1. E S P A Ñ O L “Hola”, Hi Parents**: It is my pleasure to have your child as my student in my Spanish class. My objective for this year is to teach your child more language concepts and cultural information so he/she can increase his/her confidence in using the language. Your child and our class have discussed the Spanish class Syllabus in the classroom and a copy has been given to him/her to be kept in his/her binder. There is also a copy of the syllabus in the Spanish website of the school. The syllabus includes the objectives of the class, assessment criteria, grading scale, and classroom procedures and materials. Please read it and discuss it with your child, if necessary. After reading it, please sign the bottom portion of this sheet and send it back to me on the next Spanish class day. Also, fill out the information requested below this letter, for my files. It is important that you know that all assignments, quizzes and tests due dates will be posted in Headmaster, please check Headmaster on a daily basis and help me monitor your child’s performance. Grades will be posted on a weekly basis; Monday will be the best day to see the latest update of your child’s grades. I will pay a close attention to the students behavior in my classroom. I will follow the school’s conduct policies and the following behaviors, among others, will NOT be accepted in the Spanish classroom: plagiarism, unexcused tardiness, being disrespectful, being disruptive, being off-task. Consequences begin with a verbal warning, then a Recess-Lunch Detention, and finally a referral to the Administration. Every Detention time and Administration referral will be written up in Headmaster. Please monitor your child’s Behavior in Headmaster, as well. Please have in mind that I work toward my students’ success in my classroom, therefore, I would like to keep in touch with you. Feel free to contact me via email at icordova@st- thomasmore.org with any question, concern or comment. If there is a need of a conference, I am available during my Planning periods (Mondays 8:00-8:30, Monday and Tuesdays 11:45-12:15, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 12:40-1:00, and after school).icordova@st- thomasmore.org Keep RAISING UP OUR COMMUNICATION and for this year we will be PEOPLE OF SERVICE! Sincerely, Sra. Ilka M. Cordova St. Thomas More Middle School (Parent) My phone numbers are: Home___________ Cellular _____________ other ____________ (Parent) My email address is __________________________________________________________ We have a computer at home ___yes ___no. Microsoft Office ___yes____no. Internet ____yes____no Parent name (PRINT) Date Parent Signature My child’s (the student) name (PRINT) ONLY FOR NEW STUDENTS: Has your child taken Spanish before? ____yes _____no. When and where? _________________________________ Keep this letter with you. Fill out the bottom portion, cut along the dotted lines, and send it back. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. E S P A Ñ O L St. Thomas More Middle School Teacher: Sra. Ilka Cordova icordova@st-thomasmore.org Textbook: Realidades Spanish 1 or 2. Also, Realidades program has the textbook online which you can have access to with your Realidades log-in ID and password given at the beginning of the year. Workbooks: Realidades Core Practice/Guided Practice used for additional vocabulary and grammar practice. Realidades Communication used for Lab. Assignments, and reading/writing practice. Both of these workbooks will be given by the school at the beginning of the year and will be kept in the Spanish classroom to work with them. However, if you need any of them to study with, you can take it/them home and bring it/them back to the classroom. Some homework pages will be taken from these workbooks and it is your responsibility to tear out the pages needed from the corresponding workbook in order to complete the assignment. These specific homework pages will be announced in the classroom as homework when needed. Bienvenidos! Welcome! To an interactive course that will help you develop your communicative proficiency in listening, speaking, reading and writing of the Spanish language and learn about the Hispanic culture. We will cover the course content specified by the Diocese of Raleigh. Page 1/4 The Spanish program: Spanish Traditional: Spanish language concepts of the Beginning level I is taught starting in Kindergartner and continued until 8 th grade. Spanish Accelerated: Spanish language concepts of the Beginning level II is taught in 7 th grade and continued with language concepts of the Intermediate level I in 8 th grade. Students who master the Beginning Level I at the end of 6 th grade will be considered for the Accelerated program beginning in 7 th grade. Grade Spanish Language Level Units in RealidadesTextbook* 6 th Beginning I Realidades 1 textbook: PE, 1,2,3, possibly 4 7 th Traditional Beginning I 4 or 5, 6 and possibly 7 8 th Traditional Beginning I 7 or 8, 9 and My Daily Routine 7 Th Accelerated Beginning I, II 4 or 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and possibly My Daily Routine 8 th Accelerated Beginning II and Readidades 2 textbook: PE, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 Intermediate I *The Spanish content (grammar and vocabulary) by unit will be published in the Spanish Website of the school.

3. E S P A Ñ O L Page 2/4 Homework (15%): includes but not limited to, vocabulary and grammar worksheets, workbook pages, writing and reading assignments, interviews and research used to reinforce Spanish material given in the classroom. These assignments must be turned in at the beginning of the class on the due date and placed on the assigned tray in the classroom, otherwise will be late. Class-work/Participation (10%): includes, Warm-up assignments completed during the first 5 minutes of class after the bell, work assigned by the teacher to be completed in the classroom, work assigned in the Lab-room, use of the Spanish spoken language in the classroom, and individual participation in discussions, group work and projects. Activities assigned in the Lab-room will mainly include audio assignments to be completed in the Realidades Communication workbook and graded on a weekly basis. Projects (20%): every unit will have one project to start in the classroom and may be finished at home. Quizzes (25%): includes 1 vocabulary quiz per unit and 1-3 grammar quizzes. Also, reading-comprehension, listening, writing and culture quizzes will be given as needed. It is important that every student studies the material learned in class on a daily basis in case of a pop-up quiz. Quizzes will be given on a regular basis following the order of the units in the Realidades textbook. Tests (30%): includes 1 test per unit, 1 Mid-term test (weighs two unit tests) for 7 th and 8 th grades only, and 1 Final (weighs two unit tests). Some quizzes and all tests will be kept in the classroom in a student personal file. If the student, parent or tutor needs it for any reason, they can be used inside the classroom only; contact the teacher to set up a day and time. ASSESSMENT: Every grade will cover specific concepts of the unit(s) of the textbook or material given in class based on the Spanish level and program chosen. Assignments, quizzes, and tests due dates will be posted in Headmaster, under Homework tab. Please comply with due dates to avoid a late grade or a zero. Assessment: Assignments turned in late (the next day) will earn 50% of the original grade. Homework 15% Class Participation 10% Quizzes 25% Projects 20% Tests 30% Grading: This class will follow the same grading scale of STM’s school. (Ref. Family Handbook) A 100-93 B 92-85 C 84-78 D 77-70 F 69- or below Grades will be posted in Headmaster on a weekly basis. Please monitor your grades and contact your teacher with any question.

4. E S P A Ñ O L Page 3/4 MAKE UP WORK: If you are absent on the due date of any assignment, you are responsible to turn it in when you come back to school. STM’s handbook policy is: “Students have one day per day of absence to complete and turn in assignments.” You are also responsible to look in Headmaster for any assigned work and/or to contact a classmate for any notes taken. Missing quizzes and tests must be scheduled with the teacher; quizzes will be taken during Recess and tests, after school. Late assignments: Assignments turned in after the due date and not in the assigned tray in the classroom at the beginning of that day will receive a maximum grade of 50% and will have to serve a Homework Lab at the designated classroom during Recess and Lunch. NOTE: Late or on-time, it is a policy of this class to not accept assignments by email; they should all be placed in the assigned tray in the classroom or in the designated folder/website for electronic assignments. Materials The following materials will be given by the teacher on the first days of school. A textbook and both workbooks one 1-inch binder with dividers (General, Vocabulary, Grammar, Quizzes and Tests) for notes and studying material one notebook for classroom notes and practices Pencils and pens one set of headphones to be used in the Lab. Grades 7 and 8 will use the same headphones as last year. NOTE: Any textbook, workbook, or headphone lost or damaged will require to pay for its cost in order to be replaced. The following materials are not supplied by the school, but are recommended for this class: a Spanish-English dictionary, a USB to save digital files, and index cards 3”x5”. If the student decides to carry his/her backpack all day and inside the classrooms, he/she will have to leave it in the hallway and take out the Spanish materials to be used only. Due to the fact that the Spanish classroom is too small and there is not enough space for backpacks on the floor, students cannot keep their backpacks inside the classroom.

5. E S P A Ñ O L Page 4/4 CONDUCT You will be conducted in accordance with the school policies as contained in the STM Family Handbook. All students exceeding conduct expectations will have their name entered into a weekly recognition drawing. In the other hand, the following behaviors, will NOT be accepted in the Spanish classroom: Being disrespectful: Mistreating a classmate or a teacher (physically or verbally-cussing or with disrespectful words/phrases). Talk back to the teacher. Chewing gum. Being disruptive: Talking, whistling or making weird noises while others talk. Standing from your desk without authorization of the teacher. Throwing things or yelling across the room. Being off-task: Not doing the work assigned or not doing work at all. Sleeping. Plagiarizing/cheating: Turning in work that you did not do; it is copied from another person or an agency. Internet translators do the work for you, therefore, you are copying from them. During quizzes and tests, writing an answer to a question taken from another student’s paper is also cheating; so as, copying from a cheat sheet, book, notes, or anywhere else where written material-to-be-studied is. Tardiness: Arrive, without a written excuse, to class after the bell rings between periods. Daily Consequences begin with a verbal warning, then a Recess-Lunch Detention. If you are recurrent in not following the same conduct rule, you will be referred to the Administration for further consequences. FAITH PRACTICE In our classroom, we will learn prayers, songs, and other Catholic related material. “Reaching minds + Touching Hearts + Shaping Soals” ALL STUDENTS MUST BE READY TO WORK AND RECEIVE INSTRUCTION EVERYDAY, WITH THEIR WORK ASSIGNED, THE MATERIALS NEEDED AND THE UNIFORM PROPERLY USED.