Latin 1-2

 

2007-2008 Rules

 

Mrs. Fine

 

Welcome to Latin!   This course will focus on the language and culture of that ancient civilization, Rome.  Following are my classroom rules and policies.  Please read these over carefully, as there are no exceptions to these rules.  Compliance and understanding of these rules, as well as enthusiasm for this subject will contribute to a warm classroom atmosphere and extensive learning!  Bene Fortuna!

 

General Rules:

1.      Respect.

  1. Always express your opinions.
  2. Always allow others to express their opinions.
  3. Students will be allowed to take bathroom or locker trips via the class pass, one at a time.  Loss of this

      privilege may occur at any point that it is abused or the class pass is lost.

  1. Water bottles will be allowed in class to encourage appropriate hydration. No food, please!
  2. Keep your textbooks and activity books clean and neat, without any writing or marks.
  3. Always sit in your assigned seat.

2.      Responsibility.

  1. Always ask questions when you do not understand an assignment.
  2. All work must be completed on time.  Late assignments will be deducted 50%.
  3. Students are expected to bring all required materials to each class.
  4. A student with an excused absence will be allowed to make up homework within a one-day school extension, regardless of block scheduling.

E. Always write your name on your work (no name = -5 points).

3.      Integrity.

  1. No cheating is allowed.  Anyone found guilty of academic dishonesty (talking or communicating during an exam, test or quiz, looking at another’s paper, using unauthorized notes, working past time allowed for an exam or test, plagiarizing another’s work in any form) will receive a deduction of points on the work in question and an informational referral to the appropriate Assistant Principal.  A student will receive a “FAIL” in the course if this behavior occurs a second time.
  2. Complete your own work!  You’ll learn more from it!

4.      Tardies and absences:

  1. Tardiness will not be tolerated.  More than two tardies per semester will result in a deduction of Participation & Attendance points (-1/2 point per tardy).  Per new school policy, excessive tardies will also result in parental contact, possible detention and demotion of conduct grades.
  2. Absence from class, whether excused or unexcused will result in a 1-point deduction from Participation & Attendance points for each absence.  Points can be made up through appropriate participation in class. Unexcused absences will result in deduction of your overall grade per our school policy (2 unexcused absences = 5% deduction from overall percentage and a student conference, 3 unexcused absences = 10% deduction from overall percentage and a mandatory parent contact, 4 unexcused absences = 20% deduction from overall percentage, 5 unexcused absences = 30% deduction from overall percentage)
  3. A student with an excused absence will be allowed to make up homework within a one-day school extension, regardless of block scheduling.

 

 

Materials For This Course:

1.       Ecce Romani I (1st semester & 2nd)

2.       Ecce Romani IA, Ecce Romani IB Language Activity Books

3.       Latin-English Dictionary (recommended: Cassell's Concise Latin-English, English-Latin Dictionary)

4.       Binder

5.       Loose-leaf

6.       notecards

7.       writing utensil (pen or pencil)

8.       email account

9.       School Network access (see Mrs. Kraushaar in the main office if you have not already filled out an Acceptable Use Policy and password request form)

10.   Classroom web site at www.historyadventure.com

11.   Prentice Hall Web Site for practice: http://www.phschool.com/webcodes10/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.gotoWebCode&wcprefix=jfk&wcsuffix=1000

12.   (Optional) Latina 4.0 review software from http://www.centaursystems.com/catalog/latina.html

 

Grading:

Grades in Latin are based on straight points, which means that constant effort is required for outstanding grades.  Per department policy, the final exam is 20% of your overall grade. 

 

Students should be able to keep track of their grades as they evolve over the semester.  However, students and parents who wish to check grades, may do so at the MicroGrade web site (http://sc.webgrade.classmanager.com/beverlyhillshs/) starting three weeks after the beginning of the semester.  This will be updated approximately every five weeks.  If one does not have access to the Internet, I will print out a copy of the progress report via written request.  Students with a “D” or “F” will automatically receive a hard copy of their progress report.  Students who are having difficulty should make an appointment to see the teacher for help. 

 

Participation, quizzes, homework, projects                 80%

Semester exam                                                         20%

_________________________________________________

 

Final grade                                                                100%

 

Letter Grades:

Following is a listing of the letter grades and cut offs in this class.  These grades are not negotiable!!!!  Therefore, start working early in the semester, not in the last three weeks to avoid letter grade problems.

A = 89.5-100%

B = 79.5-89.4%

C = 69.5-79.4%

D = 59.5-69.4%

F = 0-59.4%

 

Participation & Attendance:

Much of your graded work will be accomplished in class through discussions.  Therefore, attendance is key toward a good participation grade.  Appropriate participation is defined as verbalizations aligned with the topic under discussion, whether it be a question or a comment.

 

Homework & Class work:

All homework assignments, text notes, handouts, and class notes will be expected to be neatly kept in a binder, or section of a binder specifically for Latin.  It is recommended that you have four sections in your binder: culture, translations, vocabulary, word journal.  I would highly suggest keeping all of your work in a safe place at home so that you can review it for the semester final.  Homework will always be checked, so complete it and have it ready in your binder!

 

Each student will receive a copy of the semester’s assignments on the first day of class.  Students who lose their assignments sheet can obtain another copy at the class web site www.historyadventure.com.  It is the student’s responsibility to know of and hand in homework when absent.

 

Homework may turned in via hard copy, email (to Mrs. Fine at afine@bhusd.k12.ca.us), email attachment in Word ®, floppy disk, ZIP disk (100MB or 250 MB), CD-Rom, or fax (to Mrs. Fine’s attention, 310-286-7446).  Late work will be deducted 50%.  Homework that is not turned in will receive a automatic zero. 

 

Projects:

Projects are an opportunity for students to further explore a desired area of the Latin language and Roman culture. A variety of projects will be assigned throughout the year including PowerPoint® presentations, reviews of historical movies, web pages, artistic models and group videos. These shall be assigned to students for completion in and out of the classroom.  As these projects will be announced ahead of time, students must hand in the projects on time, EVEN IF THEY ARE ABSENT & EXCUSED.  Failure to do so will result in a deduction of 10 points per day late.  Students with special needs should make arrangements before the due date!

 

Quizzes:

Quizzes are announced (check your semester calendar) and are designed to test recall of homework and reading assignments, as well as your cumulative knowledge of Latin.  Therefore, always be ready for questions that may have appeared on quizzes before.

 

Exams:

Semester exams are cumulative and will cover all major topics studied during the semester.  Students should be prepared for short answer, multiple choice, matching and translation.  Exams will last 1 hour and 50 minutes.  Students with special needs should make arrangements before the exam dates.  Exam dates are listed on the student’s semester assignments sheet.  Exams are worth 20% of the student’s semester grade.

 

Course of Study:

We will follow the course of the Ecce Romani textbooks, while also looking at the influence of Latin on today’s world, including those of non-English-speaking areas.  This course is structured according to the Standards for Classical Languages, available for viewing at http://www.aclclassics.org/Activities.asp, as well as the California Framework for Foreign Languages.  Finally, two years for this language will count towards the foreign language requirement for many colleges and universities, including the UC schools.

 

Questions?

There is a class web site at www.historyadventure.com, which should answer most questions. Students and Parents are welcome to conduct conferences or ask questions by appointment during my preparation period 4, lunch, and after school.  You may leave a message on my voice mail at 310-551-5100 extension 8212.  You may also email me at afine@bhusd.k12.ca.us.  I will return your call or email as soon as possible.

 

I look forward to a wonderful year!

 

A. Fine