Parents and/or Guardians,

I welcome your son or daughter to my English class. I am looking forward to helping your teen acquire the English skills necessary to be successful at the college level, in the work world, and with everyday communication. With your assistance, and hard work from your teen, he/she will have a rewarding and successful academic year in my English class. Although this school year will present unique challenges, we will get through these unprecedented times together with COVID compassion.  

Not only do I teach English but I also, along with one of our CHHS student counselors Ms Spaun, am a co-advisor of the CHHS Mindfulness Club. Therefore periodically, there will be some Mindfulness techniques (Mindfulness Quotes, Mindfulness Meditation, and simple Mindfulness Yoga poses that can be done from a chair) in our Google Meet class sessions. Although this is not a part of your son/daughter’s grade, according to Harvard.org,” mindfulness is now being examined scientifically and has been found to be a key element in stress reduction and overall happiness.” Research has also found mindfulness to help students with their concentration and problem solving skills. Of course if any parent/guardian has any objections to your teen’s participation in mindfulness, he/she will be excluded from our mindfulness exercises and anything “mindfulness”. Please let me be made aware of any desire of exclusion of your teen, and I will then send confirmation upon receiving your request.

In the course syllabus below, it includes the following sections: General Expectations, Virtual Meetings, Teacher-Specific Virtual Meeting Expectations/Rules, Google Meets, Absences, Assignments, Assessments, Feedback, Grades, Grading Scale, and Technology Issues.

Overall, my main goal for your teen is to grow his/her current English skill set. With that in mind, please email me if your teen has an IEP or 504. If your teen does have an IEP or 504, please outline how I can be of extra assistance. If your teen does not have a 504 or an IEP, please disregard the previous sentence.

If your teen needs extra help with a concept, preparing for an upcoming quiz or test, etc., please encourage him/her to take advantage of my office hours via Zoom (discussed in more detail on my Schoolwires homepage).

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Mr. Murphy (English 9 Honors, English HSA 9 Honors, English 11CP, and Mindfulness Club Co-Advisor)

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On-Line Course Syllabus

Office Hours

Tuesday/Thursday Office Hours Via Zoom // 1:35-2:20

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/97420352383?pwd=cTlXUzNsNENaT1lQYU9uWEpkcGpqUT09

Meeting ID: 974 2035 2383
Passcode: Py1HNZ

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Wednesday/Friday Office Hours Via Zoom // 7:30-8:15

Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/91839378278?pwd=bE5mZGo5OHNqNXpEdXhhNUN1Z0QyZz09

Meeting ID: 918 3937 8278
Passcode: nhw15c

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General Expectations

• Students should not share their login information, meeting links, or passwords with other students.
• To the extent possible, students should participate in virtual instruction from a quiet and neutral area that is free of distractions.
• School and classroom rules apply to the virtual instruction environment.
• It is recommended that students review the District Technology Acceptable/Responsible Use Policy regarding expectations for behavior while conducting themselves online and on District devices.
• Students should dress appropriately for virtual instruction sessions.
• Students who use inappropriate language, share inappropriate images, or in any way behave inappropriately on a video conference will be subject to appropriate discipline.
• Students should not conduct audio or video recordings or take screen shots of virtual class meetings or activities unless they have received permission to do so from a teacher or authorized District official.
• To the extent possible, parents should allow the student to work with instructor or provider in a quiet, private space.  However, to the extent a student requires adult support to participate in virtual instruction/services, a parent or guardian may be specifically asked by the instructor or service provider to provide such support.
• Once the virtual instruction session or meeting is over, students should be sure to close out of the meeting platform entirely.  Students should also ensure that cameras are covered and that microphones are turned off to avoid inadvertent transmission following the meeting.

Virtual Meetings

Students may begin logging into Google Meetings during the 10-minute window before class begins, though they will not be admitted right away.  I will begin admitting students all at once several minutes before class officially begins.  Class will usually begin with a warm-up or "bell ringer" prompt (some content-related, some for fun, etc.) and students may begin on them in the chat window as soon as they are admitted to class.

Teacher-Specific Virtual Meeting Expectations/Rules

1. Show up on time and prepared for class (this means both physically and mentally).
2. Check yourself into attendance at the start of class.  On Non-class days, you have until the following day to check yourself in.
3. Try to find a quiet, private space for class time when possible.
4. Wear school-appropriate attire (sorry, no pj's!).
5. Keep your camera on at all times.  We will have teacher-guided mini-breaks when possible.  If you are engaged in "asynchronous" work, you may take a brief break.
6. Stay muted unless called on or in a small group.
7. Use the raise hand button if you have a question that needs to be answered right away.
8. Use the chat box to ask questions we can get to sometime within the class period.  The chat box is NOT for having a non-related classroom instruction conversation with another student.
9. Restroom breaks are fine without teacher permission; please be appropriate in limiting their length.
10. Eating during class: light snacks are fine, full meals are not.  We want you ready to speak/participate and focused on class.
11. Abide by all group/classroom norms during breakout work (tbd).
12. Always allow ample time to submit your work online.  Tech issues happen, but we can prepare for them.  When in doubt, communicate.

Google Meets 

Google Meets will take place during regularly scheduled classes and will include live teaching, class discussions, small group work, individual work, and individual/group one-on-one with teacher.  Throughout the 80-minute block period, students will shift between these modes of learning--direct instruction will never occur for an entire 80-minuter period nonstop.  Checking for understanding, brain breaks, think time, and collaborative learning are all important components of any successful classroom, and are vital to online success.

Absences 

Students who are absent should check the Google Classroom stream and classwork sections for any work missed and check in with the teacher during office hours or via email. Students are encouraged to have "study buddies" in each class who can help fill them in as well.

If students are absent, they will go to the Chat Box in Google Meets and check in with the student tutor for the week. The student tutor will explain in the Chat Box what work was missed, what documents were downloaded and examined, etc. Students may also go to Google Stream in Google Classroom, and open the pertinent week overview and see what they missed.

• If students are absent one day, then they have one day to make up the work.
• If students are absent two days, then they have two days to make up the work.
• Etc.

Assignments

• All class assignments will be posted and submitted in the Google Classroom section.
• If an assignment is submitted one hour late to one day late, then the letter grade drops by one.
• If an assignment is submitted two days late, then the letter grade drops to a C before any evaluation begins.
• If an assignment is submitted three days late, then the letter grade drops to a D before any evaluation begins.
• Assignments will not be accepted if they are submitted four days/more after the due date unless it is due to an extended absence. 

Assessments

• Students will complete formative assessments constantly-these are activities and assignments which allow students to practice new skills and become familiar with new concepts as they are learning.
• Summative assessments are assessments, which measure mastery of skills and concepts after a length of initial practice.
• Both formative and summative assessments will count for between 60-70% of the overall grade.
• Classroom assignments, homework, etc. will count for between 30-40% of the overall grade.

Feedback

Feedback is a vital part of the learning process and will be provided in a number of ways.

• During class, students will be provided descriptive verbal feedback.
• Assignments will include written feedback as much as possible.
• Rubrics will be used for essays, presentations, etc.
• Students will interact with rubrics before major assignments are submitted.

Grades

• Grades will be posted in Aeries at a minimum of every three weeks, though I do update continuously when possible.
• I will provide students with a grade sheet. Students will be able to track their own grade without having to depend on Aeries for a grade update.
• Every time students receive an evaluated assignment or assessment, they will record the date, name of the assignment, their point total, and how many points the assignment was worth.
• In order to calculate a grade, students add both columns (the points they received on each assignment and the points that each assignment was worth). Next, students divide the class total into their point total. A percentage will appear. If the third number after the decimal point is five or higher, students need to round up. Overall, it is just adding and dividing.

Grading Scale

A       91% - 99%                  A+ 100%/higher          A- 90%

B       81% - 88%                  B+ 89%                      B- 80%

C       71% -78%                   C+ 79%                      C- 70%

D       61%-68%                    D+ 69%                     D- 60%

F       59%/below

Technology Issues

Student self-solving: visit CVUSD EdTech Notebook (CVUSD EdTech Notebook).

Access to District technology from home: Community Support Hotline (Monday-Friday // 8:00 AM – 3:30 PM // (909) 628-1202, ext. 1080.

Access to District technology from home: CommunitySupport@chino.k12.ca.us