1. My name is Ms. Swain. Alisa_Swain@gwinnett.k12.ga.us

2. I am a graduate of Savannah State University. I received a Bachelor of Arts in English. I received my Masters from The University of Georgia. I hold a Master of Arts in Teaching. I hold a certification in Secondary Education for grades 6-12.

3.  Students are expected to write their assignments in their agendas daily.  The agenda and homework assignments can be found on the SMS website at the beginning of each week.  Students are expected to read 30 minutes each night.  Homework is used as a tool to review the material learned in class, so it is important that students complete the assignments when they are given. NO homework will be accepted late.

4. Classroom Management Plan: When a student violates any of the classroom expectations, consequences will be implemented at the discretion of the teacher. Consequences may include: 1.Warning/Redirection 2.Seat change within class 3.Reflective exercise 4.Parent call or email 5.Silent Lunch 6.Isolation on team 7.Detention 8.Office referral to admin – initiate intermediate steps beginning with parent conference called by referring teacher (or case manager) 9. All subsequent steps = Office referral to admin

5. Reward Cards to attend Fun Fridays Good News from School Postcards Positive Phone calls or notes in the agenda book

6.  Agenda Books  Reward cards in agenda books  Teachers will provide a stamp or their initials along with a slash mark and the number of the area that the student did not master for each student in every class period  Use last 5 minutes of each segment  Do not complete stamps standing at the door.  Stamps may NOT be taken away.

7. Generals Reward Card: General Protocols Example: Johnny Smith earned a stamp for Ms. Swain’s first period LA class on Wednesday. Ms. Swain would then stamp her initials in the corresponding box.

8.  Parent Portal  Parent/ Teacher Conferences  Alisa_Swain@gwinnett.k12.ga.us Alisa_Swain@gwinnett.k12.ga.us

9.  Common Core State Standards commissioned by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association  Goes deeper than old state standards  More critical reading/writing skills  Comparing multiple texts  Analyzing longer texts  Short texts vs. extended texts  Higher expectations for all students  Apply, compare, contrast, demonstrate, cite, produce, evaluate

10.  Rigor  Goes deeper than current standards  More critical thinking  Higher expectations for all students  Relevance  Heavier focus on informational text- more of what our students need  What skills do our students need to be college/career ready

11.  More informational texts vs. literary texts  Strategies for reading for information  Increased writing expectations – more expository and argumentative with evidence (citing the evidence)  Words in context; the relationship of words with other words, within sentences, how they affect the larger work

12. Informational texts/literary nonfiction include the subgenres of exposition, argument and functional text in the form of personal essays; speeches; opinion pieces; essays about art or literature; biographies; memoirs; journalism; and historical, scientific, technical or economic accounts (including digital sources) written for a broad audience (Common Core State Standards, page 57).

13.  Students are expected to have the following each day:  Language Arts Notebook ( no other subjects should be inside this notebook)  Paper  Pencil or pen  Agenda  Novel  Students are expected to complete reading logs nightly and turn them in on Friday.

14.  Grading Policy  90 and above A  80-89 B  74-79C  70-73D  Below 70 U   Promotion Criteria:  For promotion to 8 th grade - Students must achieve a passing score on each of the following:   * CRCT Reading * CRCT Language Arts * CRCT Math * CRCT Science * CRCT Social Studies