Georgia Studies Expectations

Dear parents,                                                                                                     Georgia Studies is a course designed to teach students about the geography, history, government, culture and economics of our state. In addition, we study Georgia's role in major areas of United States History. It can at times be a difficult and demanding subject. We introduce many of the concepts that they will study in more detail in high school. It is a critical foundation for success in their high school citizenship and U.S. history courses. I try to treat my students like high school students and will tell them almost daily that my job is to get them ready for high school.                                                                                                                               

Every year new students come into the 8th grade and wonder what in the world happened to their nice easy middle school? The 8th grade is DIFFERENT, and it is different for a reason. We are charged with getting our students ready for high school. We take our responsibilities seriously and expect that from our students as well. We don't want any student to leave here until they are ready to be successful in high school. In the 8th grade the curriculum is harder, students are expected to be more independent, and they are held to high academic standards.                                                                                                                                                       Grading Policy:  In my class, grades mean something. They are not GIVEN, they are EARNED. Conservatively speaking, students will probably have to work 20-30% harder in the 8th grade to make the same grades that they made in the 7th grade. If they perform at the same level as last year, their grades will probably drop. We want all of our students to do well. We want them to be successful. Hard work and responsibility are the keys to that success. As mandated by school district policy, we are on a 10 point grading scale.

90-100 = A                  80-89 = B                    70-79 = C                    Below 70 is an F.

In Georgia Studies, I use what is called a weighted spreadsheet grade. In simple terms, what this means is that some types of assignments are weighted more heavily in the grade than other assignments. For example, a vocabulary crossword puzzle will typically count just once in the grade book while a major test will usually count 3 times in the grade book. Project grades generally count from 3-6 times in the grade book depending on the amount of work and time it takes to complete them. Students are generally told ahead of time what the weight of a particular assignment will be. If you ever have a question about a grade, please don't hesitate to drop me an e-mail or call me. I check my e-mail several times each day including most weekends and holidays. If we have your e-mail address in the office, you will receive frequent (usually weekly, but sometimes a little more or less frequently than that) progress reports. I usually try to put 2-3 grades in the grade book at one time and then immediately send out e-mail progress reports. In other words, I don't send out progress reports until there are new grades to report.                                                                                                                                        Make-Up Work:  Students need to be in school EVERY DAY unless they are contagious. We have many students who stay out of school for the poorest of reasons, and many parents let them get away with it. Parents DON'T DO IT. Every day they miss costs them instructional time in 4 classes. This is all work that has to be made up. It is not easy to do. If they must miss, plan on them staying after school the day they return to make up the work that they missed. The school district policy is that they have 3 days to make-up work that they have missed due to an EXCUSED ABSENCE. There is no provision for making up work for UNEXCUSED ABSENCES. I follow this policy strictly. As stated in the Student Handbook:

State law recognizes the following reasons as legal absences:

1. Personal illness                                                                                                                                                     2. Death in immediate family                                                                                                                                    3. Recognized religious holidays observed by your faith                                                                                         4. Absences mandated by governmental agencies                                                                                                                                     5. Instances where attendance would be hazardous                                                                                              Any other absences are considered UNEXCUSED. While I will certainly help students who are absent to catch up with the rest of the class, I do not give full credit when the absences are unexcused.

Classroom Expectations

My classroom rules are pretty easy to follow. Essentially what they amount to is COURTESY.

1.  Respect Everybody                                                                                                                                              2. Come to class prepared to learn                                                                                                                           3.Follow the dress code. It will be strictly enforced as will all other school handbook rules.

As I said these are simple behaviors that are expected from EVERYONE. I don't tolerate disruptions. Most of my students are here to learn and I will not let other students take that opportunity from them. I expect students to be prepared when they come to my class. That means that they need to have their books, paper, sharpened pencils, completed homework assignments, and good attitudes with them when they walk in the door. If for some reason they don't have paper or pencil, it is their responsibility to take care of that BEFORE CLASS BEGINS by asking another student for a loan or by coming to me for assistance. Again, this needs to be done immediately upon entering class before I begin instruction. I will work with parents to help students meet these expectations, but ultimately each student is responsible and will be held accountable for his or her behavior and work ethic. Please feel free to call on me at any time if you have questions.

Very Important!!!                                                                                                                          There are 2 websites that you need to visit and familiarize yourself with. The first is the website for our textbook. When you go to the site, click on “Georgia” and put in the password ga11hist. This website has practice quizzes, an ONLINE COPY of the textbook that they can use if they forget to take their book home, and other activities that they can do online to help them learn the material. The 2^nd website is my class and HOMEWORK website. It will enable you to access homework assignments. I will also upload documents to help you keep up with what we are doing in class. This will include things like instructions for projects (just in case they misplace the copy I gave them in class) and copies of handouts. Also on my class website parents, I need you to immediately go into the “NEWSFLASH” page and subscribe by putting in your name and e-mail address. If you subscribe quickly, YOUR STUDENT will be rewarded. I use this page to automatically e-mail parents with reminders about projects, tests and other major events. It’s going to be a GREAT YEAR!

http://www.mystatehistory.com

http://teacherweb.com/GA/BlackmonRoadMiddleSchool/ChuckYarbrough/

Sincerely,

Chuck Yarbrough

I have read and I understand the expectations for Georgia Studies with Mr. Yarbrough.

Parent Signature__________________________________

Student Signature_________________________________

Please return this to me tomorrow. If you need to refer back to it there is a copy on the website. Thanks.