U.S. Update for the week of May 14th

[Wetzel, William]

Class webpage: www.district87.org/staff/wetzelw

 

This week:

 

I am usually available before school at 7:20.

 

Mon: Updated grade printouts for all students

Fri: last regular day of 8B classes

Coming up:

5/21: 8B PRT
5/22: Six Flags Trip
5/22: Last day to submit late or make-up work for Q4
5/23: 8:15 dismissal for summer break (no buses)

General 8B Team information:

Our Final PRT will involve a trip to Shepard Park for a day of sun and fun on May 21st.  8B will be providing some food and refreshments, but we would welcome any parent donations to supplement what we make available.  If you are able to make a donation, please contact Mrs. Gallucci.

You should receive information about the Raiders 101 summer orientation program in the mail.  I would encourage students of all types who are headed to BHS to participate in this experience that will introduce them to teachers, students and the building in a positive and relaxed atmosphere.

U.S. History Information:

Last week was very busy.  If you sent me an e-mail and did not receive a reply, please contact me again.  It never bothers me when people check up to see whether I received their message.  Sometimes I wait on a reply until I get further information, but in general I try to be prompt with replies.

Important Quarterly Grade information:
The Internet grades now include all work for the quarter except a couple of daily work grades that will be completed in class this week.  There will be time available this week to complete the rest of the recitals.

Students will receive an updated grade printout on Monday that shows them their current grade along with all their competed and missing assignment information.  Students with questions should see me.

Earning full credit on any missing assignment will add 6% to a student's quarterly grade.  Earning half credit on any assignment will add 3% to the quarterly grade.
Information about all the assignments is available through the 'Audio Assignment Descriptions' webpage link on the class webpage.

I will accept work until 3:00 on Tuesday May 22nd.  Students who do not go on the PRT or to Six Flags may complete missing history work and turn it in while  at school.

Students who borrowed a text for the year should bring it to class on Monday.

Reruns from previous updates:

I will always be willing to offer flexibility with a deadline when a school or family emergency occurs.  Promptly notifying me of the situation is not required.  I do request that students include a reminder of the situation when they submit the work, so that they receive proper credit.

Students resubmitting work for increased credit should take the time and make significant changes to their work based on the assignment guidelines and the comments written on their paper or their score may not change and they will have lost the opportunity for grade improvement.

Parent Action: If you are cleaning out a closet or have other items that are working, but unwanted, please consider donating them to 8B for our P3 Auctions that are held every other Friday. 

Students who need extra time for questions or assistance before or after school should let me know.  My schedule varies, but I am usually in the classroom by 7:20 in the morning.  I have made arrangements for students to be able to come up to the room early without a pass.  After school, my availability is much less consistent.  When I know I will be available late on a given day, I will include that information in the update for the week.

If you send me an e-mail and do not receive a reply within 24 hours, please send me a follow-up.  I try to reply promptly to the e-mails I receive, but occasionally one slips by without a response from me.

Students who miss an in-class assignment should check with me, but they are usually excused from the assignment.  Students who miss a quiz, test or assessment need to make it up.  A zero will be entered in the gradebook until the assignment is completed.

I usually grade all the papers I receive during the week on Saturday and update grades on Sunday.

The class website provides access to resources to review, study, and explore areas related to the class.  Here are several highlights:
'Déjà vu Spiral': link to the main location for content information and notes from throughout the year
'Weekly Updates': an archive of all the weekly update messages from the whole year
'1112 U.S. Introduction Materials': the on-line version of the course overview packet provided to students at the start of the year
'Audio Assignment Descriptions': instructions and an audio explanation for every assignment
'Student E-mail Access from Home': allows students to log into their school e-mail account from home
'1112 Weekly Logs': a day by day breakdown of resources used in class and activities
'On-line Practice Tests': location for practice tests for tests and quizzes throughout the year
'Quia Review Games': review games for chapter quizzes and tests
'Quizlet Review Games': review games for Deja vu and chapter quizzes and tests
'Déjà vu Terms Reviews': learning and review resources for Déjà vu terms
'Textbook': Link to the on-line text

The category weighting and grading scale used to calculate quarterly grades is different in history class than other classes:

Categories:
21        Daily Work (Done in class)
21        Tests & Quizzes (Content knowledge)
16        Assessments (Content understanding)
37        Assignments (Skills/Comprehension)      
  5        Studio Habits (Engagement in learning)

Overall Grading Scale:

89.5 - 100        A

74.5 - 89.4       B

49.5 - 74.4       C

0 - 49.4            F

A quarterly grade of 'D' will be assigned to students who do not finish the quarter with a passing grade IF they develop and complete a plan to make up missed work by the deadline provided by the teacher at the end of the quarter.

Students who score poorly in a category or categories will notice a significant impact on their quarterly grade.  The downside of this weighting and scale is that it is confusing to explain, but the upside is that it allows me to create a situation that challenges students and rewards excellent learning without creating a situation that is too difficult for those students who are not ready for such expectations.

If you would like to add or drop an e-mail address for these updates, please let me know.  All students receive these messages each week in their student e-mail accounts.

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Bloomington Public Schools School District87
Bloomington, Illinois