Welcome to 7th Grade Core English

Dear Parents, Guardians, and Students,

I would like to welcome you to my classroom; I am Ms. Sanchez, your child’s English

teacher. I recently graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a Bachelor’s

degree in English and also received my Single-Subject Teaching credential as well. Prior to

teaching, I had spent two years in volunteer work at my local church; I would interact with

teenagers through the Religious Education program on a weekly basis, and helped shape faith

formation curriculum. By engaging with teenagers before earning my credential, I was able to

understand the personal and academic needs and motivation of these 21st century learners.

This early experience of voluntarily interacting with adolescents has helped define my

overall teaching philosophy; I believe that each student is an independent and unique individual

with so much innate knowledge and experience that may be brought and contributed to the class

learning environment. As an educator, I recognize that my students are complete human beings

with personal lives, ideas, diverse backgrounds, and identities, and I hope to have students grow

within my classroom by allowing them to take an active role in their learning and agency. In my

classroom, the teacher is as much the student, just as the student is as much the teacher; we

understand that learning comes in all forms of successes, and that it is an exchange between both

teacher and student. There is always room for teachers to learn something new from a student,

just as there are always opportunities for students to enhance and grow in their own learning.

Throughout the school year, your children will have the opportunity to use their voice

and stand for their ideas through various platforms; students will synthesize their learning

through means of written essays, video presentations, group projects, and creative poetry. They
will develop the necessary skills to identify and audience and apply their language skills for a

purpose; students will be able to understand the elements of narrative, argumentative,

informational, and poetic texts and have the opportunity to create their own literature. In

addition, students will be part of the school’s reading program, Reading Counts, to ensure that

they are able to acquire the necessary literacy skills that are applicable to the real world and

society. Through the means of Reading Counts, students will have the agency to decide what

literary genres they prefer and participate in Free Voluntary Reading (FVR), just as they will be

able to pace themselves, set Lexile level goals, practice comprehension skills, and engage in

Sustained Silent Reading (SSR).

To contact me, you may call me during school hours and leave a voice message; I am

usually in my classroom from 7:00am until 4:00pm, and am more likely to directly answer my

phone from 2:00-4:00pm. You may also e-mail me at the following address:

crystal.sanchez@orangeusd.org For e-mail, please write your student’s full name and the class

period they are in as the subject line. I also have two websites that you may access for further

information and contact; my Digital Portfolio website is so that you may have more information

on my teaching methods, while my Classroom Website serves as a digital and live syllabus for

students. You may access them through the following links: http://mscrystalsanchez.weebly.com

and http://csanchez-english.weebly.com

I would like to invite you to contact me for any questions, concerns, and comments that

may enhance your student’s learning in my classroom; if there is anything you would like for me

to be aware of, you may reach me through phone and e-mail. There is also an upcoming Back-

to-School Night approaching, and I would like to invite you to attend; it is always nice meeting

my students’ parents and guardians. I look forward to having your child in my class, and hope
we may remain in contact so that we may both effectively support your student in their learning

experience here at Yorba Middle School.

Sincerely,

Miss Crystal Sanchez

 Course Syllabus

Grading Policy:

Students will be graded according to the following elements of the class:

 Reading – 20%

This includes Reading Counts quizzes, reading three books a trimester, participating in

SSR, and completing Reading Logs.

 Writing/ Grammar – 30%

Essays, summaries, created poems, grammar worksheets, and grammar lesson notes all

pertain to this section.

 Tests/ Quizzes/ Project – 20%

This includes online unit tests, vocabulary quizzes, group projects, and written exams.

 Classwork/ Homework – 30%

Reading is daily assigned as homework, and reflects upon how far along they are in their

books. Classwork and Homework include close-reading assignments, worksheets and

hand-outs, graphic organizers, assigned readings from the textbook, and essay rough

drafts.

The grading scale in this classroom is as follows:

 A: 100% – 90%

 B: 89% – 80%

 C: 79% – 70%

 D: 69% – 60%

 F: 59% – Below
Academic Dishonesty:

In this course, as in any other class, we do not tolerate academic dishonesty of any type; cheating

and plagiarism are not accepted, and any students engaged in such activity will have

consequences. Cheating and plagiarism include copying the work other students, failing to

properly cite sources, not providing credit where it is due, and claiming pre-existing ideas as

one’s own. Be sure to refer to the MLA format and citation resources in order to avoid academic

dishonesty; in this class, major written assignments will be submitted through TurnItIn in order

to detect any forms of plagiarism. Please create authentic and original work, and remember to

enter the academic conversation of a topic, don’t steal the conversation!

Classroom Expectations:

1. Respect

 Demonstrate self-respect in all lessons, and be respectful towards your peers and

your teacher. Others want to learn as well, so be mindful and considerate of your

actions.

 Respect the school and the property of others; we do not tolerate destruction and

vandalism of any sort. Treat your learning environment as you would like your

home to be treated by others.

 Respect your learning by using academic and appropriate language within the

school campus, and by wearing appropriate and modest clothing according to the

school’s dress code.

2. Have a Positive Mindset

  Always provide you best effort and work in class; challenge yourself to do your

best.

 Be positive about how you approach people and assignments; set goals and have a

growth mindset.

 Place learning and quality of content as a priority; it is not about memorization, it

is about thinking critically and independently.

3. Prepare

 Always have materials ready and prepared at the beginning of class, as soon as

you walk into the door.

 Make sure you have something to write with, lined college-ruled paper, your

Reading Counts book, your agenda, and your binder with you everyday.

 Use the bathroom and get a drink of water before or after class, not during. You

have time as you pass from one period to the next, use this wisely and to your

advantage.

4. Engage

 Pay attention by actively listening to the teacher and your classmates; when you

want to share something with others, be sure to raise your hand.

 Ask questions; if anything is not clear or you want to understand more about your

learning, the best way to do this is to ask questions.

 Be proactive and participate in all activities, such as class discussions, group

work, and individual assignments.

5. Be Responsible

 Take accountability of how your actions may affect others and your own learning.
  If you are missing an assignment or have been absent, take initiative and approach

the teacher.

 Own up to the consequences and results of your actions.

Consequences in failing to meet and act upon the Classroom Expectations are as follows:

 Strike 1: Verbal Warning

 Strike 2: Isolation (You will either be seated in the back of the classroom by yourself, or

sent outside to work quietly on classroom assignments.)

 Strike 3: Referral (You will be sent to the Assistant Principal, and I will make a phone

call home.)

If further behavior and participation issues arise, the teacher may also consider a one-on-one

conference during lunchtime. Instances like this may include, but do not limit, constant and loud

disruptions while the teacher is lecturing, several cases profanity, lying and verbally

disrespecting the teacher, and engaging in verbal confrontation with other students.

Routines and Procedures:

 Absences and Tardies: It is your responsibility to acquire any missing work from a day

in which you were absent; you may ask for missing work before or after class. In regards

to absences, you must contact the school’s attendance office so that it may excused. It is

considered a tardy if you enter my classroom after the second bell rings; if you are not

within my classroom at this time, you must go to the attendance office to receive your

tardy slip.
 Collecting and Returning Work: I will collect work at the beginning of each class period;

in the back of the classroom I have a homework tray for your class period where you may

submit your work. After the first ten minutes of class, I will collect the submitted work;

anything turned in after those ten minutes will be considered late and must be submitted

into the Late Work box. Graded work will be returned once a week, every Friday, as I

pass it out to you.

 Late or Missing Work: Late work may be submitted before the trimester ends; points

will be taken off, but it will still be accepted. In addition, students may be called in

during lunchtime so that they may have the opportunity to complete their missing

assignments with my guidance and help. All late work must be submitted into the late

work box. Students who fail to submit missing assignments towards the end of the

trimester will be called in to Saturday School so that they may have the chance to earn a

grade for some work.

 Starting and Ending Class: As class begins, students are to be seated according to their

seating chart, take out their agendas, and begin to copy down the list of activities for the

day, while the teacher verbally reviews and explains the day’s lesson. Then, at the

teacher’s indication, students will grab textbooks, ChromeBooks, and folders, according

to the number placed on their desk. At the end of class, students will return the

classroom materials to their places, pack their bags, and prepare their exit slip, if

necessary.

 Additional Procedures: If you need your pencil sharpened, please let the teacher know so

that she may sharpen it for you through the electric pencil sharpener; we’ve had students

in the past break the sharpener. If you need to borrow a pencil, you must let the teacher
 know, and then return it at the end of class. Be sure to use the restroom before entering

class; if you need to use it during, alert the teacher so that she may provide you with a

hallway pass before you go.

Quick-Writes & Journal

About three times a week, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, you will be writing a short

response to a prompt provided in class. These prompts will usually lead us to a class discussion

and will serve as an introduction to our lesson; Quick-Write questions and Journal prompts will

be written your Composition Notebook, which will be collected every other week on a Friday.

SSR & Reading Logs

Sustained Silent Reading time will be given every Friday at the beginning of class for a total of

10 minutes. After reading your book for Reading Counts, you will complete a section of your

Reading Log graphic organizer. At the end of each month, the teacher will be collecting and

grading this assignment.

Vocabulary Bell Ringers

These will be given as an Entrance Ticket twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and will be

written down in your Composition Notebook, along with your Quick-Writes and Journal entries.

Vocab Bell Ringers will be based on previous vocabulary that we have defined and reviewed in

class; the Bell Ringers may include definitions, sentence examples, drawn pictures, and video

reactions.
 Student/ Parent Agreement

I, _____________________________ (Student) agree to follow the expectations, rules, routines,

and behaviors described in Ms. Sanchez’ English classroom.

Print Student Name: ___________________________ Date: __________________

Student Signature:_____________________________

I, the parent/guardian of __________________________ (Student), have read the teacher’s letter

and course syllabus. I understand that my child is responsible for their learning and actions

within the classroom. My signature below indicates that I have understood and agree with the

procedures and routines of Ms. Sanchez’ English classroom.

Print Parent/ Guardian Name:_______________________________ Date:_____________

Parent/ Guardian Signature:_________________________________

Students will have this letter and syllabus handed out on the first day of school; students are to

present this to their parents and bring them back signed the next day. These will also be handed

out during the school’s Back-to-School Night.