of others and the opinions of others. 4. Please keep your hands to yourself. I look forward to working with you and your son or daughter this year. I share with you the goal of promoting the best possible educational experience for each student. Respectfully, Dorothy S. Stapleton