Ms. Carolyn Ross
caross@ewrsd.k12.nj.us


"Sitting by yourself, forcing the swirl of thoughts into a linear, systematic journey forward — it makes you smarter.  It’s like a pastry bag, literacy is. It presses you into one clear line.”
                                                                                                             - Margaret Edson 

 

 

Welcome to your 2012-2013 year as a High School English Scholar!  English 9 Academic and 10 Humanities are challenging courses, but each is designed to help you succeed.  Together, we will be working to create a learning environment that is caring, cooperative and interesting.  Our combined effort will be focused on developing strong literacy skills: listening, speaking, writing, and reading.  Each of you brings uniquely valuable strengths and expertise to this classroom, and it will be your responsibility to meaningfully contribute every day.

 

 

Required Materials:

1 Notebook for notes
1 Journal for writing; composition is best

1 pen

Independent Reading Book

Student Agenda Book for passes and homework

 

 

Daily Classroom Procedure:

Upon entering:

1. Check the board for materials needed.
2. Clear desk of all items except for these materials.
3. Check the board for homework and record items in agenda book.
4. Check the board for the day’s Do Now.
5. Do “Do Now” now.

 

 

Expectations:

 

Be on time. Failure to be in your seat at the time the bell rings will result in a late.  Lates will be recorded and reported daily.  Once you are in the classroom, even if the bell has not yet rung, you will be expected to immediately begin the daily classroom procedure.

 

Be prepared. Points will be deducted for missing classroom materials.  If organization is not your strong suit, we will meet personally to develop a plan to ensure that you are able to meet this expectation.

 

Be present. Make the daily, deliberate effort to stay focused in class.  If you need to leave the classroom you may see me with your agenda book appropriately filled out during any period of independent work.  You will be granted a bathroom pass 3 times a marking period.

 

Be considerate. Discussion will be an integral part of our daily meeting. Your contributions must respect and value yourself, your peers and me.

 

 

Grading Policy:

All grades are based on a points system.  Each assignment is assigned a point value that contributes to your total points.  Your points earned will be divided by the total possible points to arrive at your grade.  Your progress in class will never be a secret: all grades are available online.  Typically, your assessments will be ongoing and varied rather than cumulative.  You will have ample opportunity to demonstrate your mastery of the subject matter. 

 

Finally: We will be reading, writing, and discussing every day.  Embrace it :)

 

 

 

"What an astonishing thing a book is. It's a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you're inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic." - Carl Sagan