Course Syllabus

Honors English 10                                    Follow Me - @ms_vilter

Miss Vilter                                                                 Remind App- remind.com/join/missveng10

Email: mvilter@paplv.org

COURSE DESCRIPTION / OVERVIEW:  Honors English 10 is designed to be an advanced Language Arts survey course, focusing on the development and refinement of reading, writing, speaking, and research skills as outlined in the English 10 course description.  Students will continue to read various genres.  This course is recommended for college-bound students.  Honors English 10 students are required to analyze literature more frequently.

CLASSROOM RULES: Students are expected to respect and follow all rules and regulations contained in the Papillion-La Vista Student Handbook.  Ignorance of the contents of this document is not an excuse for breaking school or classroom rules.  Please be considerate of the needs of others in this classroom.

• Cell phones and iPods need to be turned off and put away at all times. There will be times where I will allow phones for educational purposes, but it will be under my instruction. If I have to remind you of this more than once, our class policy is that you turn the phone in the phone basket each day you come to class. I will not keep your phone — you will pick it up at the end of the hour.  If you refuse to follow this class policy, I will simply turn your phone unto an administrator every time I see it.
• Purses/bags must be kept put away underneath desks.
• Do not bring food into the classroom. Drinks with lids are acceptable. If you make a mess, please clean up after yourself.
• Locker/restroom passes will be granted at my discretion. NO PLANNER = NO PASS!  It better be an emergency.  Students should ask before class begins or at an appropriate time during class if permitted.  No student will be allowed to leave 10 minutes before class ends.

TARDINESS: Students are expected to be on time for class.  It is disrespectful to other to arrive late to class and interrupt what is happening in the classroom.  It affects your learning; therefore, it affects your grade. You are tardy if you are not in the classroom when the bell rings.

            Tardy Consequences:

• 1st Tardy — Warning
• 2nd Tardy — Detention (10 min. after school)
• 3rd Tardy — Parents Contact and Detention (15 min. after school)
• 4th Tardy — Principal Referral

ASSIGNMENTS/HOMEWORK: 

• All assignments should have the following heading on the top left of your paper:

Name

Teacher

Class/Period

Date

• All final draft compositions are expected to be typed, printed off, and ready to hand in.  Papers not printed are considered late.  Computers are available before and after school, during advisement, and during lunch in the media center and in my classroom – use these to get your work printed off and turned in on time! All major assignments will also be expected to be turned into turnitin.com on the due date.
• LATE POLICY: 
• Work is due at the beginning of the hour it is due.  Anything later could will result in loss of credit.
• If interventions are unsuccessful, a zero can be earned.
• Late work can only be turned in to the “Late Work” bin on Ms. Vilter’s desk.  If you put it elsewhere, it may get lost and you may not receive credit.  Write “late” or “absent” on the top, along with the date you are turning it in.

ABSENCES: For every day you are absent, you have 2 days to make up what you missed.  If an important discussion is missed, you will be informed of how to make up the work. 

            It is YOUR responsibility to:

• notify me ahead of time of your absence or appointments
• check the blog for any updates / changes
• find out what will be / was missed at an appropriate time
• get missing work from me or your peers
• schedule time with me to make up any quizzes, tests, presentations, etc.

 

**You may be asked to complete the work before your scheduled absence.  The best and easy thing to do is to talk with me when you are going to be gone or email me if you are sick! Communication is important!

 

NIGHT / SATURDAY SCHOOL: This is a mandatory scheduled time for students to complete their missing/late assignments (excluding assessments). It will be held in assigned classrooms in the evenings (Tuesday or Thursday 3:30-4:30) and/or Saturday mornings. If a student has more than 3 missing/late assignments, I will arrange night or Saturday school for the student to finish those assignments.   Students MUST attend EVERY DAY until the assignment is completed and turned in to the teacher in charge of detention.

PLAGIARISM: It will not be tolerated! If a student is suspected of plagiarism on any assignment, it will result in a loss of credit and the student will be expected to redo the assignment.  No late grade will be assigned.

GRADING:  Grades will be updated automatically every night at 9:30 p.m. on Parent Web. Please be patient with me as I have many grades to put in each week. If you need to know right away, come to me after class or after school to discuss your grade.

Your grades are passed on our school’s grading scales:

A = 90 - 100%

B = 80 - 89%

C = 70 - 79%

D = 60 - 69%

F = 59% and below

50% Major Assignments:                                                    10% Words to Know (Vocabulary):

• Essays - Unit Quizzes
• Speeches - Multi Unit Tests
• Book Tests
• Projects 

10% Semester Finals

30% Minor Assignments:

• Daily work
• Book quizzes
• Practice writing assignments
• Small Speeches / Projects
• ACT Reading/Writing Quizzes

 

NECESSARY MATERIALS:

• Folder (for this class only!)
• 1 spiral notebook (only for this class)
• Index cards (for speech units)
• Writing utensils (black or blue pens and/or pencils)
• USB or Flash-drive (to save papers and projects)

**Please come prepared to class. I appreciate your efforts to do your very best every day. I ask you to be respectful to yourself, your peers, and your teachers, and to be responsible for your actions, words, and work. I am excited for an awesome year! Cheers!