P English 2 Ms.

LaFollette
2020-2021 E-mail​:j​ lafollette@hilmar.k12.ca.us

Welcome to P English 2! I am excited for the semester ahead of us; ​we will have a lot of work​, but it will be
worthwhile and interesting.​ ​Be prepared to read and write often, create projects, make presentations, and think
critically about literature in all its forms. This class will be challenging, but I hope you will find it rewarding as well.

So, let’s get down to the important stuff. These are the most frequently asked questions people have about my
class:

A. What do you expect from me?

I expect five things:
1. Be on time!​ Join our Google Meet or get started on your Google Classroom assignment when our class
begins each day.
2. Be prepared.​ Have your chromebook charged or plugged in, a quiet space to work, and a notebook and pen
or pencil as back-up in case you can’t get into some documents.
3. Be respectful.​ Show respect by listening to instructions, muting yourself on Google Meet unless you’re
asked to talk, and keep the chat posts relevant and kind to others.
4. Follow directions immediately.​ Do your best to follow directions quickly.
5. D​o your best work​. I expect you to try, and if you can’t be successful on your own, ask for help. You can’t
succeed if you don’t even try. Keep in mind that I’ll give you examples and video instructions for almost
everything, so check those out first.

B. What can I do to avoid getting in trouble?

Follow the five expectations above. If you choose to disregard the expectations or choose to engage in
unacceptable behavior, you may be subject to one or more of the following consequences: teacher/student
conference, parent contact, detention, class suspension, or office referral.

C. What do I have to bring to class?

You need these tools for class every day! Not having them means you won’t be able to participate in our learning.
• Your charged (or plugged in) chromebook • a notebook and pen/pencil as back-up

D. What if I can’t get online for our class?

If you’re having issues with your technology, call the Hilmar Unified Tech Helpline at 317-6975. If you’ve called
them and tried everything you can, and you still can’t connect for our class, please email me and let me know why
you were absent. Then check Google Classroom as soon as you have internet again to see what you’ve missed.
Remember--our class content may not be posted completely until school is over for the day.

E. What about homework? Do we have any? If we do, when is it due?

Work will be given ​every day​. Most of that work will be assigned on Google Classroom. Some work will be done
together live in class, and some work will be done on your own. I will give you some time to complete independent
work almost every day in class, so not everything will be homework. You may have some homework if you work at
a slower pace.

F. What if I have to turn homework in late?

To me, late work is anything not turned in by the deadline on Google Classroom. If something wasn’t corrected or
reviewed in our live or recorded class time and you want to turn it in late, you can’t get more than ½ credit.
Projects, major writing assignments, and other large-point assignments may be turned in late for half-credit up to
one week after they were due. Nothing can be turned in late after grades are mailed out for progress reports or
report cards.
G. What if I’m absent?
If you’re absent, send me an email and check Google Classroom to see what you’ve missed. If you need to make an
appointment with me to get extra help doing your make-up work, send me an email at ​jlafollette@hilmar.k12.ca.us
and we can set up a time.

H. Do you grade everything?

I grade almost everything. Some assignments aren’t graded but they need to be finished when you get to class or
you can’t do the activities we have scheduled for class. If you come to class without your homework completed,
you may be excluded from classroom activities for that day and you might not be able to make up that assignment
late.

I. What if I have a low grade and I want to bring it up?

You can do two things that will bring your grade up:
● Turn in missing work. Even if you only get partial credit for it, missing work can drag your grade down in a
hurry. Do that late work so you can get some points for it.
● Rewrite low-scoring assignments. I allow you to re-do old work and get additional points as long as you
make a sincere attempt to make your work better. This means that you’re not just fixing spelling and
grammar mistakes, but you’re adding to your answers and giving it a better effort than you did on the first
try. I will let you make up to half the points you missed for a rewrite. For example, if you get 10/20 on an
assignment the first time, you can get up to 15/20 on that assignment if you re-do it.

J. When can I check my current grade?

If you’ve signed up for the Student Portal on Aeries, you can check your grade anytime. I try to update it as often as
I can, but it’s not always up-to-date. Email me if you want to know how current your online grade is. If you don’t
have access to the Student Portal, then you have to make an appointment to see me about your grade. I won’t talk
about your grade or give you a printout during the class period. One tip: KEEP EVERY ASSIGNMENT YOU GET BACK
UNTIL YOUR SEMESTER GRADE HAS BEEN POSTED AND IS FINAL. You may need these assignments to prove a grade
to me if my records are in error. ​I will not take your word for it​.

K. Do you use a regular grading scale? Do you round up?

I use the standard grading scale. 90%+ is an A, 80-89% is a B, 70-79% is a C, 60-69% is a D, and 0-59% is an F. I also
give plusses and minuses. For example, 80-82% is a B- and 87-89% is a B+. I only round a grade up if it is within 0.5%
of the next grade. For example, I would round up 89.6% (usually a B+) to an A-. I would not round up an 89.4%.

L. Do you give extra credit?

I sometimes give extra credit. Extra credit can only count for a maximum of 3% of your total grade for that grading
period. In other words, if your quarter grade is a C- 72%, extra credit can only increase your grade to a 75%, a C.
EXTRA CREDIT CANNOT “SAVE” YOUR GRADE.

M. How will this class prepare me for college?

Transitioning to life beyond high school requires mastery of certain skills. In this class, we will cover several of
them, including
➢ Working independently. You’re in high school, so you’ll do more reading, writing, and thinking on your own.
That doesn’t mean I won’t be there to help you. I will provide you as much support as you need, but I won’t
do your work for you.
➢ Attention to detail. Successful college students take care of the little things, even those that aren’t graded.
Sometimes, you have to do preparatory work for the graded work. That prep work deepens your thinking
and ultimately results in higher achievement.
➢ Communicate professionally. Whether you go to college or work, you will want people in authority to take
you seriously. We’ll talk about how to communicate in ways that make you appear professional,
 responsible, and creative.

N. What if I get caught cheating or plagiarizing?

Plagiarism is defined as the use of another person’s original ideas or writing as one’s own without giving the other
person credit. Examples of plagiarism include
● Copying and/or paraphrasing answers to homework assignments from other students,
● Allowing another student to copy and/or paraphrase answers to homework;
● Copying or paraphrasing information found on the internet or another reference source without citing the
information as coming from a secondary source,
● Copying or paraphrasing research papers and essays.
● Borrowing someone else’s ideas without credit.
If you are caught cheating or plagiarizing, you will be given a zero on the assignment, your parent(s) will be
contacted, and you may be referred to the office for disciplinary consequences.
All of that being said, we live in a world with information at our fingertips. I don’t mind if you use that
information, but you have to 1) credit your sources, and 2) expand your thinking beyond those sources by
interpreting, analyzing, challenging, or elaborating on what you find. You’re joining the world’s conversation on
whatever topic we’re discussing, and to do that effectively, you have to bring your own original ideas.