Snow Day Schedule

Hey folks...

The snow day really messes with our conferencing schedule. However, I am willing to accommodate you during your study halls or lunch. This is for students who affected by the snow day. All other students will follow the schedule. The research paper is STILL DUE ON 3/13.

For the people who were scheduled to meet with me on MONDAY 3/2 ONLY.

Here are some options:

1. Be prepared tomorrow (3/3) and the rest of the week for any no shows or unprepareds. If there is time, you have first priority.
2. I will meet with you during first lunch.
3. I am available during my 9th grade classes/prep/my study halls if that coincides with your study hall. On Monday I have off: period 1. My 9th grade classes periods 2 and 5. I have a study hall period 6. Use the rotating schedule to figure out what works for you.

You need to let me know ASAP what you plan to do. Let me know what else I can do for you.

~Ms. G

Upsetting

I have graded your tests and papers. Unfortunately, most of you did poorly on both assignments. You are wasting my time with anything less than your very best (should sound familiar). If you are not putting in effort into your assignments (not typing them, following directions, using MLA format, etc), then here are some tips for you and I suggest that you follow them.

1. Seek help. It is not an acceptable answer to say "I didn't get it." Especially since I have been over everything in class and NOT ONE student has come for help. If you don't ask and advocate for yourself, then what am I supposed to think besides the fact that you understand!?
2. Follow directions. If the assignment asked of you is compare/contrast then you need to DO THAT, not summarize the novel/essay. If the syllabus says to study and gives you the criteria to study, then do it.
3. Submit your essays to turnitin. This is part of your assignment. I am sorry if you don't have a computer, but you have plenty of time to complete your assignments and part of that is time managing enough so you can get to the Internet. ALSO: Your research paper MUST be submitted, even if you hand me a hard copy. You will fail if BOTH are not complete.
4. Read my comments, use my suggestions and FIX your mistakes. I write the same things over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again to HELP YOU. You still need to underline book titles, poems/short stories/essays are in quotations. You need a hook, you need to state the title and author(s) of the literature used. You need to stop summarizing! You need to format your citations, works cited page and paragraphs correctly.
5. MLA format MUST BE CORRECT. See above. I make corrections on your paper so that you can format it properly. It is not difficult to look at the packets, student examples, and set it up accordingly. I even gave your websites and examples to help you!!!
6. Apply skills learned in class to every assignment. See #4. Writing techniques are not assignment specific. All of your writing should follow the format of thesis, reason (topic sentence), evidence, explanation. You need to spend time organizing your ideas, gathering information and putting it together in a logical way. I keep telling you over and over not to give me a plot summary, for anything! You are too old for book reports. You need to take the "what" and give it meaning! Think "how" and "why" do: these ideas mean something, these ideas connect/contrast, these ideas reflect the so what and bigger picture.
7. Put in effort into your work. You are not spell checking, proofreading or even correctly identifying the author of the novel!!! That shows a complete lack of effort and disrespect to the effort I put into my lessons. I have given you everything you need to be successful and you are not using it to its fullest potential, if at all.
8. Pay attention in class and take notes. ALL of the ideas we review in class ARE IMPORTANT and you need to have information from class discussions and analysis.
9. You need to care about your education because no one can do it for you. I hope the past six weeks of class have opened up your eyes to how lucky and privileged you are to have the access to an education. You are throwing away your opportunity for success. Do you want to live in the slums of Calcutta? Do you want to live in a house made of feces? It is so upsetting to watch you throw away an opportunity because you don't want to challange yourself, are lazy, don't care, angry, don't like me, or whatever the reason may be. Other children would die to be in your chair, to trade places with you tomorrow.

fin.